According to recent reports from the South Bend Tribune, a Michigan City nursing home certified nursing assistant has been charged with voyeurism, which is a felony, and distribution of obscene material.
The charges stem from an incident at Aperion Care Arbors in Michigan City, where a nurse aide allegedly videotaped an 85-year old dementia patient in her care while the female patient was taking a shower. According to the report, the nurse aide then posted the video to social media. Court documents allege that the nurse aide filmed the woman sitting on a shower chair while staff members sprayed her with water. The video was then uploaded to Snapchat, a social media sharing application says the report. The court documents detail how on the video the nurse aide can be heard calling the female patient “crazy” and commenting that “she doesn’t like taking showers”.
According to the Indiana State Department of Health website, the Arbors at Michigan City is owned by Major Hospital, located in Shelbyville, Indiana.
Unfortunately, this type of horrific behavior is not an isolated event within Indiana’s nursing home industry. Last year, a former employee of the Waters of Scottsburg nursing home was charged with the felon of voyeurism involving a nursing home patient after the female employee allegedly took a naked photograph of a nursing home patient’s back, buttocks, and legs and shared the photograph with others on social media. Both State and Federal law guarantee patients certain rights. These rights include:
- ● the right to be treated with respect and dignity in recognition of your individuality and preferences;
- ● the right to privacy in one’s room and during bathing, medical treatment, and personal care; and,
- ● the right to be free from verbal, physical, sexual, and mental abuse; corporal punishment; neglect; and involuntary seclusion.
WANTED: INFORMATION ABOUT ARBORS AT MICHIGAN CITY
Our office represents the family of a patient who suffered and died as a result of multiple advanced pressure sores (also known as “bed sore” or “decubitus ulcers”) that he developed while a patient at the Arbors of Michigan City in 2014. As part of our investigation, we are seeking former employees of the Arbors of Michigan City who may have knowledge concerning this facility’s staffing levels, training issues or any other factors that may have contributed to patients developing pressure sores. If you are a former employee of the Arbors at Michigan City with knowledge concerning any of these matters, please contact us at 877-769-5377.
Other related articles of interest:
Another Troubling Report of Nursing Home Abuse in Indiana – This Time Involving Inappropriate Photos,
Police Investigating Massive Identity Theft Ring Centering Around Greenfield Nursing Home
Indiana Nursing Home Employee Indicted in Connection with Death
The Powless Law Firm is an Indiana law firm that represents victims and families state-wide in serious cases involving nursing home neglect, medical negligence, personal injury and wrongful death. If you have concerns about nursing home neglect or abuse, please contact us at 877-769-5377. Together we can make a difference.