Indiana Nursing Home Worker Charged with Attempted Rape of Dementia Patient

The employee at Indiana’s RiverOaks Health Campus barricaded the door to the room where he had led his elderly victim and was discovered in a state of undress, say investigators of the shocking event of nursing home malpractice.

A male employee of an Indiana nursing home has been accused of attempted rape of a nearly 90-year-old resident with dementia, says a Newsweek article.

Jeffrey Harvey, a floor technician at RiverOaks Health Campus in Indiana’s Gibson County, has been charged with one felony count of attempted rape of a mentally disabled person after Princeton Police Department investigators responded to a report by facility staff members about the January 22 incident of nursing home malpractice.

According to Newsweek, in the report one nursing home official claimed to have seen Harvey speaking with an elderly female resident, who suffers from dementia, as she watched television. Another employee said Harvey appeared as if he were going to kiss the woman. When Harvey led the woman to her room, the witnesses had reportedly gone in search of a nurse. When they came across the door to the victim’s room, it was not only closed, but obstructed by a chair from the inside. After some effort the door was forced open, at which time they discovered the victim undressed and Harvey with his pants removed. Harvey later confessed to police that he’d intended to have sex with the elderly resident.

Sexual assaults can, and unfortunately sometimes do, occur in nursing homes. By definition sexual assault is a type of nursing home malpractice, and specifically of elder abuse, in that it is an intentional and harmful act carried out by individual against an elderly person as well as possibly an act of negligence on the part of a nursing home. If loved ones of elderly nursing home residents notice in them signs of abuse—such as unexplained injuries or abrupt changes of temperament or depression—and suspect that nursing home malpractice has occurred, they should immediately contact a nursing home malpractice attorney.

According to Newsweek, RiverOaks released the following statement about the incident: “The safety and wellbeing of our residents is at the forefront of everything we do at RiverOaks Health Campus. On January 22nd, staff identified, intervened, and reported an incident to authorities which occurred at the campus. An investigation is now in progress. We cannot comment any further but continue to remain committed to delivering excellence in care to each and every resident that calls RiverOaks home.'”

According to the article, a Level 3 rape felony conviction can mean a jail sentence of between three and 16 years, whereas a Level 1 rape felony conviction can result in a jail sentence of 20-40 years.

Your Advocate against Elder Abuse, Nursing Home Malpractice, and Wrongful Death

Attorney Brian P. Murphy is a seasoned nursing home malpractice lawyer and wrongful death attorney dedicated to preserving the rights and safety of nursing home residents in Philadelphia/PA and NJ nursing homes. Your loved one living in a Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, or New Jersey nursing home should confidently expect to live free from every sort of nursing home malpractice, and especially sexual assault or elder abuse. Brian Murphy holds Philadelphia/PA or NJ nursing homes accountable for any substandard care or abuse, particularly any incident of nursing home malpractice that results in wrongful death. Attorney Brian Murphy is ready to discuss your legal options. If you or your loved one needs to contact a nursing home malpractice and wrongful death attorney, call Brian Murphy today.

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Dementia Residents Subjected to Improper Medication, False Diagnoses, and Neglect at Massachusetts Nursing Home

A host of violations and “appalling” conditions amounting to nursing home malpractice were recently uncovered during an investigation at Bear Mountain Worcester nursing home.

A two-year Disability Law Center investigation of a Massachusetts nursing home has revealed numerous violations related to nursing home malpractice, says a Boston 25 News article. According to the DLC, the multiple Nursing Home Reform Act violations found during the investigation of Bear Mountain Worcester from October 2021 to October 2023 stem from understaffing and lack of clinical expertise—nursing home malpractice issues that are common among for-profit healthcare providers like Bear Mountain. Boston 25 says nearly two-thirds of Massachusetts’s nursing homes are for-profit.

According to the article, the neurobehavioral unit of Bear Mountain was especially impacted by the acts of nursing home malpractice. Residents of this unit, who suffer from dementia, anxiety, depression, brain injuries, and trauma, were discovered to have been regularly treated with a range of antipsychotics and other psychotropic medications. Some were given “questionable” schizophrenia diagnoses. The DLC also said that there was evidence of “minimal engagement with patients in the neurobehavioral unit;” the facility furthermore had no trained/credentialed psychiatric nurses, psychologists, or psychiatric and neurological consultations.

The issuing of false diagnoses and the inappropriate administration of antipsychotics or psychotropics to elderly residents are both acts of nursing home malpractice falling under the umbrella of nursing home medication errors. Giving the wrong medication in order to chemically restrain a dementia patient to make him or her easier to deal with not only violates that resident’s rights, but is also a dangerous practice that can lead to the following serious issues:

• Nursing Home Falls
• Bedsores
• Wrongful Death

Attorneys who handles matter of nursing home malpractice ought to be contacted if it is suspected that distribution of inappropriate medication is taking place in a nursing home. In the event of an accidental death related to medication errors, it will unfortunately be necessary to contact a wrongful death attorney.

