New York Nursing Home CNAs Terminated After Compromising Residents
Two New York Certified Nursing Assistants have been fired from their jobs at Northgate Health Care Facility after compromising residents under their care.
Alicia Clemens and Gloria Maxwell reportedly cared for a married couple who shared a room at the facility. According to a state health department report, the women brought a wheelchair-bound woman into the married couple's room and placed her in bed between the couple and tried to get the husband to inappropriately touch the woman. The husband, who is legally blind and suffers from dementia, touched the woman on the shoulder, who immediately told him to stop. Clemens reportedly took cell phone photographs of the couple in bed.
Clemens and Maxwell were fired after the April 14, 2010 incident. A third nursing assistant, Heather Whitcomb, and a certified nursing assistant trainee, Jaclyn Cannon, were also fired. Whitcomb and Cannon saw the abuse occurring and failed to report it to their supervisors.
Elderly nursing home residents are easy targets for sexual predators since they often are unable, due to physical or mental impairments, to ward off a sexual attack. Sadly, their impairments often prevent them from even reporting a sexual assault. Families with loved ones in nursing home facilities need to be aware that sexual assault does occur in nursing homes and should be prepared for both prevention and detection of sexual assault. If you have a family member or loved one in a nursing home facility, protect your loved one by:
• visiting your loved one at different times, including occasional visits in the middle of the night. Don't be predictable. Most sexual assaults occur at night.
• opening the door to your family member's room if it is closed when it shouldn't be; don't be afraid to "barge in".
• knowing the name and habits of all employees with access to your loved one.
• watching for evidence of other residents who may be sexually inappropriate.
• talking to the facility administrator about whether proper criminal background checks were accomplished on all staff members.
Illinois Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Attorney David Terry is experienced in handling cases of nursing home sexual abuse. If you suspect that a family member or loved one in a nursing home facility may be the victim of sexual abuse at the hands of a facility staff member, contact David Terry for a FREE no-obligation consultation at 1-888-317-2525 or 314-878-9797.
To obtain a FREE copy David Terry's book, 5 Things You Must Know About Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect in Illinois, click here.
