A registered nurse is facing charges alleging neglect and abuse of a 69-year-old female resident, according to a Feb. 17 news release from California Attorney General Xavier Becerra.
Emily Jones, RN, a caregiver with Miami-based Vitas Healthcare, was providing care for a resident at a Riverside, Calif.-based nursing home. She allegedly failed to record the discovery of an open ulcer on the resident. She also is accused of failing to notify a physician and the resident's family of the resident's deteriorating condition. The ulcer worsened into a wound that required the resident to undergo emergency surgery to her right foot, which had become septic and gangrenous. After the surgery, the resident's health continued to decline, and she eventually died.
Ms. Jones was arraigned Feb. 17 on one count of felony elder abuse.
"Elder abuse does not always come in the form of a physical attack. It can result from utter neglect and lack of proper care, as we allege in the case of Emily Jones," said Mr. Becerra. "Jones, a registered nurse, owed her patients due care. Assisted living residents are a vulnerable population all too often victimized by acts of neglect and improper care. We must hold our medical professionals accountable for their actions."