I had some free time between Christmas and New Years so I though I would do a little on the Internet to see if there were any interesting stories in the news about Virginia’s nursing home. I was saddened to find the following:
Mark Albright, a former licensed practical nurse at the Chesapeake Health and Rehabilitation Center Chesapeake, VA), pled guilty to the sexual assault and faces up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced in March 2009. Albright was discovered with his mouth on the woman’s breast when another employee entered her room.
Richard Eddie Robertson, a 71 year-old resident of Bowling Green Health Care Center in Bowling Green, Virginia, suffered from dementia. On August 3, 2008, he wandered away from the facility, unnoticed. He was reported missing around 6:30 p.m. the same day. The Caroline County Sheriff’s Office, with the assistance of other local authorities, began an air and ground search, which failed to locate him. A tracking dog had tracked him approximately one-half of a mile away from the facility, but the trail went dead. Tragically, Mr. Robertson was found dead on August 15, 2008 – nearly two weeks after he went missing.
My Take: We owe our elderly much, much better than they are getting in Virginia’s nursing homes!