RICHMOND, Va. — Three former employees of an assisted living facility have been accused of mistreating an elderly resident, and the Hanover Sheriff's Office has charged them with abuse and neglect of a vulnerable adult.
The allegations center around an incident that occurred at the Harmony Collection at Hanover— a senior living community in Mechanicsville.
According to a criminal complaint filed in court by an investigator with the sheriff's office, the case involves an 89-year-old resident who suffered from dementia and was a fall risk. Because of those factors, his family kept a camera in his room.
In March, the complaint said the man slipped out of a bed and three caregivers, Carlisha Sykes, Caasi Halsey and Naomi Sarbo, came to help.
Video allegedly captured the employees grabbing the man by his clothing and throwing him from the floor and across the hospital bed, causing him to his head on a railing.
A detective talked to directors at the facility who allegedly said the caregivers should have contacted a supervisor before moving the man and explained to the patient what they were going to do. According to the complaint, the directors said the workers should not have grabbed him by the clothes and instead gripped him under his arms and legs to move him safely.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the Harmony Collection at Hanover told CBS 6 the employees “were quickly suspended and soon after terminated for behavior that does not meet our standards of care.” The facility said it's cooperating with the investigation and communicating with the resident's family.
CBS 6 legal analyst Todd Stone said the most difficult element for prosecutors to prove will be intent.
“Violating a policy of the facility doesn't constitute a crime by itself," Stone said. “A prosecutor has to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that there was a willful abuse or neglect of this individual, not that they used poor techniques and were doing their job, but that they actually were negligent or had the intent to abuse him. So a video in a case like this makes a huge difference.”
The charge against each defendant constitutes a class one misdemeanor, which according to Stone, means a serious injury was not involved.
The code also allows an exception to those who conduct necessary movement of, placement of, or protection from harm to the vulnerable adult.
“If they're going to raise the defense that we were doing our jobs and it was necessary to get them in the bed, that's something where the video is going to be really telling," Stone said.
CBS 6 reached out to the defendants or their attorneys seeking responses to the allegations against them, but we did not hear back.
Hanover Commonwealth's Attorney Mackenzie Babichenko said she could not comment on a pending case.
The first defendant's case is set to be heard next month.
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Share your nursing home stories with the CBS 6 Investigative Team: Email Melissa Hipolit and Tyler Layne
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