South Miami assisted living facility worker charged with elderly abuse
SOUTH MIAMI - South Miami police say they are alarmed by new cell phone video that shows an 84-year-old woman being abused and insulted and slapped on the buttocks by the 77-year-old owner of an assisted living facility.
The victim's granddaughter says she is horrified after looking at video that another caretaker at the Good Family Home Assisted Living facility took.
In that video, you can hear the sound of the slap and then you also see the victim screaming in a restroom as the owner of the home is handling her. The victim's granddaughter says her grandmother who has Alzheimer's disease is left with bruises.
The granddaughter said, "What I saw was unexplainable. The fact that some, embody would do something like that is not ok. She was kept in a home where we trusted her. We are destroyed. She was helpless and we were not there to help her and we failed and I feel like we did our best and we left her in the hands of someone who we thought was good."
The granddaughter who did not want to show her face said of the suspect, "She is an animal. You don't do that to a human being. You don't do that to an animal. You don't do that to anybody. We want to make sure she does not do that to anyone else. This is not right."
She said, "It was all over her soling herself and her diaper. She had gone to the bathroom. She is incontinent and can not go to the bathroom by herself."
After a court appearance, the owner of the ALF, Josephine Gurri was released on a $1,000 bond and was charged with abuse of the elderly.
She was seen briefly outside the ALF on Thursday afternoon and then was seen covering her face as she drove away from the home.
Earlier in the day, she was interviewed by 3 people with the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration. A source told CBS News Miami's Peter D'Oench that they were taking a close look at Gurri's license for the facility.
On Thursday evening, The Good Family Home Inc. assisted living facility surrendered its license to the agency. The Health Care Administration, which licenses and regulates Florida healthcare facilities, is working with the Florida Department of Children and Families to ensure all residents are safely relocated.
Sgt. Fernando Bosch said, "If you see the video it is very disturbing. We are concerned because there might be other victims out there of this person. I would say the victim was not only scared but if you look at the video she is making insults to the victim."
Bosch has a lot of first-hand experience with facilities like this ALF. His elderly mother is staying in one.
Bosch has a number of tips for people looking to protect their loved ones.
"Make sure you monitor your family members," he said, "and look for any symptoms of abuse, brushing and things like that. Talk to other patients and see what they think and see if there is a way to keep their eye out."
The 84-year-old woman is not staying with family members.
D'Oench tried to reach Gurri at her home and by telephone. The person who answered her phone hung up.
And on Thursday afternoon, Gurri covered part of her face as she drove away from the home.