• 21
  • February
    2012

Most people in the Cleveland area who live in a nursing home or have a loved one who does know that working as a nursing assistant is a difficult job. Working at a nursing home facility typically involves long hours and physical effort caring for residents' personal needs, which can be stressful and tedious work. However, there is no excuse for employees teasing or abusing the residents as a form of "entertainment."

News reports from another state provide an example of the consequences of nursing home workers treating the residents in their care as if they are toys. Five former employees of a nursing home have been fired after three of them allegedly sprayed water on a female resident.

A report by federal investigator reveals an ugly picture of a defenseless woman who suffers from dementia being victimized by the three nursing aides for their own amusement. The women used a syringe to spray tap water onto the ceiling and light fixture in the resident's room. The water dripped onto the patient as she slept, causing her to believe that her spouse was urinating on her. The three later grew more aggressive, spraying the woman with water from ice coolers and a toilet.

An attorney for the nursing home said that the three nursing aides were fired after facility officials found out about the incidents. Two other nursing aides who did not participate in the prank were nonetheless fired for providing false information during the investigation into the incident.

However, the firings do not appear to have ended the matter. The federal report found that the nursing home failed to stop and report the allegations in a timely manner, leading the state health department to suspend new admissions.

Source: The Tennessean, "TBI probing nursing home, patient abuse," Feb. 15, 2012