Did This Nurse Exploit an Elderly Man?

By Nancy J. Brent, MS, JD, RN

In past blogs, I have written about nurses being disciplined by state boards of nursing, including for unprofessional conduct and for falsifying documentation.

In the following case, an RN’s license is revoked for a violations of the state nurse practice act, including: violation of her duties, mental or physical inability to practice in a safe and competent manner, and a lack of good moral character.

RN’s relationship with the elderly man

The RN met a 75-year-old widower, who was suffering from cancer and moved into his home.

According the case details on casetext.com, the nurse told the elderly man that she was a nurse, was homeless, and that they could help each other.  She became a “home assistant” for the man, helping with cleaning, cooking, shopping, and other household chores.

The man spent “substantial” sums of money while the RN was living with him and added the RN onto his checking account and multiple lines of credit.

The man desired to have a romantic relationship with the nurse, but these feelings were not reciprocated. When the RN decided it was time to move out of the home, she took the man’s car and left him stranded at a hotel for multiple days. She also took money from the joint checking account.

The elderly man moved in with one of his daughters after these incidents, and the daughter helped him obtain a personal protective order (PPO) against the nurse. The daughter also obtained guardianship and conservatorship over her father.

The RN’s conduct was reported to the licensing board. An investigator from the licensing board interviewed the man and his daughters. He lived with his daughter until his death.

Licensing board proceedings

An administrative complaint was filed by the licensing board, alleging the violations stated earlier. The board also ordered a summary suspension of her license. The nurse petitioned to have the suspension terminated.

A hearing on the complaint was held after several months. The hearing examiner issued a Proposal for Decision finding that the RN violated her general duty obligations and lacked good moral character, and did not have a mental or physical inability to practice in a safe and competent manner.

The nurse filed objections to the proposal, but the licensing board entered a final order adopting the hearing examiner’s findings and revoked the RN’s license.

The RN filed an appeal to the state court of appeals.

Appeals court’s analysis and decision

The RN presented many objections to the licensing board’s decision. Her first objection was that it had no jurisdiction to hear the case because there was no connection between her relationship with the elderly man and her practice as a nurse. The court disagreed with her position, stating that she had used her status as an RN to “exploit and defraud” the man.

The RN pointed out her many arguments and testimony at the licensing board’s hearing, which contradicted the testimony of the man’s daughters and the information he shared with the investigator. Even so, the appeals court opined that her arguments and testimony were “inconsistent, illogical, and largely self-serving,” while the testimony of the daughters, the man’s physician, and the investigator were more “consistent, logical and reasonable,” which made their testimony more credible.

Moreover, the court continued, there was “substantial, competent, and material evidence supporting the determination of the hearing officer that the RN lacked good moral character.”

The RN also argued that her due process rights were violated because the relationship was consensual. Again, the court held that there was no consensual relationship based on the evidence presented in the hearing. Thus, no constitutional violation of her due process rights occurred.

The determination of the licensing board’s decision was affirmed.

What to remember from this case

The conduct of the RN in this case was egregious. However shocking it may be, this type of exploitation can happen in varying forms when anyone takes advantage of a vulnerable elderly person.

The nurse was able to win the man over fairly easily because she had a nursing license.

It is important to note that the revocation of the RN’s license was possible despite the fact that she had not been practicing nursing for many years (though she said she was a “caregiver” for the elderly man and probably did provide some type of “care” for him).

The appellate court’s decision supports the recent decisions of boards of nursing that once you are licensed, you must always act as a licensed professional, even though the alleged violation of your nurse practice act does not have a nexus to the practice of nursing.

Examples of disciplinary actions in which there is no connection to the practice of nursing include:

• Failure to re-pay student loans
• Failure to pay taxes
• A conviction of driving under the influence (DUI
• The misuse of social media

Had the RN been actively practicing nursing for this man, another basis upon which her license could have been disciplined would have been for breaching professional boundaries, which is a form of unprofessional conduct.

