Nine Nurses Arrested in New York Nursing Home Abuse Case
Nine nurses at a Troy, New York, nursing home face 175 counts of failing to properly care for an incapacitated patient and falsifying records to conceal their alleged nursing home abuse.
October 14, 2010
Nine nurses at a Troy, New York, nursing home face 175 counts of failing to properly care for an incapacitated patient and falsifying records to conceal their alleged nursing home abuse .The North Country Gazette reports that the nine worked at the Northwoods Rehabilitation and Extended Care Facility in Troy. Each faces charges of endangering the welfare of an incompetent or physically disabled person, willful violation of health laws, and falsification of business records.
The nine new indictments bring the total in the nursing home abuse scandal to 14. Five previous defendants have already pled guilty to similar charges.
Bed Sores and Other Abuses
The attorney general's office says the defendants failed to treat a 53-year-old patient's bed sores and failed to administer needed medications. They also failed to check the disabled patient for incontinence; neglecting, too, to change the person's undergarments for extended periods.
The hidden-camera investigation at the facility began last year after a certified nurse's aide was charged with sexual abuse of a 78-year-old female resident.
At the time of the arrest, the defendant was already facing sexual abuse charges related to an incident at the Eddy Ford Nursing Home in Cohoes, where he had previously worked.
Defendant Robert Gundersen faced felony and misdemeanor sexual abuse charges in the Northwoods case.
Guilty of Abuse
Gundersen pleaded guilty to first-degree sexual abuse and was sentenced to 10 years of probation; he was also banned from working at nursing home facilities.
Many critics of sex crimes sentencing say people convicted of sexual abuse too often walk away from court with no more than probation. And victims of abuse silenced by disabilities can go unnoticed by the criminal justice system.
Families of victims can take the fight for justice to civil court, however, to pursue claims against nursing homes, nursing home employees, and others complicit in nursing home abuse. For a confidential evaluation of a case of nursing home abuse involving a family member, contact a New York nursing home abuse attorney .
Article provided by The Perecman Firm, P.L.L.C.
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