Frankfort-- Attorney General Greg Stumbo announced Tuesday the indictment of two nursing assistants for multiple counts of abuse after it was discovered that they allegedly gave elderly and medically fragile patients laxatives as a prank in order to harass staff that worked shifts after them.
The incidents allegedly occurred at the Irvine Health and Rehabilitation Center in Irvine, Kentucky. Lisa Kilburn, 27, and Kim Congleton, 30, both certified nursing assistants, were employed at the nursing home, providing care for residents, when the abuse occurred. Their employment has since been terminated.
The investigation, conducted by Stumbo's Medicaid Fraud and Abuse Control Division, disclosed that on October 18, 2004, Kilburn and Congleton, while working as caretakers at the facility, abused elderly and medically fragile residents by administering laxative suppositories that were not medically necessary and had not been ordered as part of the residents' treatment. The acts were apparently done to harass next shift nursing assistants. Some of the patients suffered pain and rectal bleeding as a result of the nursing assistants' actions.
Staff of the Irvine Health and Rehabilitation Center assisted in the investigation.
"These defendants treated the residents of Irvine Health and Rehab as nothing more than objects for their own amusement as a means to play pranks on fellow staff members," said Stumbo. "This conduct is an outrage to human decency and dignity. I will not allow this callous abuse of our elderly citizens. This conduct is criminal and will be punished."
Kilborn and Congleton are scheduled to be arraigned in Estill Circuit Court on October 6. If convicted, each face up to five years in prison for each count.
Additional indictments resulting from this investigation may be forthcoming.
The incidents allegedly occurred at the Irvine Health and Rehabilitation Center in Irvine, Kentucky. Lisa Kilburn, 27, and Kim Congleton, 30, both certified nursing assistants, were employed at the nursing home, providing care for residents, when the abuse occurred. Their employment has since been terminated.
The investigation, conducted by Stumbo's Medicaid Fraud and Abuse Control Division, disclosed that on October 18, 2004, Kilburn and Congleton, while working as caretakers at the facility, abused elderly and medically fragile residents by administering laxative suppositories that were not medically necessary and had not been ordered as part of the residents' treatment. The acts were apparently done to harass next shift nursing assistants. Some of the patients suffered pain and rectal bleeding as a result of the nursing assistants' actions.
Staff of the Irvine Health and Rehabilitation Center assisted in the investigation.
"These defendants treated the residents of Irvine Health and Rehab as nothing more than objects for their own amusement as a means to play pranks on fellow staff members," said Stumbo. "This conduct is an outrage to human decency and dignity. I will not allow this callous abuse of our elderly citizens. This conduct is criminal and will be punished."
Kilborn and Congleton are scheduled to be arraigned in Estill Circuit Court on October 6. If convicted, each face up to five years in prison for each count.
Additional indictments resulting from this investigation may be forthcoming.