If you provide nursing care to a  vulnerable elderly person or any vulnerable patient be certain to maintain a nurse-patient relationship consistent with your legal and ethical duties. For instance:

• Document the care you provide carefully and accurately.
• Don’t engage in any conduct, however well-meaning (such as doing banking for the patient, purchasing any item or food with the patient’s money), that may later be viewed as exploiting the person or could be seen as examples of poor morale character.
• Don’t move in with a patient or have a patient move in with you.
• Don’t become romantically involved with a patient.
• Don’t accept access to a patient’s bank or other financial account.

And maintain professional conduct at all times with those with whom you come in contact, patients or otherwise.

Full Article & Source:

Did This Nurse Exploit an Elderly Man?

Nurse stole morphine pills from nursing home patient, feds charge

By Matt Miller

A former nurse at a nursing home in Cumberland County is facing federal charges that she stole 16 morphine pills from one of her patients.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Harrisburg filed that theft in connection with health care charge Wednesday against Michelle Keys, a licensed practical nurse.

Federal investigators claim in the U.S. Middle District Court complaint that Keys stole the morphine sulfate pills prescribed to the patient in August 2019. Morphine sulfate is prescribed to relieve pain.

Keys took the pills for her own use, investigators contend.

Court records show Keys already has a tentative agreement to plead guilty. She has no deal concerning sentencing, however. Her plea agreement would not become final unless it is approved by Judge Christopher C. Conner.

Filings state that the maximum penalty for the crime is 1 year in prison and a $100,000 fine.

Full Article & Source:

Nurse stole morphine pills from nursing home patient, feds charge

‘Sadistic’ Nurse Who ‘Enjoyed Inflicting Pain’ On Elderly Patients Killed 3 With Antipsychotic Drug

By Aly Vander Hayden

In the spring of 1990, 82-year-old Alphonse Silva underwent treatment for throat cancer, and he was subsequently admitted to the Rosedale Manor Nursing Home in St. Petersburg, Florida as part of his recovery process. 

“[W]e hoped that Rosedale Manor would enable him to eventually recover and come home,” his son, Art Silva, told “License to Kill,” airing Saturdays at 6/5c on Oxygen. 

Not long after Alphonse settled in, however, he passed away, and his family believed he had succumbed to the cancer. It was not until 10 weeks later that an investigation was opened into a Rosedale Manor nurse, proving Alphonse’s death was anything but natural. 

On July 31, 1990, Helen Gasky-Brummer, who specialized in elder abuse at the Florida Department of Child and Family Services, received a call from the abuse hotline about a suspicious nursing home death. Muriel Watts, a 79-year-old comatose patient at Rosedale Manor, had passed away, but multiple nurse’s aides on duty at the time reported that they did not believe Watts had died from natural causes. 

When Gasky-Brummer arrived at Rosedale Manor, she spoke with the licensed practical nurse in charge, who was convinced that some type of mishap had led to Watts’ death, piquing Gasky-Brummer's suspicion that foul play could have been involved. 

“Nurses see death every day. Why is she concerned about this one patient?” Gasky-Brummer told producers. 

The night of Watts’ death, the LPN in charge of the wing was Brian Rosenfeld, and witnesses reported an alarming interaction between him and the comatose patient. 

“Muriel Watts had a fever. Brian Rosenfeld put some Tylenol down the tube, but then two aides had observed him pouring some brown liquid, a huge amount, down her feeding tube,” former Tampa Bay Times reporter Stephen Nohlgren told "License to Kill.” 

When an aide asked Rosenfeld why he was administering the mystery liquid, he instructed her not to question his methods, and she later heard Rosenfeld say that Watts “would be gone soon.” 

Within hours, Watts was dead, and Rosenfeld insisted on cleaning her body before the undertaker arrived, a task that was normally carried out by nurse’s aides. Even stranger, he washed Watts’ entire body with mouth wash and refused to let anyone else help or touch her remains. 

In order to have Watts’ body examined for evidence and halt her scheduled cremation, Gasky-Brummer contacted local authorities to report her suspicions, and the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office took on the case. 

