Two nurses at a Dauphin County rehabilitation facility have been accused of neglecting a male patient who fell twice and died from unaddressed injuries, prosecutors said.
Deanna Hamilton, 64, of Dauphin, and Margaret S. Nies, 71, of Hummelstown, were nurses at the Spring Creek Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Harrisburg when a man in their care fell and was seriously hurt on Dec. 25, 2019, according to the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office.
The man died from his injuries a month later, authorities said.
Authorities said Nies, a licensed practical nurse, was called to the man’s room after other staff members found him lying on his floor. Spring Creek policy said Nies was supposed to document the incident as an “unwitnessed fall” and call in a registered nurse.
“However, Nies disregarded facility policy and directed staff to pick the man off of the floor without assessing him for injury herself, documenting the incident, or calling an RN,” Attorney General Michelle Henry said in a Monday news release.
Days later, on Dec. 29, Hamilton went to the man’s room when he again fell, authorities said. The attorney general’s office said Hamilton ignored a visible injury to the man’s head and “failed to follow established protocol to ensure the man was properly assessed and monitored for latent injuries.”
The man was found unresponsive Dec. 30, 2019, according to the attorney general’s office. He was diagnosed with a subdural hematoma before he passed away on January 1, 2020.
“A grand jury investigation revealed that neither nurse followed protocol in how they responded to the man’s condition,” Henry said.
Hamilton is charged with felony neglect of a care-dependent person and misdemeanor tampering with/fabricating evidence. Nies is charged with a misdemeanor count of neglect of a care-dependent person.
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