The Imperfect Caregiver

Instead of receiving care she was confined to a mental ward for three days!
The idea that this woman was treated with such callous disregard is shocking. While I was an in home caregiver, not every family has that option. The elderly are in nursing homes to be cared for and protected.

The following was written by  Melissa Roman, February 27, 2014 and appears on  the AgingCare.com website. Click on the link for the Minneapolis Star Tribune to read more.

Elderly rape victim called ‘flirt’

A Minnesota nursing home defends the admitted and convicted rapist of an 89-year-old female resident by accusing her of being a “flirt,” reports the Minneapolis Star Tribune. According to court documents, the offender, a male nursing assistant employed by the facility, entered the woman’s room to give her medications while she was getting ready for bed and forced himself on her. After the victim’s daughter told police what had happened, the nursing home transferred the older woman to a psychiatric ward for three days, allowing five days to pass before she received a medical examination. The nursing assistant was sentenced to 53 months in prison and ordered to register as a sex offender for 10 years. The official Health Department investigation into the incident concluded that the blame rested with the male employee, not the nursing home, but the victim and her family have since sued the facility for punitive damages.