People in San Diego may have heard about a chilling case of nursing home abuse last month involving a male nurse’s aide in the town of Broomfield, Colorado, who allegedly sexually assaulted two female patients. The story made national news and sparked a public outrage at the fact that this particular employee was allowed to continue to work at the nursing home even after the first report had been filed.
The suspect, a 41-year-old man, was accused of sexually assaulting a 59-year-old woman as she laid in her own bed at the Broomfield Skilled Nursing facility back in July of this year. The incident was reported to police, but officials at the facility told police the victim had a history of confusion and impaired mental state and believed the report was inaccurate. Officials at the facility even allowed the man to continue to work during the pending investigation, a move they would soon live to regret when a second victim came forward after an incident on August 15th, just a month later. The second nursing home abuse victim, a 73-year-old woman, claimed she was also sexually assaulted.
Now the man has been arrested and faces serious criminal charges. Officials at the nursing home are also in potential hot water for allowing this man to continue to work even after these horrible reports of sexual abuse came to light. Nursing home officials are responsible for the quality of care their nursing home staff provides, and it is their duty to offer patients with a safe and comfortable environment where they can enjoy a reasonable standard of care.
In this instance, allowing a potential abuser to continue to work is unfathomable, and the patients could potentially bring a lawsuit against the abuser himself as well as the facility that jeopardized their safety by allowing him to commit his heinous acts a second time.
Source: CBS 4 “Nurses Aide Charged With Sex Assault On Nursing Home Patients,” August 21, 2013