After speaking with Gasky-Brummer and reading her investigative report, Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Chuck Vaughn placed a hold on Watts’ remains, and an autopsy was performed by the medical examiner’s office.  

Vaughn then made his way to Rosedale Manor, where he learned that Rosenfeld had been fired not just for the Watts incident, but also for recurring behavioral issues. 

“The nursing assistants complained that if they had done something that irritated Rosenfeld, he would over-administer laxatives to patients as a means of getting back at the nursing assistants,” Vaughn told producers. 

Nursing aides also described Rosenfeld as “sadistic” and said he had come “to enjoy inflicting pain on other people,” Nohlgren said. 

Digging further into his background, investigators learned Rosenfeld had worked in more than 16 nursing homes over a 10-year span, and former colleagues relayed incidents in which Rosenfeld would physically abuse his patients. Some recalled that he bent patients’ fingers back until they screamed in pain, and other co-workers detailed times when Rosenfeld threw water on a patient and shoved a banana down another’s throat. 

Any time nursing assistants challenged Rosenfeld and his behavior, he would simply pull rank. 

No formal complaints were ever filed against Rosenfeld, however, and there was no physical evidence or proof to validate the witnesses’ claims. So, he went on to work in multiple nursing homes without consequence. 

“It was hard to tell whether he was fired or whether he left on his own, but it could be what would lead to him jumping from nursing home to nursing home,” Gasky-Brummer told producers. 

Brian Rosenfeld

While Watts’ autopsy revealed no external signs of injury and no definitive cause of death, investigators sent blood and gastric content samples to the lab for further analysis. Vaughn then met with Rosenfeld at his apartment to discuss the various complaints against him, which he claimed were nothing more than malicious accusations. 

After the toxicology report came back, it revealed that Watts’ blood had toxic levels of acetaminophen and five times the normal dose of a drug called Melleril, which is an antipsychotic medication normally prescribed to patients with schizophrenia or mood disorders. 

As Watts was comatose, there was no reason for her to have Melleril in her system, according to “License to Kill.” 

Authorities brought Rosenfeld in for an interview on Aug. 23, 1990, and he told investigators that due to him being stressed and overworked, he may have accidentally administered the wrong medication to his patients. When questioned about Watts, Rosenfeld admitted he possibly could have given her the Melleril in error. 

“He said, ‘I have occasionally mixed up medications for patients,’ and he even went so far as to say it was about 50 percent of the time,” Larry Bedore, chief investigator for the medical examiner’s office, told producers. 

Rosenfeld was then arrested for Watts’ murder and held without bail, and law enforcement began to expand its investigation, learning that a total of 201 patients had died during Rosenfeld’s shifts, according to “License to Kill.” 

“That gave us a list of potential bodies that needed to be investigated for evidence of malfeasance on Brian Rosenfeld’s part,” Assistant Medical Examiner Jackie Martino told producers. 

Investigators narrowed down the investigation to three cases — including Alphonse and Hazel DeRemer, an 81-year-old Alzheimer’s patient who died three years earlier — in which the bodies could be exhumed and autopsied for evidence.  

As they awaited the autopsy results, David Greenway, a former cellmate of Rosenfeld’s, contacted authorities and told them that Rosenfield had admitted to injecting a female comatose patient with Melleril because he felt sorry for her.  

He claimed Rosenfeld said he had done this on numerous occasions and had claimed approximately 23 victims across various nursing homes.  

It was ultimately revealed that Alphonse and DeRemer had lethal amounts of Melleril in their systems, and Rosenfeld’s charges were upgraded to three counts of first-degree murder.  

The case never went to trial, however, as Rosenfeld agreed to plead guilty in order to avoid the death penalty. He was given three life sentences without the possibility of parole.  

To learn more about the case, watch “License to Kill” on Oxygen.com. 

 

Full Article & Source:

‘Sadistic’ Nurse Who ‘Enjoyed Inflicting Pain’ On Elderly Patients Killed 3 With Antipsychotic Drug

Elder registry expansion targets in-home nurses to weed out abuse

Georgia is expanding its nurse aide registry, which catalogues incidents of abuse and neglect of elderly patients, to include home health care providers.

