Nursing Home Resident Abuse Leads to Termination of Facility Top Officials
Top officials at Regency at the Park, a skilled nursing facility located in College Place, Washington, have been terminated after the state Department of Social and Health Services determined that the facility caused a resident harm.
Reportedly, the resident suffered mental and physical abuse in the summer of 2009. The resident was admitted to the facility in 2000 and suffered from short and long-term memory impairments, poor decision-making abilities, and was resistant to care. In early June 2009, the resident began refusing to change her clothes or shower and according to a state report, her body odor "had become very offensive".
On July 24, facility administration revoked the woman's smoking privileges for refusing to shower or change her clothes and took her ashtrays from the smoking area. Staff told her that being allowed to smoke was a courtesy and she would not get her cigarettes until she complied. She was also told that the Administrator would not allow her to purchase cigarettes with her own money. The resident continued to smoke and a fire was found in a trash can on August 29 in the area where she was allowed to smoke, putting all facility residents in danger.
When the resident continued to refuse to shower, Administrator Larry White pushed the resident in her wheelchair to the shower area and ordered Director of Nursing Mary Coates for have two aides shower the resident. The resident reportedly struggled against the aides and suffered superficial injuries. She was injured twice more when forced to shower in August. The facility where residents live is considered their home and staff is "working for them", according to a representative for the state ombudsman program. Therefore, forcing someone to shower is considered abuse.
The ensuing investigation found that the resident had suffered abuse at the hands of Administrator Larry White and Director of Nursing Mary Coates and they were terminated from their positions. Additionally, the facility was issued a citation.
The Terry Law Firm is experienced in handling cases of nursing home abuse and neglect. Please contact us at (888) 317-2525 or visit us on our website at www.nursinghomejustice.com.
