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The criminal case against two Portland nursing home employees gave me chills.  This case goes beyond nursing home neglect and enters the realm of nursing home cruelty. According to reports, a nursing director is being charged with two charges of criminal mistreatment and a certified nursing assistant (CNA) is being charged with reckless endangerment for their inaction following the fall-related injury to a resident at the Gateway Care and Rehabilitation Center.

The nursing home employees allegedly waited five days before sending a 59-year-old resident to the hospital for medical treatment for her broken legs sustained in a fall.  The nursing home resident apparently fell while being transferred from her wheelchair to her bed with a lift. 

The nursing home staff tried to hide the incident from the resident's family.  Federal and state nursing home regulations were ignored as no incident report was completed following the fall.  Despite the fact that the nursing home resident was screaming in pain and nurses could hear popping sounds coming from the badly broken legs, no medical treatment was provided.  After five days of living in pain the resident was taken to a hospital where she died.

These criminal charges against the individual nursing home employees are separate from a lawsuit for wrongful death that the estate of the deceased woman is entitled to bring.  If these claims of nursing home neglect prove to be true the nursing home and its owners should be held fully responsible for fostering an environment where nursing home employees hold a code of silence to protect each other.