“This is the first step in our efforts to provide information on abusers to providers and families hiring caregivers,” Kathy Floyd, executive director of the Georgia Council on Aging, said. “This registry is a critical step in providing a safe living environment for elderly and disabled Georgians receiving long-term care services.”

The state currently maintains a registry of certified nursing assistants who have completed training.

Hospitals and nursing homes are required to check the registry to see if a nurse’s license is current, and can review findings of abuse, neglect, exploitation or misappropriation of property.

There are 73,000 active CNAs and 210,000 inactive CNAs on the registry, with 1,350 adverse findings logged.

According to the Georgia Department of Community Health, “Elder abuse is an underrecognized, undetected and underreported problem with devastating and life-threatening consequences.”

Calvin Mangum, who regularly enjoys a hot meal and round of pool at the Senior Life Center in Gainesville, said the expanded registry is important for vulnerable patients.

Though he has never experienced any abuse, Mangum recalled a friend who once was neglected by in-home caregivers.

“The family should have been there,” he said.

The latest law expands the registry’s scope to include “adverse findings” on CNAs who work in home settings.

“As more individuals desire to remain at home ... it makes sense to track CNAs in all the situations where they provide care,” Floyd said.

Patricia Cunningham agreed. She worked as a nurse in hospitals and nursing homes before retiring into the leisure and friendship available at the Senior Life Center.

“More people want to stay in their home,” she said, adding that this makes the expanded registry all the more necessary.

Cunningham said she has never witnessed elder abuse, but believes the expanded registry will provide better screening of caregivers.

“It can happen anywhere,” she said about abuse.

Daniel Johnson, sitting next to Cunningham at the senior center on a recent afternoon, said one caveat that should be considered is that caregivers might be falsely accused. Sometimes patients and their nurses have personality conflicts, and people can interpret the same events differently, he added.

Moreover, Johnson said he is thankful for the good in-home care his mother received. Her nurse became like family.

“It should come with some restrictions,” he said of the registry. “Good people are hard to find. ”

Floyd said her organization, created by the Georgia General Assembly in 1977 to advise the governor, assembly and state agencies on programs for Georgia’s seniors, wants to grow the registry to include a broader range of caregivers who are not CNAs.

“We will work (with lawmakers) to design legislation to bring to the 2017 session,” she said.

Full Article & Source:
Elder registry expansion targets in-home nurses to weed out abuse

Ex-health care provider pleads not guilty in elder abuse case

Labarbara Deshay Currin

FLORENCE — A former employee at a Florence nursing home accused of abusing an elderly patient pleaded not guilty, officials said.

An attorney representing Labarbara Deshay Currin, 27, 608 N. Third St., Pulaski, Tennessee, waived her formal arraignment Tuesday and pleaded not guilty to the charges of second-degree elderly abuse and neglect.

A Lauderdale grand jury indicted Currin, who formerly lived on East Tombigbee Street in Florence, in December.

After the arraignment hearing, Lauderdale County Circuit Judge Gil Self placed the case on the May 18 criminal court docket.

Authorities said Currin is accused of abusing a 96-year-old patient while she was a health care provider at Glenwood Nursing Home in Florence, where she formerly worked.

The abuse reportedly occurred Aug. 10 and was reported to authorities by Glenwood officials, according to Florence police Detective Kevin Jackson.

According to the indictment, Currin did “intentionally abuse” and caused physical injury to the woman by “grabbing or twisting her arm, hitting and thumping her on the head.”

Glenwood officials said at the time of the arrest that they have a “zero tolerance policy with regard to abuse” and that Currin was immediately suspended while the allegations were investigated.

Billingsley said according to reports, the woman had multiple knots on her head and a bruise on her arm.

Currin is accused of becoming aggravated with the woman and hitting her.

Warrants were issued for Currin’s arrest in August. Members of the U.S. Marshals Gulf Coast Region Fugitive Task Force located her in Pulaski on Dec. 8 and arrested her.

