COLUMBUS, Ohio — Six workers and a nurse practitioner at a nursing home facility are facing multiple charges in connection with the death of one patient and the neglect of another, officials say.
The Ohio Attorney General’s Office announced Thursday the employees at Whetstone Gardens and Care Center have been indicted on 34 charges overall, including involuntary manslaughter.
“This case goes to the heart of protecting the unprotected,” Attorney General Yost says in a statement. “This is gut-wrenching for anyone who has entrusted a care facility with the well-being and safety of a loved one.”
According to a news release from the attorney general’s office, in February 2017 nurses failed to get proper care for a patient, a male, who developed wounds on his body that progressed to gangrenous and necrotic tissue. The patient died in March 2017 from septic shock because of the wounds, officials say.
Sandra Blazer, Jessica Caldwell and Kimberly Potter, all nurses at the facility, have been charged with involuntary manslaughter, gross patient neglect and patient neglect in connection with the man’s death.
Blazer and four other workers, Akosua Ayarkwa, Sheila Dains, Illuminee Muhongere and Maegan Van Syckle, are charged with multiple counts of forgery and/or gross patient neglect in connection with a second patient who authorities say suffered “physical harm” because of a lack of care.
Investigators say medical records for the patient contained false information and forged signatures of nursing staff. Investigators discovered the patient’s medical file listed care occurring at times when she was not physically present at the facility.
The workers were indicted in Franklin County Court of Common Pleas and the attorney general’s office is prosecuting the case.
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