Last Thursday, a Philadelphia nurse was charged in the death of the father of President Trump’s former national security adviser based on information obtained from local authorities. According to the affidavit, nurse Christann Shyvin Gainey was charged with involuntary manslaughter, neglect, and records tampering after she failed to give H.R. McMaster Sr. the appropriate neurological exams after an April fall in the Cathedral Village Retirement Community in Philadelphia. Surveillance video clearly showed that Gainey did not take appropriate action after McMaster’s April 13th fall, making the decision not to conduct eight neurological evaluations, per regulation. The court order also indicated that Gainey falsified documents to make it look as if she did follow protocol.
Gainey was a contract nurse at Cathedral Village as well as a licensed practical nurse, which means she underwent about a year of training before she was able to seek employment. This case is important because it highlights the growing problem of nursing home abuse in the United States. As stated by the McMaster family attorney, General Josh Shapiro, “this nurse ignored her job responsibilities, falsified paperwork, lied to her supervisors, and neglected Mr. McMaster”. After the former national security advisor – who was 84 years old – fell and hit his head, he was left in a wheelchair in the lobby for approximately eight hours. According to his medical records, he was at a high risk of falls. McMaster was admitted to the Philadelphia senior care facility on April 9th following a stroke, only to fall just three days later. Staff members discovered McMaster in his wheelchair in the lobby around 7 a.m. on April 14th, quickly determining he was deceased.
Why Nursing Home Abuse is a Growing Problem
Nursing home abuse is on the rise in the United States for numerous reasons, but many cases can be attributed to under-staffing or negligence on the part of caretakers. So while we have more people over the age of 65 in America right now than ever before, many of them are not being properly cared for. When we make the tough decision to take our loved one to a nursing home, we assume they will be properly cared for and looked after. However, this is not always the case, as we saw with former adviser McMaster. Right now, there are more than 40 million people age 65 and older in the United States, and within two decades the Baby Boomer generation is expected to comprise more than 20 percent of our entire population.
If our nursing homes continue to operate as they do now, this generation is in trouble. As McKinney nursing home abuse attorneys, we see too many cases of neglected and abused elders. These individuals are in incredibly vulnerable positions and must rely on others for their care. When someone – such as nurse Gainey – takes advantage of an individual under their care and does not provide them with the attention, tests, and the care they need, it is a serious problem. While Cathedral Village terminated Gainey following McMaster’s death, the fact of the matter is that an innocent man died in a seemingly preventable situation. If you or a loved one has been the victim of nursing home abuse in Texas, please contact Wormington & Bollinger today. We can help you file a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit against those responsible and will advise you on how to proceed from there.