She is out of jail on bail totaling $6,000.

Second-degree elder abuse is a Class B felony and is punishable by 2-20 years in prison if convicted.

Full Article & Source: 
Ex-health care provider pleads not guilty in elder abuse case

See Also:
Former nurse is charged

Bassetlaw: Nurse who pinned down dementia patient to force feed her medication is struck off

A nurse who pinned down a patient to force feed her drugs medication has been struck off.

Susan Watkinson used ‘significant force’ to hold down the dementia sufferer before covering the woman’s mouth.

Watkinson ignored pleas from the patient and said ‘well choke then’ in front of a horrified colleague at Bassetlaw General Hospital, Worksop, Notts.

She was convicted at Mansfield and Worksop Magistrates Court of assault by beating and given a two month sentence, suspended for a year.

Watkinson was on the drugs round when the dementia sufferer became verbally and physically abusive.

The nurse and a colleague offered her some medication, but she began kicking and lashing out.
Watkinson used her left hand to hold down both the patient’s arms but she spat out the medication.
During a second attempt Watkinson put her left hand over the patient’s chin and mouth.

When the patient complained she was ‘going to choke,’ to which Watkinson said in a loud and aggressive tone: ‘Well choke then.’

She walked off leaving the patient ‘usually subdued.’

The incident was reported by the colleague, but Watkinson resigned before a disciplinary hearing could take place.

Police were then notified of the incident.

Full Article  & Source:
Bassetlaw: Nurse who pinned down dementia patient to force feed her medication is struck off

Nurse at Syracuse Nursing Home Accused of Physically Abusing 92-Year Old Woman

A nurse manager at the Loretto Health and Rehabilitation Center in Syracuse has been accused of physically abusing a resident of the nursing home  and falsifying records to cover it up.

Natalie M. Harris, 42, of Liverpool, was arrested July 30 and charged in Syracuse City Court based on a felony complaint filed by the state Attorney General's Office which is investigating the matter.

The complaint says Harris abused a 92-year-old resident who did not want to move from her bed to a wheelchair on March 25. Harris grabbed the woman by the upper arms, lifted her from the bed and forced her into a wheelchair, causing substantial bruising on the resident's upper arms, according to the complaint.

The elderly woman became frightened and yelled, asking Harris to stop, the complaint says. Since the incident, the resident has been anxious and fearful of care providers, according to the complaint.
Harris denies the accusation, which she says is based on false statements made by co-workers who did not like her. She said she intends to fight the charges and go to trial. Harris said she has been a nurse for 14 years and worked for the last year at Loretto, managing a 34-bed unit on the eighth floor.

The complaint says the bruising was reported by other care providers to administration, which assigned Harris to investigate. Harris wrote in an incident report and medical records that the marks on the resident's arms were "senile purpura," a skin condition caused by blood vessel fragility in older people, according to the complaint.

But a doctor and a physician assistant diagnosed the marks as bruising, not senile purpura, according to the complaint.

"The false entries were made to hide or conceal the act of abuse which caused the bruising to the victim's upper arms," the complaint says.

Full Article and Source:
Nurse at Syracuse Nursing Home Accused of Physically Abusing 92-Year Old Woman

Woman Charged After Body Found Behind Georgia Assisted Living Home

A Douglas Attorney says that charges have been filled against a woman who remained in custody in the Coffee County Sheriff Office over the weekend.

Defense Attorney Jill Starling says Diana Marie Malphus Jacobs has been charged with concealing a dead body. Starling says that Jacobs is a nurse at The Rosewood Manor assisted living facility.

Jacobs is scheduled to have a first appearance Monday morning at the Coffee County law enforcement center 

A body was found buried behind an assisted living center in Nicholls, and a woman connected to that facility is in custody.

Sheriff Doyle Wooten says his investigators got a tip, went to Rosewood Manor to question the woman Friday afternoon, and she admitted there was a body buried in a shed.

GBI crime scene experts spent hours excavating the body.

