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

“Wished we had touched more”

Gamini Wickramatilake, a massage therapist from Herndon, went too far with a patient, the board of nursing ruled in September.

This gets a little graphic, so fair warning:

Wickramatilake was employed with Salon Cielo and Spa in Arlington. In February, according to the order, Wickramatilake placed his erect penis into a client’s hand on several occasions. He also moved this woman’s underwear, touched her inappropriately in the groin area and touched her butt and breasts.

Wickramatilake, according to the order, later told the client that “he was turned on” and that he “wished they had touched more.”

Nurse takes drug patch off patients

We’ve documented many cases of nurses, doctors and other health professionals taking drugs from their job and using them for personal reasons.

This case is a little different in that Mary Brewer, a nurse at Holly Manor Nursing Home in Lynchburg, not only diverted drugs, but she diverted them from the bodies of her patients, according to an order filed with the Virginia Board of Nursing.

Brewer, in Nov. ‘05, took fentanyl patches from the bodies of at least three patients for her own use, depriving those patients of their pain medicine. The patches are sticky and applied directly to the skin to help relieve pain.

Brewer, according to the order, also falsified documents that she had given a urine sample, when she had not. She forged the signature of a co-worker as a false witness.

The order says that Brewer’s license has been suspended, but under a list of case decisions, her license is shown as revoked.

Nurse suspended over assault of police officer

Joann D. Royal, a registered nurse in Hampton, saw her license suspended by the Virginia Board of Nursing Sept. 27.

Royal was convited in February 2006 of felony assault and battery of a police officer and sentenced to a year in prison. The details of the case were not available in the consent order or the attached court records.

It is not clear if Royal continued to practice nursing once she got out of jail.

“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.

Nurses take drugs, too

During her employment at Carrington Place of Tappahannock nurse Mollie Murphy took drugs from patient supplies for her own use.

Murphy, in just about two months, took narcotic pain medications such as hydrocodone and oxycodone. Murphy was convicted of two misdemeanor counts of possession of controlled substances in Essex County.

In 2004, Murphy took drugs from Ruxton Health of Williamsburg by “fabricating physician orders to discontinue the medications, documenting destruction of the falsely discontinued drugs, and then retaining the drugs herself.”

The board suspended her license in September. Murphy can apply for reinstatement, but the order does not say for how long she must be suspended first.

Bomb!

James Borror, a nurse in Stephens City, got in trouble with the board for crying wolf a few too many times.

Borror made atleast two telephone calls to Heritage Hall facilities advising staff that there was a bomb in the building. Borror did so to test his employees’ knowledge of what to do in case there really was a bomb threat. He was suspended from work for three days.

Then in March ‘05, Borror was fired for other unprofessional conduct (not specified in the consent order.)

Borror told the board he did not understand the seriousness of his actions.

Borror was reprimanded by the board more than two years later this past August. He has to take two online classes in critical thinking skills and ethics.

If you’re interested in what to do in case of workplace threats, check this out.

Getting high before the shift starts

Would you get high before going to work to take care of a muscular dystrophy patient who is ventilator-dependent and had a tracheostomy?

Lisha Grier did just that while she was employed at Maxim Healthcare Services in VA Beach in Dec. ‘06. Her license was revoked by the board in June.

A year earlier she was a no show at work for a few days and told no one of her whereabouts.

This is not the first time Grier has been in trouble with the board.

Her license was suspended in 2002 after she was found sleeping on a sofa with a blanket when she was supposed to be taking care of a four month old child with arthrogryposis, which causes limited joint movement in children.

In 1999, Grier was reprimanded for falling asleep yet again while caring for a 23-month-old child during a night shift. The child was found gasping for air by the mother. Grier was taken off the night shift.

Grier also failed to show up for some of her board hearings because she said she was in an abusive relationship at the time.

Check out this article on an employee getting high while at work from First Coast News in Florida.

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.