Shocking camera footage at a west Cleveland nursing home has resulted in an investigation at the facility. Steve Piskor, whose 78-year-old mother lives in the home, placed the hidden camera after he suspected abuse.
Piskor complained months ago when he found an unexplained red mark on her face and she raised her hands defensively as he approached. Piskor reports that the operator of the home, MetroHealth, a prominent health service provider in Cleveland, “said I was taking things out of context and taking it too far… they made me out to be the trouble maker, the complainer, the bad guy… The administrator at one point told me accidents happened and mistakes are made.”
The video shows a nurse’s aide striking the patient’s face, violently throwing the patient into her bed and wheelchair, and pushing the patient’s face into the wall.
Other clips show a different nurse’s aide striking the patient as a fellow employee looks on without intervention.
Two nurse’s aides have already been fired for inappropriate care and a third was disciplined for failing to report the abuse. Virgen Caraballo, one of the nurses from the video, was charged with felony assault and Cleveland police continue to investigate the other aides.
Piskor asks the question we all are: “She’s abusing my mother, how many other people is she abusing? What is she doing?”
This story reminds us of the pervasiveness of elder abuse, and that we need to continue to hold the abusers accountable.
Read the full text of the article here.
If you believe that a loved one has suffered abuse at a nursing home or other care facility that promise to care for vulnerable adults, take action now and contact the Kosieradzki Smith Law Firm online or call us toll free at (877) 552 2873 to set up a FREE INITIAL CONSULTATION.