Investigators must wait for an autopsy, but they think the body is that of a man who was a resident at Rosewood Manor. They're not sure the circumstances of his death or who may have been involved in burying him. So far, no charges have been filed.

Full Article and Source:
Update:  Woman Charged After Body Found Behind Assisted Living Home

Legislation Requiring Round-the-Clock RN Coverage Introduced in Congress: A Step Towards Better Nursing Home Care

The Consumer Voice applauds the introduction of H.R. 5373, the Put a Registered Nurse in the Nursing Home Act, introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky on July 31st. The bill would require all nursing homes receiving Medicare and/or Medicaid reimbursement to have a registered nurse (RN) on duty twenty-four hours per day, seven days a week. Although most people believe RNs are already required round-the-clock, this is not the case. Under current federal law, nursing homes are only required to have a RN eight hours each day regardless of facility size – no matter how many residents they have or how sick they are.

Registered nurses play a critical role in the nursing home. RNs are the only nurses in a nursing home that can assess a resident’s condition. The absence of RN staffing for up to 16 hours each day means there is no one present capable of assessing and responding when residents’ medical conditions suddenly change or deteriorate. When not properly assessed, changes in condition can have serious and even fatal consequences. In addition, residents are entering nursing homes from hospitals “quicker and sicker,” and their overall care needs have increased over time.
 
According to Richard Gelula, Executive Director of the Consumer Voice, “H.R. 5373, the Put a Registered Nurse in the Nursing Home Act, is a simple and straight-forward solution that will help improve the quality of long-term care within our nation’s nursing homes. We have long known that the current federal requirement of eight hours of RN presence per day is woefully inadequate to meet residents’ care needs and applaud Congresswoman Schakowsky for her leadership on this crucial policy change.”

Advocacy for H.R. 5373 is part of the Consumer Voice’s Nursing Home Staffing Campaign. To learn more about the Campaign or to join, go to www.theconsumervoice.org/betterstaffing.

Source:  Email notification from The Consumer Voice

Neglect or Bureaucracy?

What happened to Tina Glantz one Saturday night in February was either medical neglect or an effort to treat a fragile person as quickly as possible.

Staff members at the city-run West Neck Residence noticed that Glantz's stomach was distended and that she was uncomfortable. She also hadn't used the bathroom for a while. A nurse called supervisor Lora Schwarz, who thought the situation required immediate action and authorized a catheter.

But Schwarz failed to get a doctor’s approval for the procedure, which violates state law, according to a state investigation, and two months later she lost her job.

Investigators from the state and Adult Protective Services, which looks into abuse and neglect related to incapacitated adults, cited the home for developmentally disabled adults for neglect and uncovered numerous problems, including medication errors and medical record inaccuracies.

Schwarz says the bureaucratic system is to blame.

Considered by some residents' families as a second mother to their loved ones, she is fighting to get her job back and avoid repercussions from the state Board of Nursing.

In a statement to the board, Schwarz criticized a health system that focuses on rules and regulations and not on patients' health, calling it a "hostile nursing environment. It's stressful knowing anytime you make a mistake there is a high probability of an investigation."

The 24 residents at West Neck have intellectual disabilities, physical impairments and chronic health problems. Many have limited vocabularies, require wheelchairs and have complicated medical conditions.

Full Article and Source:
Questions of Neglect, Bureaucracy Arise at Care Home

Justice4Dom

Nancy Pantoni is on a mission to save the life of her son, Dom. Dom was born with a genetic disorder known as Deletion 22Q Syndrome, which causes life-long physical and mental impairment. He has dealt with special needs throughout his life. Nancy is a health care professional, a practicing nurse, and she is convinced he is not receiving proper medical care for his condition.

Source:
YouTube:  Help Rescue Dom

See Also:
Justice4Dom

Arizona Police Release 911 Call

Police on Monday released the 911 call that led to the arrest of an Arizona woman suspected of trying to kill her hospitalized husband by injecting fecal matter into his IV line.

