WSLS began investigating reports of a crime at Waddell Nursing and Rehab facility earlier this week, after they learned Galax police were investigating multiple nursing home abuse claims at the facility. Initially, nursing home administrators told the reporter that there was evidence some residents’ rights had been violated. The TV station later learned that those violations involved pornographic images of the residents taken without their knowledge.

Police also have arrested former nursing home worker Sharon Walker. Both women were charged with two counts of “knowingly and intentionally videotaping or photographing a nonconsenting person who was 18 years of age or older when such person was nude or in the state of undress without the person’s permission.”

Crisan told WSLS reporter Lindsey Ward that nursing home facility staff questioned her about the photo she took using her cell phone, of the man in her care. She says she showed the photo to nursing home staff and they deleted it, and she was sent back to work.

Crisan told the reporter, “I want people to know that I did nothing wrong.”

The case is currently under investigation by the Galax Police Department.

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › Crisan says innocent in case of nude photos of nursing home residents

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According to the WSLS report by Ashely Roberts, the Galax Police Chief says social services workers received an anonymous tip that led them to investigate the nursing home for what were described as pornographic images of residents.

Yesterday, 29-year-old Sharon Ann Walker was arrested on two counts of knowingly and intentionally videotaping or photographing a non-consenting person who was 18 years of age or older when such person was nude or in a state of undress without the person’s permission. Today, police announced a second arrest in the case, charging Livia Dawn Crisan of Galax with two identical counts. Crisan also was arrested Thursday.

Both women worked at the nursing home facility, and both were terminated.

WSLS reported nursing home administrator Jim Wooddell as saying no residents were physically abused, but did admit their rights were violated. He said the nursing home is cooperating with investigators.

In a bizarre twist, one of the arrested suspects, Livia Crisan, is a professional model with her own web site to promote her work, some of it scantily clad. In the police mug shot featured on the WSLS web site,  she is seen smiling.

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › Virginia women take nude photos of nursing home residents

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Last week, Cole’s family filed a federal wrongful-death lawsuit against the nursing home seeking more than $75,000 in damages.

Cole’s wife visited her husband daily and, noticing his weight loss, questioned nursing home staff about his eating habits. She was told he was fine, according to the story. However, a State Health Department investigation noted that staff had reported that Cole refused to eat or take medication and that he ate nothing at 15 out of 24 meals he was served during his first 20 days at the facility when he lost all the weight. A nutritional supplement was recommended by a dietary manager but the supplement was never ordered. A doctor was notified about Cole’s refusing of medications and food but there was never any mention of his dramatic weight loss, according to the report.

On Dec. 29, 2006, Cole was sent to the hospital. He was discharged to a different nursing home for hospice care on Jan. 10. He died on Jan. 21, 2007.

The investigation into the case found the home negligent in the care it provided Cole by “not preventing his dehydration, not maintaining his weight and not notifying his doctors of his dramatic weight loss,” according to the story.

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › Nursing home sued for wrongful death of man with dementia

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The employee is accused of calling residents names such as “crack head,” cursing at them, borrowing money from then and even selling food to them from her nearby apartment. She berated residents for sitting down for meals at the wrong time and was described by residents as “rude and loud.”

An investigation by state inspectors led to the firing of the allegedly abusive employee.

Unlike most assisted living residents, many of the residents of Caring and Sharing Home for Adults require state grants to cover living costs above and beyond what their social security covers. Not only are several residents considered poor, many suffer from mental disabilities, making them easy targets for abuse.

The state would not give an overall assessment on the status of the home and a representative from the facility refused to comment.

Steve Lambert with the social services division of licensing programs said the downsizing of the state’s mental health facilities has left more mentally ill people with fewer choices in treatment homes. “These residents are finding themselves in these facilities,” Lambert was quoted in the story, “and unfortunately they (the facilities) are probably less equipped to handle the range of disabilities, and they don’t have sufficient financial resources to meet these needs.”

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › Assisted living employee fired for verbal abuse

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Many nursing homes who care for patients with Alzheimer’s have practices in place to ensure patients who wander stay within the nursing home wing where they live. But few practices are foolproof.

Late last month, King wandered from his nursing home. That evening around 8 p.m., staff noticed he was missing and notified police. After hours of searching for the 73-year-old man, police got a report of a pedestrian hit and killed by a CSX train. It was King.

“This happens daily,” said Jane Marks with the West Virginia Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association. “Unfortunately this situation was more dramatic and had a sad ending, but it does happen constantly.” Marks was quoted last month in The Charleston Gazette.

This morning, the newspaper reported that King’s children have now filed suit against Heartland of Charleston nursing home for wrongful death.

“George King Sr. could not care for himself or be allowed to walk outside the facility and the staff of the facility at Heartland of Charleston was aware of this fact,” the paper quotes the lawsuit.

The lawsuit contends that the staff of Heartland of Charleston failed to keep King secure and failed to utilize available resources to locate him. It also claims that staff did not immediately discover that King was missing nor did they properly use outdoor surveillance cameras to determine which direction he went when he left the nursing home. The lawsuit seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › Man wanders from nursing home, killed by passing train

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But as Catherine moved into her sunset years at the Lutheran Towers facility in Georgia, she had one regret she just couldn’t shake. She always wanted to graduate from Emory.

National nonprofit organization Second Wind Dreams got word of Catherine’s desire, dressed her in a cap and gown, and presented her with the distinction of being a member of Emory University’s Class of 1028.

For more than a decade, Atlanta, Ga.-based Second Wind Dreams has been enriching the lives of seniors by granting wishes. Many of these residents live in nursing homes or assisted living facilities. To date, more than 235 facilities in 40 states, Canada and even India have see wishes granted by Second Wind Dreams.

The organization focuses on individuals living in long-term care facilities or in hospice care. Many of these individuals are without family support or financial resources. Dreams come in the form of motorcycle rides, bowling games, special first dates, and camel rides.

Eighty-six-year-old Virginia from West Virginia, dreamed of conducting a symphony orchestra. Second Wind Dreams arranged for her to take the podium at the West Virginia Symphony.

At a time when more than 90 percent of our nation’s nursing homes are cited for federal health and safety violations, it is rewarding to see an organization dedicated to making the lives of the elderly happy. A dream come true for one person, can warm the lives of many. As witnessed by Second Wind Dreams: “Long after a dream has been fulfilled, the effects linger, giving all involved a second wind.”

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › Second Wind makes seniors’ dreams come true

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