One of two Philadelphia women charged with abusing an 83-year-old resident of a Lower Southampton assisted living center shouldn’t have been working there, and the second woman should not have been unsupervised while working with residents, according to state regulatory officials.
Irene Rodriquez, 22, and Regina Battles, 20, were terminated by Arbors at Buck Run last month after a police investigation into the abuse allegations revealed hidden-camera video documenting multiple incidents of abuse and mistreatment, police say.
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| Regina Battles (left) and Irene Rodriguez |
“It’s a fact that the staff shown in the video did not have much of the required training,” state Department of Public Welfare spokeswoman Anne Bale said.
Battles was hired as a direct care staff employee at Arbors in February, and Rodriguez was hired in late June, according to DPW and police documents. But neither completed state-required training, testing and orientation.
Rodriguez never should have been hired, since she does not have a high school diploma or equivalency degree, another state requirement for direct care staff, according to DPW.
Neither Battles nor Rodriguez completed an 18-hour training course or passed a direct care competency test, which is required before providing unsupervised assisted living services, according to DPW.
Rodriguez also did not complete training in general fire safety and emergency preparedness, a requirement prior to — or during — the first day of work, according to the state. She also didn’t receive state-approved training in resident rights, mandatory abuse and neglect reporting requirements, safety management techniques and person-centered care required of direct care staff, according to DPW.
“The primary benefit of this training is to prevent resident abuse and mistreatment of the kind suffered by (the resident),” the agency wrote in its license revocation notice.
The women were arrested and charged Tuesday with neglect of a care dependent person, a first-degree misdemeanor, as well as reckless endangering, simple assault and harassment.
The DPW, which oversees assisted living centers, revoked Arbors at Buck Run’s operating license Dec. 7 following two inspections at the Buck Road center, which houses 58 residents, including some with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. The inspections were prompted by the police investigation.
The Courier Times was unsuccessful in attempts to reach Mark Miller, senior vice president of operations at Arbors, which is managed by Capital Health Group LLC in Media. The center’s executive director, though, told police that both women denied the abuse allegations, “but (the women) did not seem too upset by them,” according to an affidavit of probable cause.
Videos from the hidden camera placed in the room by the woman’s daughter show Battles and Rodriguez roughly handling the resident while assisting her into and out of bed multiple times between Oct. 16 and Nov. 13, according to court records.
The videos captured the resident’s face during some of the alleged abuse incidents, and she is clearly seen crying and in fear, the court documents show.
In one video, Battles is captured allegedly grabbing the woman’s right leg and pulling it sharply toward her three times, court records show. The victim is seen covering her face with her hands and forearms during this action, according to the documents.
Another video showed Battles and Rodriguez supporting the victim “face down” on the side of her bed, court records show. The victim is placed on the floor before being picked up and placed “roughly” into the bed, according to the affidavit.
The elderly woman, who is now at another nursing home, was a resident there from Dec. 2, 2011, until Nov. 19, when she was taken to Abington Memorial Hospital.
Hospital staff noted injuries to her toes and X-rays were taken of her feet. Photos were taken the same day of the woman’s feet and legs, bloodied scabs on her toes and a bleeding, bandaged wound on her leg, police said.
The latest incident isn’t the first time this year Arbors got in trouble with the state.
DPW issued it a provisional operating license — described as a state-issued warning label — between February and May, after a December 2011 inspection prompted by a complaint revealed numerous violations, including issues with patient care, record keeping and staff training. A second-level provisional license was issued in April after the original problems continued unfixed, according to DPW.
Arbors’ full operating license was reinstated in May after the problems were brought up to state standards and the center passed its annual inspection.
Bale said the agency reviews a sample of staff and resident records as part of its required annual inspection of assisted living centers. If issues are found, the state will review all records and fix errors. The fixes are then reviewed during additional monitoring visits.
“If a facility has a history of record-keeping issues, this would be something we would look at more closely during an inspection or at additional follow-up inspections,” she added.
A lapse of a month or two between a state inspection and the issuing or change in an operating license isn’t unusual, according to DPW. The lag time is reduced when the charges are severe and the evidence strong, such as the case following the Nov. 30 and Dec. 3 inspections at Arbors, which found gross incompetence, negligence and misconduct, according to DPW.
The center, which was also fined nearly $7,000 after the abuse allegations, has 30 days to file an appeal of the revocation and can continue to operate through the process, though it will be subject to closer state monitoring and inspections, Bale said. As of Thursday afternoon, no appeal had been filed, Bale said
If, after 30 days,Capital Health does not file an appeal, the state agency would help relocate residents to other appropriate residential centers, Bale said.
Jo Ciavaglia: 215-949-4181; email: jciavaglia@phillyBurbs.com; Twitter: @jociavaglia
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