Beyond the above violations, the article also stated that Bear Mountain was accused by guardians and families of nursing home infections throughout the facility, filthy communal spaces, and even rodent infestation.

“The conditions at Bear Mountain have been appalling,” said DLC Executive Director Barbara L’Italien. “It has been a dire situation, and we must hold the Commonwealth accountable for its duty to inspect and ensure proper care in these facilities.”

Holding Nursing Homes Responsible for Nursing Home Malpractice and Wrongful Death

Attorney Brian P. Murphy is a nursing home malpractice lawyer and wrongful death attorney committed to upholding the rights and safety of Philadelphia/PA and NJ nursing home residents. Your loved one living in a Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, or New Jersey nursing home should never be subjected to any sort of nursing home malpractice, including medication errors and false diagnoses. Brian Murphy holds accountable those Philadelphia/PA or NJ nursing homes responsible for elder abuse or neglect, particularly any incident of nursing home malpractice that results in wrongful death. Attorney Brian Murphy is ready to discuss your legal options. If you or your loved one needs to contact a nursing home malpractice and wrongful death attorney, call Brian Murphy today.

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Nursing Home Administrators in Bucks County Sentenced to Jail for Neglecting to Report Sexual Assault of Three Dementia Patients: 

In an egregious act of nursing home malpractice, two former administrators at The Landing of Southampton filed sanitized incident reports that neglected to document the sexual assaults of three dementia patients by a fourth patient at their assisted living facility.

Two former Bucks County nursing home administrators were recently sentenced to time in jail for failing to report the sexual assaults of three dementia patients by another nursing home resident, says The Philadelphia Inquirer. According to the article, the administrators at the Landing of Southampton dissuaded employees from filing written reports or notifying county authorities of these occurrences of nursing home malpractice, as required by state law.

Joy Alfonsi, 48, and Ashley Harker, 38, were given 3-to-24 months in the county jail for attempting to cover up the assaults at the Bucks County facility where both were administrators. Alfonsi was previously the director of nursing and Ashley Harker the general manager of the Landing until they were fired in October 2021 during the criminal investigation of the incident of nursing home malpractice.

The sexual assaults were brought to the attention of state investigators via anonymous reports by The Landing staff members, says the article. Together with the efforts of local police, the investigators uncovered that a male dementia patient had sexually assaulted three other dementia patients across a four-day span last summer. The assaults were committed in common areas where they were witnessed by The Landing employees, who intervened in each case to pull the assailant away from his victims. Due to the man’s dementia diagnosis, he was not charged with criminal activity, but was transferred to a different home.

Both Alfonsi and Harker pleaded guilty in January to three counts of endangering the welfare of a care-dependent person. The Inquirer article reports Bucks County Court Judge Gary B. Gillman as saying the sentences he handed down will hopefully discourage such inclinations toward nursing home malpractice in other nursing homes responsible for vulnerable residents.

“This case is about having a moral compass, and needing one to protect those who can’t help themselves,” Gillman said. “How you got to the point where you callously didn’t report sexual assaults and then lied to the families of the victims, I do not know.”

Your Advocate against Nursing Home Malpractice and Wrongful Death

Attorney Brian P. Murphy is a skilled nursing home malpractice lawyer and wrongful death attorney serving nursing home residents in Philadelphia/PA and NJ nursing homes. Your loved one living in a Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, or New Jersey nursing home should confidently expect to live free from elder abuse, neglect, and every other kind of nursing home malpractice. Brian Murphy holds Philadelphia/PA or NJ nursing homes accountable for substandard care and incidents of abuse, particularly events of nursing home malpractice that result in wrongful death. Attorney Brian Murphy is ready to discuss your legal options. If you or your loved one needs to contact a nursing home malpractice and wrongful death attorney, call Brian Murphy today.

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Sexual Abuse of Residents Suppressed by Nursing Home Administrators: Prosecutors have charged two administrators at The Landing of Southampton with failure to report abuse, nursing home neglect, and other offenses.

Information related to the sexual abuse of three nursing home residents with dementia by another resident was withheld by two former administrators at a Bucks County nursing home, says the Philadelphia Inquirer.  According to a probable cause affidavit filed in their arrests, Ashley Harker and Joy Alfonsi, respectively the former general manager and former director of health and wellness at The Landing of Southampton, have been charged with neglect of a care-dependent person, failure to report abuse, recklessly endangering another person, and related offenses. Prosecutors say the pair knew about incidents of abuse but failed to notify county officials or the victims’ families about it.

