Two PA Veterans Homes Cited in Sexual Assaults

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Two state run veterans homes have been cited by the Pennsylvania Health Department for incidents in which female residents were sexually assaulted by male patients.
The incidents, one at the Hollidaysburg Veterans Home and the second at the Gino J. Merli Veterans Center in Scranton, triggered citations for violations of state law and regulations.
The two facilities, which have been the subject of several other critical inspection reports, are part of the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, which operates six such facilities statewide.
A third home, the Southwestern Veterans Home in Pittsburgh, was cited recently for an incident in which a veteran was seriously injured while being transported in a wheelchair. The home's license was put on a provisional basis as a result of the inspection.
Joan Nissley, a department spokeswoman, said the incidents at the Scranton and Hollidaysburg facilities "sparked a wide-ranging, multidisciplinary review that is still ongoing."
Asked if any employees were disciplined following the  incidents, Nissley said that while she could not comment on any specific personnel matter "we can state that appropriate disciplinary actions have been taken where applicable."
Nissley said there are 28 female patients at the Scranton home and 46 at Hollidaysburg. Overall 13 percent of all state veterans home residents are female.
At the Hollidaysburg Veterans Home a male resident, who had previously assaulted a female patient, entered that same female patient's room on Aug. 21 and pulled down her pants and touched her genitals then began masturbating.
A staffer saw the male patient leaving the female's room with his pants unzipped and his genitals exposed.
According to the report the female patient was bruised and had slight bleeding. She was sent to a hospital for an examination.
The female resident, the report continues, "was scared and very upset." She said she didn't ring the call button because she was scared
The Health Department report noted that following the incident officials at the home did not interview other female residents to ask whether they had ever been sexually assaulted.
The same male resident had assaulted the same female patient in April, the report states. He squeezed her breast two times on April 22 when she was seated in her wheelchair in a hallway.
Following that incident, staffers were advised to keep the male resident away from the female, the report states, but "there was no documented evidence that following the April 22 incident, the staff monitored Resident 1 (the male) when he was around female residents."
The 15-page report also faults the Blair County home for failing "to provide sufficient detail about a resident incident to the Department of Health regarding an incident which seriously compromised a resident's safety."
In a plan of correction, Hollidaysburg officials said the male patient had been moved to an all male unit and was to undergo a psychiatric evaluation. The victim was provided supportive counseling and a psychiatric evaluation.
The plan also includes training of staff on dealing with sexual behaviors. Other residents were evaluated for any inappropriate sexual behaviors, according to the plan.
Officials at the Scranton veterans home were cited for failing to monitor a patient who had a history of inappropriate sexual behavior. The patient was supposed to have 1 to 1 monitoring during waking hours but early in the morning of July 23 the staffer assigned to watch the male patient left to attend to another patient.
The employee, the report states, did not ask another staff member to observe the male resident even though he had been observed in the hallway near the female patient's room.
"The facility failed to ensure that Resident 28 (the female) was kept safe from Resident 1's unwanted sexual behavior," the report states.
According to the report the staffer who left to attend another patient "was immediately removed from the nursing unit.
In addition the facility was cited for failing to report the incident to the state Department of Aging, as required by law.
Notification was provided however, to local police and the Area Agency on Aging.
In its plan of correction, the facility formally notified the area agency of the incident and said it would audit all abuse allegations
At the Southwestern Veterans Center in Pittsburgh a patient was injured when he fell headfirst on the floor causing a forehead gash requiring 18 stitches.
The aide had failed to apply leg rests to the wheelchair as ordered and when the wheelchair hit a threshold the patient pitched forward striking the floor.
In its corrective action plan the facility reported it re-evaluated the injured patient and the need for leg rests. The plan also includes evaluating all other wheel chair bound patients for the need for leg rests.
Nissley said the agency's "number one priority is ensuring that our veterans and their spouses receive long term care in a safe and secure and caring environment."
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