Seven employees at an Ohio care home have been indicted over standards of care so shockingly low that one patient has been described as having "rotted to death."
Two employees at the Columbus healthcare facility and one contracted nurse practitioner face charges of involuntary manslaughter over the neglect of two patients, the Columbus Dispatch reported. Four other employees have been indicted on charges related to falsifying patient care records or neglect.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said Thursday that the raft of indictments had been handed out in relation to the neglect of two patients in 2017 at Whetstone Gardens and Care Center.
The total of 34 charges were filed against the seven individuals after an investigation found that one patient had died as a direct result of the neglect, while another was was found to have suffered physical harm as a result of improper care. The latter patient is also now deceased.
"This man literally rotted to death and it could have been prevented," Yoss said of the first patient who died from gangrenous wounds and necrotic tissue. "A lot of crimes you have anger, you have money, you have potential for economic gain, what do you get out of neglect?" the attorney general said, according to ABC6.
The patient, who has not been identified, reportedly developed a number of serious wounds in February 2017. According to the indictments, nurses failed to take the necessary medical steps to stop the onset of gangrene, sepsis and necrosis. The patient died on March 5 from septic shock.
In the second case, staff repeatedly recorded treatment that was never given. As a result the individual, who has also not been named, suffered physical harm.
"This case goes to the heart of protecting the unprotected," Yost said. "These victims were completely dependent on others for day-to-day care, which their families trusted Whetstone Gardens to provide. Instead of providing that care, evidence shows these nurses forced the victims to endure awful mistreatment and lied about it."
On Wednesday, nurses Sandra Blazer, Jessica Caldwell, and Kimberly Potter, a nurse practitioner, were indicted by a grand jury in Franklin County on charges including involuntary manslaughter.
Nurses Akosua Ayarkwa, Sheila Dains, Illuminee Muhongere, and Maegan Van Syckle were indicted on charges relating to gross neglect or forgery over the falsified of records of care.
A legal representative for the care facility has said staff involved in the neglect, not just those indicted, were fired when management learnt of the problems two years ago.
"We were just as mad as everybody and what happened is unacceptable," Ryan Stubenrauch said. "That's why we acted quickly and immediately to remove the people who had broken our rules and violated our trust."
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