Three arrested in New York death of ventilator-dependent resident

In a December 28th press release, Eric Schneiderman, the Attorney General of New York, announced the arrest of two registered nurses and a certified nurse aide in connection with the death of an 81-year-old ventilator dependent resident of the A. Holly Patterson Extended Care Facility in Uniondale, NY.

According to the press release

The resident, whose identity is being kept confidential, lived on a specialized ventilator unit at the facility. She required a mechanical ventilator to breathe and was entirely dependent on the nursing staff; the resident passed away after the defendants failed to respond to the ventilator alarms. If convicted, the defendants, none of whom still work at the facility, each face up to seven years in prison.

“These allegations paint a picture of blatant neglect that ultimately resulted in the death of a patient,”

“My office will always hold accountable those medical professionals and others who knowingly ignore a patient’s basic needs or recklessly place any nursing home resident in a life-threatening situation.”

The media release described the case:

The complaint alleges that on the morning of December 20, 2015, the resident–who was wheelchair bound and ventilator dependent–became disconnected from her ventilator. The resident was unable to breathe without the assistance of her mechanical ventilator. A visual and audible alarm was immediately triggered which notified nursing staff on the floor that this resident was in an emergency, life-threatening situation.

Sijimole Reji, Annieamma Augustine and Martine Morland were at the nursing station near the resident’s room when the alarm sounded throughout the unit. All nursing staff who work on the ventilator unit at A. Holly Patterson Extended Care Facility are required to immediately respond to resident ventilator alarms. These three defendants–Reji, Augustine and Morland–ignored the emergency ventilator alarm for more than nine minutes and failed to provide any assistance to the resident who languished without oxygen.

Eventually, when staff entered her room, they discovered that the resident was unresponsive and unconscious. The resident was transported from A. Holly Patterson Extended Care Facility to Nassau University Medical Center, where she died the following day, December 21, 2015.

Deaths and abuse in care homes is not uncommon. Recently a nurse was charged in the deaths of eight people who lived in care homes in Woodstock and London Ontario.

The victim’s life was in the hands of her care-givers. Data from Belgium shows that a significant number of lives are ended each year without request. Usually these people are incompetent or completely dependent on their care-givers.

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Three arrested in New York death of ventilator-dependent resident

Employee At Brighton Beach Nursing Center Arrested For Beating 82-Year-Old Dementia Patient

Shore View Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Brighton Beach. (Photo via Google Maps)

An employee at a Brighton Beach nursing center has been arrested for abusing and mistreating an 82-year-old resident, who suffers from dementia and is unable to care for himself, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced Thursday.

According to prosecutors, Certified Nurse Aide Mina Maxine Gayle-Campbell repeatedly struck the elderly man and threw water at his face and body while administering a bed bath on April 29 at the Shore View Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Brighton Beach. She also allegedly used the man’s own fist to hit him in the face. The abuse was caught on video, according to a press release from the attorney general’s office.

“When families make the difficult decision to place the care of their loved ones in the hands of a nursing home, they expect them to be treated with compassion and respect—not abused and mistreated,” Schneiderman said in the press release. “My office will continue to prosecute anyone who abuses and mistreats elderly and vulnerable New Yorkers in this way.”

An official at Shore view said the facility provided surveillance video of the abuse to the Attorney General’s office and reported the incident to investigators.

“We immediately reported this staff member to the New York State Attorney General’s office and terminated this employee – there is absolutely no place for employees like this at Shore View. Every employee at Shore View knows we are continually monitoring their actions and that only those employees who meet our standard of care and delivers that care with compassion, will remain an employee at Shore View,” administrator Kwang Lee in a statement.

A spokesperson from the Attorney General’s office said the case was referred to them by the Department of Health. We reached out to the Department of Health to confirm the incident was reported by staff at Shore View and have yet to receive a response.

Gayle-Campbell was arraigned in Brooklyn Criminal Court on charges of Endangering the Welfare of an Incompetent or Physically Disabled Person in the First Degree, a Class E felony, and Willful Violation of Health Laws, a misdemeanor, according to the attorney general.

Full Article & Source:
Employee At Brighton Beach Nursing Center Arrested For Beating 82-Year-Old Dementia Patient