We expect the staff of nursing homes to have patience and a love of humanity, or at least, we hope that they are decent people. However, many staff members lack the kind of mentality that it takes to care for elderly patients, many of whom may have conditions that cause behavioral problems. Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease often come with these kinds of problems, and it takes a special kind of person to patiently deal with residents who suffer from these ailments. The last thing family members want is to hear that a loved one was abused by a staff member at a nursing home. New Castle News reports on a nursing home aide who was sentenced to house arrest after being convicted of the harassment of several patients.
Ashley N. Wilcox had worked for 10 months at Golden Hill Nursing and Rehabilitation.
Co-workers reported allegations of harassment to supervisors at Golden Hill concerning Wilcox’s treatment of several patients. Those allegations were subsequently reported to the police. Wilcox was terminated in May 2016.
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Among other allegations, Wilcox was accused of placing a sock in one patient’s mouth, then held her hand over the female patient’s mouth. She then yelled at the patient to shut up. Another staff member had to push Wilcox away from the patient to end the altercation.
Wilcox also pinched a male patient’s nipples while pulling his shirt around his neck and mouth to the point that he could not breathe. The man held on to Wilcox’s arm while she screamed at him.
In another incident, Wilcox covered a woman’s mouth after approaching her from behind. She allegedly pulled the resident’s head back and laughed.
Co-workers also reported other incidents regarding Wilcox’s treatment of patients.
In a trial, Wilcox pleaded guilty to harassment and was placed on house arrest for 30 days with an additional 8 months of probation.
After looking into the incident, the Pennsylvania Department of Health along with the Nurse’s Aide Registry now prohibit Wilcox from working in any long-term care facility in the state.
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