Pennsylvania Nursing Home Employees Face Trial in Abuse Case - UPDATE
We discussed the physical abuse of an elderly resident at Kane Regional Center's Glen Hazel facility in previous blogs. Originally, five employees of the Glen Hazel facility, including a nursing supervisor, were arrested for the physical abuse of Thelma Bryant, an elderly Alzheimer's resident. Mary Ann Bower, the facility nursing supervisor, has been charged with harassment for throwing objects at Ms. Bryant and pouring water on her head. She is currently awaiting her preliminary hearing. Three of her four nursing assistants, Shelly Keene, Karen Perry, and Shalaya Hatten, are accused of assaulting Ms. Bryant by elbowing her in the chest, punching her in the eye, stomping on her feet, and throwing whole oranges at her face. Keen, Perry, and Hatten were held at a preliminary hearing and will stand trial on the abuse charges. Charges against Danielle Taylor were dropped for lack of evidence.
Allegedly, one of the accused abusers, Shalaya Hatten, previously pled guilty to two harassment charges stemming from two separate incidents when she worked for Allegheny County. Hatten was charged with misdemeanor simple assault in 2003 and felony aggravated assault in 2005. She pled guilty to lesser harassment charges in both incidents. More information concerning the incidents was not readily available. Hatten is accused of elbowing and swearing at the Alzheimer's patient. According to one witness, she cursed at Ms. Bryant and then put her elbow into Ms. Bryant's chest and pushed hard for up to a minute. The witness alleges that this happened at least twice.
All have been fired.
