The Oregon Department of Justice, which prioritizes the prosecution of elder abuse, announced a guilty plea by Phyllis Dodds to felony Criminal Mistreatment in the First Degree. Dodds, a Registered Nurse (RN) was employed at Pacifica Senior Living, an Assisted Living Facility (ALF), in Klamath Falls Oregon. As part of the negotiated plea agreement, RN Dodds will surrender her Oregon RN license and was placed on 3 years of supervised probation, ordered to perform 150 hours of community service, and agreed to a special condition prohibiting her from working as a paid caregiver. The Oregon Department of Justice Medicaid Fraud Unit (MFU), together with the Klamath County Sheriff’s Office and Klamath County Adult Protective Services, investigated allegations Dodds for failing to provide nursing care to three residents at the facility. The investigation found serious harm to these residents, based on continual lack of RN assessments and a failure to provide basic follow up medical treatment. Dodds pled guilty to neglecting an elderly and vulnerable patient by failing to complete a critical nursing assessment, failing to communicate with staff on scene, and failing to properly document actions taken and results in January, 2022. The patient was found deceased in his bed the morning after these failures occurred.