The call came Friday afternoon from the Chandler Regional Medical Center's head of security.

Hospital staff said they found Rose Mary Vogel tampering with the IV line and saw a brown substance blocking the tube.

When it was searched in the hospital, Vogel's purse contained a total of three syringes, including two with a clear liquid, police said.

Police documents said Vogel, 55, is a retired registered nurse who formerly worked at the Chandler hospital.

On the 911 call, the security supervisor said hospital staff didn't see Vogel inject the fecal matter into the IV line, but she was the only person in the room when the tampering occurred.

"She was in the room, and she's a former nurse and she was playing with the IV pump and everything else," the unidentified male supervisor said.

Police said a hospital laboratory test identified the substance as fecal matter. and a trace amount of a brown substance also was found in the needle of an otherwise empty syringe found in Vogel's purse.

Full Article, Video and Source:
Rose Mary Vogel Update:  Police Release 911 Tape in Arizona Fecal Matter Case

Nurse faces drug charge



A state registered nurse supplied Temazepam prescribed for another patient to an elderly woman in a nursing home.

Patricia Connolly, 56, of Back Westgate, Hornsea admitted to supplying Temazepam to 93-year-old Bertha Hutchinson during her employment as a nurse at Northfield Manor Nursing Home in Driffield.

The offence took place in January this year.

On Wednesday 4 September at Bridlington Magistrates’ Court it was heard Connolly is a state registered nurse, and has previously worked as a psychiatric nurse.

Prosecution solicitor David Ward said: “There was an elderly lady who was 93-years-old and she appears to have been prescribed some extra Temazepam which was actually for another patient. That idea was that this would help her to sleep as she was having problems sleeping, walking round at night.

“She was reported by a cleaner as being the only nurse that didn’t follow the normal procedure. Mrs Connolly would administer the drugs without anybody else present and would ask the cleaner who was also a qualified as an assistant to sign the paper work.

“Subsequently this was reported to the doctor and saying perhaps this wasn’t helping with her problem. The extra medication she was on was affecting her balance, so it may have been counter-productive.

“The defendant was interviewed and made full admissions. It is a willful administration of a prescribed drug.

“It seems quite a sad case.”

Full Article and Source:
Nurse faces drug charge

Registered Nurse and Disbarred Attorney Charged with Stealing More Than $2 Million from Elderly Woman’s Estate

ANCHORAGE February 28, 2013 — U.S. Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced today that a registered nurse, formerly of Anchorage, and a recently disbarred California attorney were indicted by the federal grand jury in Anchorage, Alaska, of devising a scheme to obtain in excess of $2 million between May 2007 and August 2009 from the Trusts of Juanita Gielarwoski, now deceased.

Brian Ben-Israel, 53, of Duluth, Georgia, and Philip Eric Myers, 60, of Santa Barbara, California, were charged by the federal grand jury with one count of mail fraud and three counts of wire fraud. Ben-Israel was also charged with three counts of filing false tax returns.

According to the indictment, in 2006, Ben-Israel was a registered nurse residing in Anchorage and working at Meridian Psychiatric Consulting Group. Ben-Israel met and befriended Gielarowski and her daughter, who were both patients of Meridian Psychiatric Consulting Group; Ben-Israel became a health care provider and “financial advisor” to both. Myers, an attorney licensed at the time in the state of California, was versed in trust and estate matters. From at least 2004, Ben-Israel was a business partner and friend of Myers; Ben-Israel introduced Myers to Gielarowski and her daughter.

Full Article & Source:
Registered Nurse and Disbarred Attorney Charged with Stealing More Than $2 Million from Elderly Woman’s Estate

Shocking Video Captures Elder Abuse on Camera

The District Attorney's office is looking into whether it will file criminal charges against two local nurses hired to care for a 98-year-old woman in a shocking case of apparent abuse.

According to the complaint filed with the Board of Registered Nursing, their on-the-job conduct was "vile, disrespectful and abusive" and much of it was captured on tape.