According to the article, the sexual abuse suppressed by nursing home administrators occurred last July in common areas of The Landing and were witnessed each time by nursing home staff. Each incident involved the fondling or sexual assault of a female dementia patient by the same male resident, a man who also has dementia and does not face criminal charges. Every assault was halted by the intervention of an employee.

As a home accredited by the state Department of Human Services (DHS), The Landing was responsible for reporting the sexual abuse to the Bucks County Area Agency on Aging. Following mandated reporter guidelines after the first incident might have prevented the two subsequent assaults, said State Attorney General Josh Shapiro, whose office is prosecuting this case. Instead, said the affidavit, Harker and Alfonsi prevented employees from documenting the sexual abuse. Declaring they themselves would report the abuse, the two former administrators altered or omitted the details of the assaults from the documents they submitted.

“The defendants were responsible for the safety and well-being of the residents in their care,” Shapiro said. “But instead of protecting their residents, they sought to cover up incidents of sexual abuse of residents that occurred under their watch.”

According to the article, Harker, 37, and Alfonsi, 47, were both fired from the home last fall and replaced with new managers. The investigation led the DHS to revoke The Landing’s certificate of compliance in the spring. The home will operate on a provisional license until October.

Recognizing the Signs of Nursing Home Sexual Abuse

Incidents of nursing home sexual abuse do unfortunately occur in forms ranging from sexual harassment, to groping, to rape. Nursing home residents’ loved ones should be cognizant of certain signs that nursing home sexual abuse has transpired, such as the following:

• Genital bruises or scratches and unexplained bleeding
• An abrupt change in demeanor or behavior, particularly new fear or anxiety
• An onset of severe depression

Making Safety a Priority for Your Loved One

Determining the quality and safety of the Philadelphia/PA or NJ nursing home where your loved one lives is essential. Meeting health and safety standards and to ensuring the physical, mental, and psycho/social well-being of their residents is a requirement to which Pennsylvania and New Jersey nursing homes must adhere. Should you have concerns about the quality of care in a Pennsylvania or New Jersey nursing home, or if you suspect neglect, abuse, or fraud has occurred at the Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, or New Jersey nursing home where your loved one lives, please contact nursing home abuse attorney Brian P. Murphy to discover your legal rights and options.

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Pennsylvania Bill Seeks to Prevent Nursing Home Sexual Abuse:

House Bill 2341, written by Rep. Robert Matzie, would require nursing homes to report residents who are convicted sex offenders.

A new bill seeking to protect elderly residents from nursing home sexual abuse has been introduced by Pennsylvania State Representative Robert Matzie, Fox43.com has reported. The legislation, House Bill 2341, would require nursing homes to inform residents and workers when a convicted sex offender has been admitted as a resident.

Should the bill become law, Pennsylvania nursing facilities would be notified of the close proximity or admission of a convicted sex offender. The nursing home would then be mandated to make a report to the Department of Health, which would then create a centralized registry for nursing homes.

While such registries of convicted sex offenders must be made public by state police according to Megan’s Law, no centralized sex offender registry currently exists for nursing homes in Pennsylvania. Not having such protections in place for residents would appear as neglect on the part of nursing homes. According to Matzie, such efforts toward thwarting nursing home sexual abuse is long overdue in Pennsylvania.

“I think a lot of people were shocked there were nothing on the books, from democrats, republicans, from advocates,” said the state representative, who serves the 16th District for Pennsylvania. “I believe that we need to ensure that our most vulnerable are safe.”

This Pennsylvania bill seeks to prevent nursing home sexual abuse because it does unfortunately occur. Nursing home sexual abuse is defined as the occurrence of any type of nonconsensual sexual contact between two nursing home residents or between a nursing home resident and a staff worker. Nursing home sexual abuse comes in many forms, ranging from sexual harassment and unwanted/inappropriate physical contact, to sexually explicit photography, to rape or sodomy. Residents’ loved ones should be aware of the following signs that nursing home sexual abuse may have occurred:

• Genital bruises or scratches
• Unexplained bleeding
• The sudden appearance of unexplained fear or anxiety
• New, uncharacteristic behavior uncharacteristic behavioral changes
• Sudden, severe depression

Matzie is hopeful his bill will secure support from lawmakers at the Capitol. Any legislation that might reduce the potential for nursing home sexual abuse should be seen as a step in the right direction toward preventing nursing home abuse and neglect.

Working to Protect Elder Abuse in Nursing Homes

Pennsylvania and New Jersey nursing homes are required to meet specific health and safety requirements and to provide such care as to secure the physical, mental, and psycho/social well-being of their residents. Should you have concerns about a Philadelphia/PA or NJ nursing home, or if you suspect neglect, abuse, or fraud has occurred at the Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, or New Jersey nursing home where your loved one lives, please contact nursing home abuse attorney Brian P. Murphy to discover your legal rights and options.

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