Nurse's Aides Charged With Humiliating Elderly Patients On Snapchat
LOWELL (CBS) — Two nurse's aides in Lowell have been charged with elder abuse, one of them with assault and battery after posting humiliating videos of three elderly women in their care.
Read: I-Team: Lowell Nursing Home Scored Well In State Ratings
The videos, posted on Snapchat, were brought to the attention of the Wingate at Belvidere nursing home in Lowell which launched an investigation, and informed the families of the patients, some of whom have dementia.
The 23-year-old aides, Sabrina Costa and Kala Shaniece Lopez have been terminated.
One video shows an 86-year-old patient, sitting on a toilet, being asked by one of the suspects about her sex life and if she smoked marijuana.
Another video shows the same patient sleeping when one of the suspects yells in her ear, abruptly waking her up.
A third video shows a 75-year-old patient making noises to show her teeth with the caption under the video "Chucky's Bride."
It was all shocking news among some of the most vulnerable of patients.
"We entrust our family or friends to be well taken care of," said one man with a relative at the facility who did not want to be identified.
Gloria Deputat, a patient at Wingate, says she's heartbroken at the disturbing allegations.
"To think that they would take advantage of these people who don't know how to take care of themselves," she told WBZ-TV.
According to police, the women say they recorded and posted the videos just for laughs.
A relative of Kala Shaniece Lopez called it "something stupid" and said she has never been in any trouble.
After their arraignment Tuesday, the women were released without any bail, but told to stay away from the victims and elder health care.
In a statement Wingate Healthcare management called it an isolated incident and said, "The investigation revealed that the employees violated Wingate Healthcare's policies concerning patient safety and privacy of three residents. We were able to confirm that no private health information, such as names or clinical information was captured on the videos."
Officials say they are cooperating with the investigation and dedicated to keeping all residents safe.