Nursing homes and long-term care facilities are legally obligated to report incidents of neglect and abuse, however, they often go unreported. It is very important that if you have a loved one in a nursing home, that you visit often and pay close attention to any warning signs. It is then your responsibility to report these issues for their safety. One woman in North Carolina took action when she witnessed abuse occurring at a nursing home in her neighborhood.
Neighbors Fear for Residents’ Safety
According to a report from ENC Today, Sherri Taylor used her phone to record a video, between the blinds of a window in her home, of a staff member abusing a mentally ill patient at the Edwards Group Home in Hookerton, NC. Sherri and her husband Danny, a commissioner on the Hookerton Town Council, live near the facility. Sherri decided to capture the abuse on camera after Danny told her that he heard screaming coming from the home and witnessed a fist fight in the yard between a staff member and a mentally ill patient.
“He just took off running and shoved the patient, sending her several feet backwards before she fell to the ground… she was violently shaking and crying,” Taylor recalled.
They turned the video over to the authorities on May 17th. Two days following the incident, a dark mesh screen was placed over the fence of the home to block neighbor’s view.
This is not the only incident at the Edwards Group Home; the employees have failed to supervise their patients on numerous occasions. In one incident the neighbors had to call the fire department after a resident of the home set a shrub in the yard on fire. Several times, patients have escaped to roam the neighborhood, laying in the middle of the road, making crude comments, and asking strangers for food and help. This has caused Sherri Taylor and other neighbors to be very nervous, “If they are doing this in front of us in their own yard, who knows what is going on inside.” Sherri said. The video has led to an investigation of the home by the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.
Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers in New Jersey and Philadelphia
If you have witnessed your loved one or any nursing home resident being abused, or you fear that the care they are receiving may be considered negligent or abusive, you probably have a lot of questions and concerns. Contact the Mininno Law Office for a free case evaluation. You may also call for a free consultation at (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey, or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia.
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