Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C.

Thelma Bryant, a 94-year-old woman at Kane Glen Hazel nursing home in Pittsburgh, Pa., was hit in the head, struck in the chest with an elbow, had oranges thrown at her, had her feet stomped, and was cussed at by center employees who were charged with providing her care, according to MSNBC.

Kane Glen Hazel, located in Pittsburgh’s Glen Hazel neighborhood, is run by Kane Regional Hospital. An investigation into the alleged incidents there resulted in the firing of five employees, and charges of aggravated assault and neglect of a care dependant have been filed against the suspects.

The investigation began in October, spurred by concerns from other employees. Officials relied on testimony from coworkers who had witnessed the abuse on several occasions from the five different former employees. Danielle Taylor, Shelly Keene and Karen Perry were charged with aggravated assault. Shalaya Hatten was charged with simple assault and neglect of a care dependent person. Mary Ann Bower was charged with summary harassment. She is the licensed practical nurse in charge of the nursing aides. She reportedly was seen throwing objects at Bryant and pouring water over her head.

Arrests were made in late November. Preliminary hearings have been scheduled for Jan. 5 for all but one of the suspects. No hearing has yet been set for Bower.

There is no explanation why Bryant was singled out for the abuse. Allegheny County executive Dan Onorato released a statement about the horrendous incident: “The care and safety of the residents is of paramount importance. I am incensed by the alleged actions of these five individuals. … We will absolutely not tolerate any level of disrespect, neglect or mistreatment of Kane Center residents.”

This entry was posted on Monday, December 29th, 2008 at 8:30 am and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.