Warning: Some of the images featured in the video are graphic.
Source:
Shocking Video Captures Alleged Elder Abuse on Camera

Head Nurse to Stand Trial in Connection With Woman's Death at Cameron Park Care Facility

The former head nurse at a Placerville nursing home will stand trial for felony elder abuse in connection with the 2008 death of a 77-year-old Cameron Park woman, an El Dorado County judge ruled Tuesday.

More than 4 1/2 years after the death of Johnnie Esco, Judge Daniel B. Proud found there was sufficient evidence to move forward in the criminal case again Donna Darlene Palmer, 58, a registered nurse.

Palmer, who was then director of nursing at the El Dorado Care Center, was one of two nurses at the facility charged criminally by the California attorney general. The second nurse, 39-year-old Rebecca Smith, negotiated a deal earlier this month with the state.

Smith, a licensed vocational nurse, agreed to plead no contest to felony elder abuse in exchange for a possible suspended jail term and her willingness to help prosecutors in their pursuit of Palmer.

The attorney general contends that both nurses failed to perform their duties or to adequately supervise staff in caring for Esco, who died a painful and unnecessary death – despite a devoted family that surrounded her daily, according to testimony and state documents.

Full Article and Source:
Head Nurse to Stand Trial in Connection with Woman's Death at Cameron Park Care Facility

NH Nurse Accused of Bilking North Hampton Couple

An in-home caregiver/nurse will be in court for a probable cause hearing on charges that she allegedly bilked an elderly North Hampton couple out of nearly $2,000.

Valerie Trunfio, 36, of Hampton is facing one count of forgery and one count of receiving stolen property as part of an investigation by the Hampton and North Hampton police departments.

Her probable cause hearing at the 10th Circuit Court in Seabrook is scheduled for Monday, Nov. 5.

If she decides to waive the hearing, the case will be transferred to Rockingham Superior Court for review by a grand jury for possible indictment.

Full Article and Source:
Nurse Accused of Bilking North Hampton Couple

Nurse's License Revoked for Financial Exploitation of Nursing Home Resident

The license of a nurse from Staunton has been revoked by state officials for financial exploitation of a nursing-home resident in Maryville.

Documents from the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation said licensed practical nurse Lisa DeVries “exhibited multiple instances of unethical and professional activities.”

While working at Maryville Manor, now known as Liberty Village, DeVries accepted a $500 check from a resident and deposited the check into her personal account in December 2009, according to state documents.

DeVries was fired by Maryville Manor two months later, but never reported the termination to the state, the documents stated.

Full Article and Source:
Area Medical Professionals Disciplined by the State

U.S. OKs Increase in Nursing Home Tax to Bring in More Medicaid Money

Federal authorities have approved a nursing home bed tax that will allow Illinois to collect more than $100 million a year in new Medicaid money that officials say will be used to boost facility staffing levels and implement other safety reforms mandated by a landmark 2010 overhaul, the Tribune has learned.

Gov. Pat Quinn pushed hard for the tax as a way to hire more state inspectors and finance other reforms in Illinois' troubled long-term care system without dipping into the state's already-depleted coffers.

"This is positive news for people who live in a nursing home or have a loved one living in a nursing home," said a statement from Quinn. "It means that our nursing homes get the funds that they need to continue improving safety and the quality of services."

Still, the AARP and some leading advocates for the elderly and disabled raised concerns about the measure, arguing that it will provide a windfall for substandard, profit-making facilities while not doing enough to move thousands of younger mentally ill adults out of nursing homes and into community settings where they could get better care.

Because much of the bed tax will be returned to the nursing homes via the Medicaid program, which funds health care for the poor, facilities with fewer indigent patients will recoup less money. Illinois' nonprofit nursing homes, which generally serve small numbers of Medicaid clients, argue that the tax will penalize them unfairly.

"It is a bad plan for good homes and a good plan for bad homes," said Kirk Riva, vice president of public policy at the Life Services Network, the association of nonprofit facilities. "We think it's offensive."

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U.S. OKs Increase in Nursing Home Tax to Bring in More Medicaid Money