Two Colorado nursing home employees have been arrested on charges of abusing an at-risk adult at the facility.
Patience Jackson, 33, was taken into custody on Wednesday, while Zainab Namale surrendered herself on Thursday. They are facing charges of criminal negligence, offenses against a vulnerable person, and complicity, as reported by KUSA.
An investigator was summoned on May 9 following the admission of a 92-year-old woman with dementia to Sky Ridge Medical Center. The woman had been transferred from Orchard Park Health Care Center with two fractures in her lower leg.
According to an affidavit, hospital staff noted discrepancies between the injuries observed and the account provided by Orchard Park. The initial report claimed the woman was discovered in her wheelchair, crying for help and in considerable pain, without anyone witnessing her fall or knowing what had occurred.
Another nurse said that she believed the injury may have happened because the patient tended to “plant her feet” when she was being moved from her wheelchair to her bed, causing a twisting motion.
But hospital employees said the injuries were not caused by a any twisting motion. The surgeon who repaired the damage said the two breaks were clean breaks which could not have happened in that manner.
Jackson and Namale told investigators that the woman was sitting in the wheelchair when the injuries happend. They said that she was holding the bed’s remote and moved it onto her legs, causing the break. But hospital staff said that wasn’t possible.
Investigators determined that Jackson, a certified nursing assistant, and Namale, a licensed practical nurse, weren’t likely telling the truth and charged them.
