Kansas Nursing Home Faces Serious Nursing Home Abuse Charges

A skilled nursing facility in Andover, Kansas faces serious allegations of nursing home abuse after a family experienced an unthinkable tragedy.

Ed and Donna Colcher met at the tender age of 24 and married after a 9-month courtship. After 24 years of marriage, Donna suffered a stroke and soon her family was unable to care for her. Relying on a system that promised to help, the Colcher family decided that Donna would live in a long-term skilled nursing facility to receive the care she needed.

However, instead of providing promised care, the facility created an environment that led to nursing home abuse.

Joanna Wheatley, Donna’s daughter, said, “The bruising is the one thing that brought my concern to it first, because I found it very hard to believe that my mom was getting these astronomical bruises.”

Nursing home administrators dismissed the bruises as falls. However, through her dementia, Donna was finally able to tell Ed that she was being abused.

“She said ‘I’m scared, I’m scared’ I said, ‘Are they mean to you at night?’ She said ‘some of them are’,” Ed said.

Because his wife suffered dementia, Ed did not want to falsely accuse anyone. He purchased a NannyCam and set it up in his wife’s room. By that night, the camera filmed Donna being physically abused by one of the nurses. The nurse picked Donna up, then dropped her, and left her for 25 minutes in the middle of the floor. When she finally crawled to the door to get help, the same nurse returned and pulled her back to the middle of the floor, where she remained for 45 minutes.

The video captured numerous incidents in which Donna begged for basic necessities, like clean clothing and help to the bathroom.

After the family watched the footage, Ed found a new facility for his wife, preventing further nursing home abuse. Six months later, when she had settled in, the family contacted the Andover Police Department, an attorney, and local news sources. State investigators have also seen the nursing home abuse video and will investigate the home.

Dan Giroux, the Colcher family attorney says, “When you see a video, you know a picture speaks a thousand words…When you watch the video you are in shock. There is no human being in the world that should be treated the way.”

“It was devastating to witness what occurred that night.” says Joe Ewart with the state Department of Aging and Disability, which regulates skilled nursing facilities. “The nursing home probably could say, ‘well, these are just a couple of bad apples.”

The Victoria Falls skilled nursing facility said that the nurse has been fired, and two other employees have been suspended pending an internal investigation. The facility has also been fined $155,000 plus $1,000 per day until it proves to the state that the nursing home abuse and neglect problems have been corrected. The main abuser in the video has had his RN license suspended, and Butler County has filed criminal charges against him.

The Strom Law Defends Victims of Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect

Signs of abuse and neglect to look for when your loved one is in a nursing home or residential care facility.    Nursing-Home patients experiencing the physical abuse of their caregivers may exhibit:

• bruises, welts, burns
• unexplained bone injuries and other physical injuries
• repeated accidents
• personal injuries left untreated

You may also notice:

• withdrawal from family and friends
• fear, uneasiness, anxiety
• unexplained weight gain or loss
• sudden loss of interest in living
• a sudden decline of psychological health
• signs of anxiety, distrust or fear toward their caregiver,
• signs or symptoms of severe shock including the growth and development of tics such as rocking or refusing to speak
• a desire to be alone.

You are not alone.  If your loved one has physically suffered, or died wrongfully, due to neglect or abuse in a nursing home or residential care facility, you may have a nursing home abuse case. The attorneys at The Strom Law Firm, LLC, understand the sensitive nature of elder abuse cases, and will treat you with respect and compassion. It is important to fight elder abuse so you, your family, and others no longer suffer because of criminal behavior. We offer free, confidential consultations to discuss the facts of your case. Contact us today for help.803.252.4800