INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Staff at an Indianapolis nursing home were accused of leaving an elderly woman sitting in her own feces for hours.
Tricia Marcrum, the daughter of 73-year-old Ruby Gallamore, said her mother began calling for help at Rosewalk Assisted Living around 4 a.m., but it wasn’t until six hours later when she received attention.
Marcrum said her mother, who is battling cancer, called her in tears.
“She was crying because she'd been asking the nurses to come in and change her because she had feces all over her,” said Marcrum. “They had her in the bathroom cleaning her up and I looked over to her bed. Her bed was covered in feces. It was dry! Dried feces. She was not lying about how long it had been.”
Rosewalk overnight staff blamed the incident on morning staff.
Under Indiana state law, violations involving neglect of a resident must be reported to the state health department.
Consumer reports showed five complaints had been filed against Rosewalk this year. Marcrum said she plans to file a complaint and move her mother somewhere else.
“I'm a little scared to be honest to even have her in their assisted living facility if their rehabilitation center is this bad,” said Marcrum.
Rosewalk released a statement on the incident:
Rosewalk Village's first priority is the care and safety of its residents. We take any concerns raised by any resident or their family member very seriously and investigate them thoroughly. We care deeply about our customers and appreciate their feedback and work directly with them until the concerns are resolved.
We go above and beyond to ensure our customers have a voice and multiple avenues to express any concerns while they are in our communities. For example:
1. Upon admission, new residents are provided with a packet of information that explains what to do when they have a concern. The packet includes numbers for leadership, the State Ombudsman and Indiana State Department of Health.
2. Posters are hung throughout the facility with contact information for our 24-hour Customer Care Anonymous Hotline managed by an independent party.
3. Concern forms are available to residents and families to fill out and give to management.
4. Customer Satisfaction Surveys are conducted monthly by an independent party.
5. Resident council meetings are conducted to educate residents on their rights and to solicit feedback.
We know the care is the best when the resident, the families and the staff all work together.
It is our duty and honor to protect our resident's privacy. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) prohibits us from discussing any details about any resident.
Top Trending Videos
