Attorney General Michelle Henry announced dozens of new charges against a western Pennsylvania registered nurse (RN) who was previously charged with homicide and attempted murder for nursing home residents in her care in multiple facilities. She has now been charged with two counts of first-degree murder, 17 counts of attempted murder, and 19 counts of neglect of a care-dependent person. She waived her preliminary hearing on these charges and remains in custody without bail.
The defendant allegedly administered lethal doses of insulin to numerous nursing home residents, beginning in 2020. She was previously charged in May for her mistreatment of three residents. On November 2, 2023, the Office of Attorney General filed charges regarding mistreatment of 19 additional residents at five different facilities between 2020 and this year.
The defendant is accused of administering excessive amounts of insulin to these residents, some of whom were diabetic and required insulin, and some of whom were not. In total, seventeen residents died who had been cared for by the defendant. She typically administered the insulin during overnight shifts when staffing was low and the emergencies would not prompt immediate hospitalization. The victims ranged in age from 43 to 104. In total, she is charged regarding her mistreatment of 22 residents.
The defendant is charged with first-degree murder in the cases where physical evidence is available to support the cause of death. Attempted murder is charged in the cases where the victims either survived the excessive dosage of insulin, or the cause of death could not be determined.
According to the criminal complaint, administrative staff and coworkers at the five nursing homes knew or suspected the defendant was mistreating residents. Investigators said there was a pattern of the defendant being investigated for abusive behavior toward residents and/or staff at each facility, resulting in her resigning or being fired.
“The allegations against [the defendant] are disturbing. It is hard to comprehend how a nurse, trusted to care for her patients, could choose to deliberately and systematically harm them,” said Attorney General Henry. “The damage done to the victims and their loved ones cannot be overstated. Every person in a medical or care facility should feel safe and cared for, and my office will work tirelessly to hold the defendant accountable for her crimes and protect care-dependent Pennsylvanians from future harm.”
Compliance Perspective
Issue
Failure to recognize and investigate patterns and determine the root cause for incidents where unexplained and abnormal life-threatening conditions, like hypoglycemia in non-insulin using residents, may be deemed abuse, neglect, and immediate jeopardy, and considered provision of substandard quality of care, in violation of state and federal regulations. Healthcare settings are required to conduct extensive background checks on all employees. These should be comprehensive in order to ensure that each potential employee is qualified and permitted to be employed in a healthcare facility that receives government funds. Before an employee is officially hired into a position, a criminal background check and sex offender registry search must be completed, and the individual must be cleared in the databases. Additionally, an identification verification check, past employment history, education verification, and OIG’s List of Excluded Individuals and Entities (LEIE) check must be completed for all employment candidates.
Discussion Points
- Review your policies and procedures for conducting background checks on all new employees prior to their start date. Also review policies and procedures regarding investigation of deaths due to unexplained causes.
- Train staff who are responsible for conducting background checks about the seriousness of completing the screenings prior to any employee starting employment with the facility. Also train staff to be alert to any suspicious, repeating incidents where residents suddenly exhibit unexplained conditions like hypoglycemia, and report those incidents to a supervisor or through the Hotline.
- Periodically audit to determine if the facility is investigating unexplained deaths due to unknown or suspicious circumstances, and that all identified areas of concern are fully addressed, to include notifying the State licensing board, local law enforcement, and the Department of Health where appropriate. Also audit to ensure that all background checks are completed in a timely manner, and that employees are eligible to work in the nursing facility.
*This news alert has been prepared by Med-Net Concepts, LLC for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide legal advice.*
