This story makes one wonder what would happen if a hidden camera sting was done in every nursing home. The attorney general of New York placed a hidden camera in a single room of a long-term care facility, which resulted in an indictment against nine nurses, the nursing home, for a whopping 169 separate crimes.
The indictment filed in the case alleges 57 instances of neglect during a three-month period in 2009. With the family’s permission, a hidden camera was placed in the room of a 53-year-old resident who suffers from multiple sclerosis and other mental and physical illnesses. The video revealed that the nurses failed, on several occasions, to turn the patient regularly as required, failed to medicate as needed, treat his pressure ulcers, or even change the resident’s clothing. Of course, in the medical chart, these nurses stated that all this care had been provided. The fraudulent medical charting resulted in further criminal charges.
In interesting footnote to the story, when the alleged abuse revealed, several people came to The Record newspaper to tell their stories of abuse or neglect inside the facility, including unanswered call lights and untreated infections and bed sores.