Witnesses To Alleged Abuse Were Afraid To Come Forward

BRISTOL, Va.—Lurking among the blind, immobile and dying at the National HealthCare Bristol nursing home is a simple, yet powerful phrase etched in the minds of nursing aides: chain of command.

Loosely translated, it means that nothing flows to upper management without first filtering through an immediate supervisor, not even first-hand accounts of sexual abuse. Stepping outside this command structure could cost jobs.

Ex-NHC employees said that chain of command created a culture of fear.

“I thought I needed a job, but I was wrong. I was wrong,“ said one former NHC nursing aide who witnessed abuse but said she was too afraid to abandon protocol when her warnings were ignored. She requested anonymity to protect her role as a witness for state investigators.

A Bristol Herald Courier and News Channel 11 Connects investigation found four abuse allegations against former nursing aide James Wright, who is 35, that seemingly vanished years ago into NHC’s chain of command.

Witnesses began to tell their stories only after they left NHC, and the four allegations are now the basis for either a grand jury indictment against Wright, or a state board of nursing investigation that has already cost him his nursing aide license.

Missing links
Wright’s past co-workers blamed three supervisors for failing to report abuse claims to top administrators: former director of nursing Anne Franklin; former director of nursing Evelyn Nunez; and current nursing supervisor Helen Roberts.

Nursing aides said they were shocked when their warnings about an employee hurting patients seemed to be ignored by upper management. But, they said, they felt powerless to go above their bosses’ heads.

“I was brought up in the old school where if you told someone something, people would do what they’re supposed to do,“ said the anonymous witness for investigators.

The Murfreesboro, Tenn.-based NHC has not returned calls nor an e-mail request for comment. Reporters also have been denied access to the front doors of NHC Bristol.

Former co-workers said that because no one stepped in to thoroughly investigate, Wright maintained a spotless personnel record that allowed him to bounce from one nursing home to another without question.

In all, seven patients were harmed under Wright’s care at NHC and one more was harmed after Wright arrived at the Brookdale Senior Living-Grand Court Bristol, according to Virginia Board of Nursing documents.

Indictments
Twice in August 2007, former NHC nursing aide Patricia Davenport complained that Wright mistreated two women patients.

When Davenport saw no action taken, she quit in disgust.

“You can’t fight the whole company,“ Davenport said. “And if your boss is not going to help you out, then what’s the point?“

She blames former director of nursing Anne Franklin, who now owns The Gathering Place assisted living home in Bristol, Tenn.

After the second report of abuse, “Anne just said, well, ain’t nothing we can do about that,“ Davenport said.

Franklin replied through an e-mail sent by her attorney: “All allegations of misconduct regarding Mr. Wright, or any other employee, which were brought to my attention while I was Director of Nursing at NHC Bristol were promptly referred for investigation.

“I have always acted professionally and responsibly,“ Franklin said in the e-mail. “Any allegations to the contrary are untrue. I have fully cooperated with the investigators who have contacted me about this matter, and will continue to do so.“

Davenport now is a witness for both the Virginia Office of the Attorney General, which investigates crimes, and the Virginia Department of Health Professions, which regulates the state’s medical licenses.

On Tuesday, a Bristol, Va., grand jury indicted Wright on four counts of aggravated sexual battery. The two incidents that Davenport witnessed are included in the indictments.

That same day, the Board of Nursing voted to suspended Wright’s license based on the accusations that he groped, fondled and sexually abused eight patients between July 2003 and May 2008. A formal hearing will be held in November.

Wright left the nursing home shortly after Davenport’s second complaint, and took a job with the Grand Court Bristol in September 2007.

Wright arrived at his new job with a passing reference from NHC, said Holly Botsford, a spokeswoman for the Chicago-based Brookdale Senior Living, which runs the Grand Court Bristol.

Wright was fired earlier this year when allegations that he hurt patients at NHC surfaced.

Further back
Tales of lackadaisical responses to abuse allegations stretch back to before Davenport arrived at the nursing home.

Former NHC nursing aide Diane Lewis blames then-supervisor Evelyn Nunez for not thoroughly investigating a July 2003 abuse claim by an elderly man.

The investigation, Lewis said, consisted of Nunez asking the patient if he had been touched inappropriately, and then dropping the matter when no answer was given.

This case is included in the board of nursing report that cost Wright his nursing aide license.

Herald Courier messages left at a phone listing for Nunez have not been returned.

Another nurse, who requested anonymity for fear that she might lose her job with her current employer, said she walked in on Wright and a woman in her room.

“She just screamed ‘He hurt me! He hurt me!’ “ the anonymous nurse said.

That incident went to supervisor Helen Roberts, who still works at NHC. The nurse said an investigation never followed.

Roberts refused an interview through her husband.

This incident, which happened between January, 2000, and January, 2004, is included in the Bristol grand jury indictments.

Now, the nurse regrets not doing more.

“I should have gone to [the top administrator], but we were supposed to go through the chain of command,“ the nurse said.

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