Nursing home abuse

Working as a nurse or nurse aid in a nursing or private home is a stressful and often thankless job.

Unfortunately, the evidence of abuse against residents in such care is plentiful.

Two nurses recently had their licenses revoked by the board of nursing for incidences of abuse against patients:

Over the past few years, Sarah Green was both verbally and physically abusive to residents in nursing homes throughout South Boston.

Green allegedly grabbed the arms of several residents and threw a wet wash cloth at another. Green denied all instances of abuse. Nonetheless, her license was yanked by the board in mid-October.

Brandy Fiddemon of Parksely, according to the consent order, was also aggressive with patients. The order also says she spit in another patient’s glass of water and tried to put wet linens back on the bed of other residents. She was fired form one job after a resident was found in their room, soaked in urine.

Fiddemon denied all allegations, but still had her license revoked by the board Oct. 1

Without a license

Katrina Cross, a nurse aide in Virginia Beach, practiced medicine without a license for three months at Direct Home Health Care in Portsmouth. Her license was revoked by the board, according to the consent order.

Cross had a license that expired in Dec. ‘04, but forged an expiration date of Dec. ‘07 when she applied at Direct Home. Cross also wrote “CNA” after her name in conjunction with employment at Personal-Touch Home Care, also in Portsmith.

“if you put your light on again, you won’t be getting up at all.”

Patryce Ryland, a nurse aide in Newport News, has her license yanked by the board following several years of poor care giving.

According to an order filed with the board,  in ‘03, Ryland left a patient soiled for 12 hours during a night shift. She was fired from Lake Taylor Transitional Care Hospital after the incident.

A year later, at Norfolk Health Care, Ryland documented vital signs that she had not actually taken. The patient was subsequently taken to the E.R. for respiratory distress, the order says.

In ‘06 during her employment with Sentara, Ryland left a patient wet in bed for 5 hours. Ryland also left another patient, who was tugging on the nurse call light for help getting up, without care for 6 hours. She told the patient, “if you put your light on again, you won’t be getting up at all.”

She was eventually fired from Sentara.

“If you puke again, you’ll have to eat it.”

Faye Clark, a nurse aide at Heritage Hill in Big Stone Gap, had her license revoked in August after the board found her guilty of abusing and neglecting nursing home patients.

The consent order says that between Jan. ‘02 and July ‘06 Clark did the following:

a.) was very “negative and snappy” to a resident and told her “not to start her damn shit.”

b.) was “hateful” and “rough” when moving a resident to a wheelchair.

c.) when asked to take a resident to the bathroom she said, “We’ll get there when we get there; we are not stopping.”

d.) told a resident who had just vomited, “If you puke again, you’ll have to eat it.”

At an informal conference with the board, Clark denied any instances of abuse. She was fired from Heritage Hill in July ‘06.

Fend for yourself

Sandy Potter, a nurse aid at Franklin Healthcare Center in Rocky Mount, clocked out at 4 a.m. during his night shift one day in June last year.

Potter left a resident, who was in his total care, naked and covered in feces in an unmade bed.

Potter was reprimanded and a finding of neglect was entered against him.

Regina Lane, a nurse aide Wytheville, left for lunch during her 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at 11:42 a.m. and never returned. By doing so, Lane abandoned the ten residents that were under her care.

Lane was fired from the Edgemont Center and in early August was reprimanded by the board.

Forcing it down

A nurse in Pearisburg had her license revoked in June.

Valerie Sylvester worked at Riverview Nursing Home in Rich Creek. In Oct. ‘05, Sylvester provided care to a resident with “profound mental retardation and cerebral palsy,” the order reads. Sylvester physically restrained the patient several times during her shift, forcing the the patient to drink and take her medicine.  Sylvester advised that other nurse aides use a similar technique in getting the resident to take her meds.

The patient started vomiting and had to be taken to the E.R. at Carillion Giles Memorial Hospital.  Sylvester resigned before she was fired.  Her license was revoked two years later?

This is not excusable. But I do question the differences in punishment for varying violations. How does this chalk up to others?

CNA admits to drug abuse

Eboni Levere’s license was revoked earlier this month when she admitted to using cocaine and tested positive for marijuana. Levere also went to work with the smell of alcohol on her breath.

In May, during a drug screen to work at Carriage Hill Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Fredericksburg, Levere, CNA, tested positive for marijuana. In Jan. ‘07 she admitted to using cocaine. Levere has a history of clinical depression that requires medication, the consent order says.

The consent order also says that while working at Visiting Angels in Fredericksburg, Levere was responsible for the care of a 61-year-old quadriplegic who was totally depended on others for daily living. In October 2006 she came to work with the smell of alcohol on her breath. Later that same month, Levere didn’t show up for work and informed no one of her absence. She was fired.

Broken ankle

Bevette Gardner, from Salem, was fired in January 2006 from the Richfield Recovery and Care Center when she tried to transport a patient without taking the necessary precautions. As a result of the transfer, the patient broke her ankle. Gardner also failed to perform a proper assessment before returning the patient to her bed, documents said.

Then, Gardner filed a false statement about the incident.

Gardner was reprimanded by the board in June and is not allowed to practice in a long-term care facility that utilizes Medicaid or Medicare for at least one year after being charged with neglect.

This is the only time Gardner has been sanctioned by the board. There is no information in the consent order about the state of the patient, whether she was young or old, or even susceptible to broken bones. Often times, in cases like this, nurse aides are left alone to monitor a dozen or so patients, many of whom are mentally ill and fragile.

Sexual abuse and mental illness

Sheilah Hernandez, a nurse aide at the Beth Sholom Home in Richmond, was charged with touching the vaginal area of a patient who recently had a stroke and was aphasic – the patient couldn’t speak as a result of brain damage.

Hernandez has anxiety and depression but doesn’t take her meds.

That was obvious at a meeting of the board when Hernandez “made suicidal comments, pounded a table, threw objects, screamed, cried, crawled under a table, and attempted to cut her wrist,” the notice from the board said. Hernandez was taken to a hospital after the incident. She has been hospitalized at least three times for suicidal “thoughts or actions.”

The consent order only says that Hernandez’s license was suspended, but a full meeting of the board is scheduled for September, the notice said. The notice, which was issued the same day as the consent order and lists the findings of fact, also noted that if found guilty, Hernandez will be banned from working in any long term nursing facility that receives Medicaid or Medicare reimbursement.

I searched the Richmond court case database for anything on her, but found nothing… I’m going to keep track of this one, so be on the look out for updates in a few months.