A nurse’s assistant is accused of using a pillow to silence a patient at a nursing home.
The 23-year-old aide was arrested Saturday on
suspicion of third-degree assault on an at-risk victim and misdemeanor
neglect of an at-risk victim. The arrest came after a staff member at
the nursing home reported allegations of abuse Friday
to the Police Department.
According to police records, a fellow nurse’s aide at the facility watched as the aide placed a pillow over the face of a female patient in order to
stop her screaming.
The woman has been a patient at the facility six years, is not
ambulatory and has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, the
affidavit said.
The patient repeated the same allegations to a police officer.
A co-worker there told the officer she was attending to another
patient across the hallway around 6 a.m. Thursday when she heard
yelling and screaming from a woman, and “[the aide] yelling at her
to shut up.” the affidavit said.
“A moment later the screams abruptly became muffled,” the affidavit said.
The co-worker said she saw a pillow covering the victim’s face.
The aide explained the woman was “(expletive) screaming in my ear, I
can’t take it,” the affidavit said.
When interviewed a second time by an officer, the patient alleged
the aide had shoved a white rag inside her mouth before covering her
face.
She claimed the aide had done similar things to her in the past. For more, read the story.
________________________________________________________________
Robert W. Carter, Jr. is a
Virginia attorney whose law practice is dedicated to protecting the
rights of the victims of nursing home and assisted living neglect and
abuse in Richmond, Roanoke, Norfolk, Lynchburg,
Danville, Charlottesville, and across Virginia.
