CBS news got an upclose and personal look at what takes place when a nurse, who is supposed to be taking care of elderly patients, causes unconscionable harm. Now, the NY attorney general is filing criminal charges against the nurse, Jessie Joiner, who worked at the William Benenson Rehabilitation Pavilion in Queens.
A camera had been placed to protect both patients and staff, and footage revealed that Joiner apparently jerked a wheelchair out from underneath an elderly woman, resulting in a broken hip.
This horrific incident took place after 9 p.m. in mid-March, as Joiner is captured on video tape pushing a medication cart along. Suddenly, the nurse abandons the cart and heads in the direction of the patient who is 85 years old and suffers from dementia, who is in a wheelchair. Joiner then proceeds to jerk the wheelchair sharply to the left, leaving the elderly woman to go flying to the ground.
In late May, Joiner hid from CBS 2 HD cameras following a court appearance.
In the video, Joiner is seen walking by the patient twice after the incident, as the patient lies flailing on the ground with a broken hip. Incredibly, two minutes later another employee appears at the seen, and it looks as though he is going to help; over one minute goes by before he is seen speaking to the patient. After three minutes have passed since the initial fall, Joiner is seen returning to the area where she finally calls for help.
Joiners attorney says that clearly the elderly woman was leaning over to get something, when Joiner saw her and ran to help – but it was an instant too late.
Unfortunately, our elderly loved ones often get treated in an inhumane way in nursing homes. The very facilities that are meant to protect and care for our loved ones are often the places where harm and neglect are inflicted.
If you suspect abuse or neglect of your loved one in a nursing home facility, contact a reputable New York nursing home abuse attorney. This kind of treatment is absolutely not acceptable, and those responsible for these types of horrors should pay.
