After an elderly resident at the center complained that Hillside Nursing Center employee Stacy Wright hit her in the head, Burroughs said he turned the matter over to the police. He said he followed proper procedure.
"When we get an allegation like that, the first objective is to protect the resident," Hillside administrator Bill Burroughs said. "The question is, have we done what we are supposed to do to safeguard the residents in the home?"
Steve White of the state Division of Facility Services said investigators have made five visits to Hillside Nursing Center so far this year. Most of the visits involved a incident of resident-to-resident abuse in January. Hillside was fined $25,000.
"The way the system works is we go in and find deficiencies. You have a certain period of time to fix them. If we go back and do a follow-up and the problems are not fixed, then we put the sanctions in place," White said.
In the last three years, more than 30 complaints have been filed against Hillside, including failing to follow doctor's orders and giving a resident the wrong medication for two weeks. Investigators substantiated nearly half of the claims. White said the average nursing home gets about four or five complaints every year.
Records show that every time the state has found a problem with Hillside, the nursing home has corrected it.
Wright is out on bond and due in court next month.
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