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 face charges of criminal negligence, crimes against a vulnerable person, and complicity, as reported by KUSA.
An investigation was initiated on May 9 when a 92-year-old woman with dementia was admitted to Sky Ridge Medical Center from Orchard Park Health Care Center, suffering from two fractures in her lower leg.
According to hospital staff, the injuries did not align with the account provided by Orchard Park, which claimed the woman was “found sitting in her wheelchair, crying for help in severe pain; nobody witnessed her fall, and they were unaware of what transpired,” as an affidavit stated.
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.
