Springfield caregiver charged after CCTV footage shows her dragging and pushing 91-year-old Alzheimer's patient
SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS: In a shocking incident, a Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA) was found dragging and pushing a 91-year-old Alzheimer’s patient off her chair. The incident was recorded on a family’s surveillance camera where she could be seen dragging the old lady across the room, prosecutors claimed. Rodette Robinson, 53, of Springfield is facing two charges for assault, and battery on an elder by a caretaker on September 8.
Accoding to the Miami Herald, Attorney General Maura Healey’s office said, “The charges against Rodette Robinson, 53, of Springfield come nine months after the patient’s family reported the physical abuse to the health aide’s employer in November." It further said that Robinson held a Certified Nursing Assistant's license.
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“In the footage, the nurse is seen shaking and pushing the patient off a recliner chair, followed by dragging her across the floor and into a bathroom ‘aggressively’. The patient’s left arm and body were bruised as a result," the office said. Robinson was fired from work by the agency after the incident was reported by the family, the news release stated without naming the agency. The misconduct on the nurse’s part was immediately bought to the attention of the state’s Nurse Aide Registry and the Department of Public Health (DPH), by the employer.
An immediate inquiry was ordered by the DPH and this followed the suspension of Robinson’s CNA license and referral to the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Division. It was in November 21, 2021, when the family in Wilbraham showed Robinson's inhumane act to the agency.
The case was assigned to the Managing Attorney Gregory Matthews, Senior Trial Attorney Elisha Willis, and Healthcare Fraud Investigators Caitlin Albert and Ashley Marquez, all of the AG’s Medicaid Fraud Division, and Senior Victim Witness Advocate Megan Murphy of the AG’s Victim Services Division. The team was assisted by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, the Wilbraham Police Department, and Elara Caring home health agency in Newton.