Alleged Verbal Abuse Caught On Camera At Albert Lea Nursing Home
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — An investigation at St. Johns on Fountain Lake nursing home in Albert Lea has revealed alleged verbal abuse of a patient, according to the Minnesota Department of Health.
Management at the facility was notified that a caregiver reportedly taunted a resident with "disparaging, derogatory and humiliating" language — and tapped the resident's face face "in a slapping-type motion."
The resident involved was admitted with a diagnosis of stroke, loss of ability to understand or express speech, left-sided muscle weakness or partial paralysis, diabetes, major depression disorder and generalized anxiety. The victim does not have any memory of the incident, documents say.
According to the Minnesota Department of Health, the incident was captured on a cell phone camera, and that video was produced during an internal investigation.
In November, an investigator from the Minnesota Department of Health's Office of Health Facility Complaints began to look into the case as well.
An investigative public report says that the person called the resident a "little b---- nugget," among other names. The person also allegedly asked the resident, "Do you think you have a hole in your brain?"
That person is no longer employed by the facility, the documents say. Law enforcement conducted a criminal investigation, which has now been forwarded to the city attorney for prosecution.