Readers of the blog may recall a story about the shocking abuse that took place at the home of one 98-year-old patient’s own California home in 2011. Two male nurses who were hired to care for the bedridden elderly lady instead performed shockingly lewd acts in her presence and possibly on the woman herself, as she sat helpless to retaliate or communicate the horrible abuse she was forced to endure.
The two men, both aged 41, had worked as nursing home staff and in other managed care facilities before being hired as in-home nurses for the woman. Fortunately, this was the last chance they would ever have to abuse or neglect a helpless patient, as hidden cameras caught the two men on tape performing acts of a sexual nature on a nearly daily basis for two weeks back in 2011.
Now the California Attorney General has accepted the plea agreements of both men, who also will have to relinquish their nursing licenses, which effectively bars them from ever working in the field again. Stopping these two men from performing further acts of nursing home neglect is certainly a good thing, but it may not quell the outrage of those who want to see these men serve jail time and send a powerful message to other would-be abusers in nursing home staffs across the state.
There was something of a silver lining for the family of the victim, who received a $1 million settlement in the civil claim brought against the men and their employer. As this case illustrates, nursing homes and other care providers are required to provide their patients with a reasonable standard of care, and those that fail to do so may be help liable, punished and ordered to compensate their victims accordingly.
Source: San Diego 6 News, “AG REACHES DEAL WITH SECOND NURSE ACCUSED OF LEWD ACTS,” Derek Staahl, June 4, 2013
