by Bill Atkinson
COLONIAL HEIGHTS – The night nurse who prosecutors said was “the last hands” on a nursing-home patient before she became ill and died
was granted bond Tuesday morning and told to stay away completely from
nursing care, the nursing home or any of the other 17 defendants in the
case.
Shakima Freeman Brewer, of Richmond, is
one of four defendants jailed on the most serious of all charges, abuse
of a vulnerable adult resulting in death, and the second of them to be
granted bond. General District Judge Matthew Nelson set the unsecured
bond at $5,000 and ordered Brewer to take part in pre-trial services
including alcohol and drug screening.
As of
publication time, online court records indicated Brewer had not yet been
released from Riverside Regional Jail in Prince George County. She was
not physically in court but took part in the hearing via teleconference
from the jail.
The victim was a 74-year-old resident of Colonial Heights Rehabilitation
& Nursing Center who suffered from cerebral palsy and diabetes. In
late September, she was taken to Bon Secours Southside Medical Center in
Petersburg with necrotic pressure ulcers – also known as bedsores –
around her vaginal area that doctors determined were caused by prolonged
exposure to urine and feces that the center staff failed to clean. In
October, she died of sepsis due to the bedsores.
After an investigation, Colonial Heights Police,
joined by the state’s Elder Abuse Task Force, raided the Ellerslie
Avenue facility on Dec. 18. Eighteen people, including the center’s
director, the head of nursing and another care provider, were arrested
on various charges of abuse, neglect, falsifying records and obstructing
the legal process.
Prosecutor: Brewer covered up condition
In
court Tuesday morning, deputy commonwealth’s attorney Noelle Nochisaki
told the judge that Brewer was the last nurse to tend to the victim
before she was taken to the hospital. “She was the last hands on the
case,” she said.
That night, the victim was unresponsive and
lethargic, yet Brewer told the nurse who relieved her that “she is doing
great,” and there were no issues.
“Then the
day nurse came in and saw something was wrong,” Nochisaki said. At that
point, the woman was taken to SMC where the bedsores were detected. She
later underwent surgery to remove most of her vagina.
Nochisaki said the victim’s wounds were so
grotesque that “doctors first thought it was violent sexual assault due
to the trauma and bruising of the area.”
Nochisaki
said that because of her cerebral palsy, the victim was unable to move
herself and was supposed to be lifted from her bed to a chair by a
special machine. However, an investigation found that the machine was
never used, and the only time the victim was removed from her bed, it
was done by two orderlies who broke her foot in the process.
After the surgery, the victim was put into
home-hospice care, something Nochisaki said would not have been needed
“had it not been for these wounds.”
In
addition to the abuse – a felony – Brewer was charged with five counts
of falsifying patient records. Nochisaki said those records were
falsified to cover up the repeated neglect.
“She ignored it,” Nochisaki told Nelson, adding
that the stench from the affected area was “overwhelming” and easily
recognized.
A previous felony conviction
In
making the case for her bond, defense attorney Edward Nickel noted that
Brewer had a previous felony conviction on her record – driving under
the influence in 2016 – but she adhered to all conditions surrounding
that conviction and had not been arrested until Dec. 18 at the nursing
home.
Nickel also said there was “some dispute
over what her specific role was” in the care of the victim. Since
overnight staff is smaller than a regular day shift, Brewer was often
responsible for as many as 60 patients at a time.
The
defense counsel did not question the severity of the allegations. But
Nickel said circumstances in this case were different because “they did
not reflect any specific violence.”
Nickel
said Brewer was not a flight risk and added she intended to remain at
her Richmond home with her two sons, ages 22 and 14.
Brewer’s mother, father, and oldest son sat silently in the courtroom during the 20-minute hearing.
Two more remain jailed
When
Brewer is released, that will make Shawanda Jeter, the center’s
director, and Danielle Cline Harris, another nurse at the center, the
only two defendants remaining in custody. Kamesha Michelle Kittrell, a
nursing supervisor at the center, was granted bond Dec. 30.
The
remaining 14 defendants were all released on bond or recognizance on
charges of either falsifying records or obstructing the legal process.
Every defendant is due back in court March 26 for preliminary hearings.
Full Article & Source:
Night nurse granted bond in elder-abuse death case; prosecutor said condition 'ignored'
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Colonial Heights
