MT. CLEMENS (WWJ) - A pair of nursing home employees could face up to a year in behind bars, after an elderly patient was injured while in their care.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Tuesday 24-year-old Latrice Smith and 22-year-old Arnold Hudson, both of Eastpointe, have each been charged with one count of Vulnerable Adult Abuse—4th degree, in connection with an incident at the Martha T. Berry Medical Care Facility in Mt. Clemens.
The female resident, who has severe osteoporosis, is "substantially disabled and medically fragile," according to to the AG's office. She is entirely dependent on caregivers to move about within the facility, and her plan of care prescribed the use of assistive mechanical devices to transfer her from her bed to a wheelchair.
The Attorney General alleges that the defendants recklessly ignored the resident's care plan and failed to use the assistive device when transferring her, resulting in pain and multiple fractures.
"Nursing home residents deserve to live with dignity and security and must be kept safe," Nessel said, in a media release. "Caregivers are supposed to do just that – give care – and those who approach their duties with less than that commitment will be held responsible."
Smith and Hudson were arraigned in 41B District Court in Clinton Township, and each was released on a $5,000 personal bond.
The charge they face carries a maximum sentence of one year in jail and/or a $1,000 fine.
A pretrial conference in the case is scheduled for May 22.
