Indictments allege abuse of north Georgia Alzheimer’s patients
The owner of an Alzheimer care clinic and 17 employees were indicted in Jackson County this week on 90 counts involving abuse of patients including assault and illegal restraints.
That is four fewer defendants and 18 more charged counts than originally reported when The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported on the arrests at the home last year.
A Jackson County grand jury returned the 90-count indictment this week on the Athens-area facility, The Athens Banner-Herald reported Wednesday.
The indictment accuses owner Donna Hanner Wright of illegally dispensing drugs to patients, including morphine, and failure to comply with licensing requirements by not reporting abuse and hiring convicted felons, the newspaper said.
Last year, the GBI reported that caregivers had restrained patients with bed sheets, doused them with water and even double diapered them to save on changing.
According to the GBI, former and present employees have been interviewed and given detailed information on abuse of patients at the facility.
Among the findings, according to the GBI, included:
- patients were restrained with bed sheets and were subjected to inhumane and undignified conditions;
- staff was "double diapering" patients, a practice whereby multiple diapers are placed on patients at once to keep the employees from changing soiled diapers as often;
- patients were subject to physical abuse, such as being struck or hit with water;
- employees had prior felony convictions for charges from voluntary manslaughter to drugs, even though state regulations prohibit convicted felons from working in a personal care facility;
- unauthorized personnel were administering medications to the patients;
- and medication prescribed to the patients were found to be missing or unaccounted for during an audit of the facility in May 2013.
The Commerce Police Department asked the GBI to conduct an investigation of the center after it started receiving complaints about elder abuse in March 2013, the GBI said.
