Personal Care Home Employee Accused Of Assaulting Elderly Woman To Stand Trial
BEAVER (KDKA) – A personal care worker accused of punching an 83-year-old woman will stand trial on charges of neglect of care of a dependent person, simple assault and harassment.
Juanita Ochieng, 37, appeared in court for a preliminary hearing Tuesday morning. She arrived and left attempting to cover her face.
Investigators say the incident happened at Katera's Kove Personal Care Home in Big Beaver Borough during an overnight shift back in November. A supervisor observed the incident, according to the criminal complaint.
The victim, an 83-year-old resident who suffers from dementia, was housed in house number 6 of the facility.
Ochieng was an aide and certified nurse's assistant at the facility.
According to testimony at the hearing, the elderly resident bit Ochieng. A supervisor then heard loud noises from the patient's room, and testified she heard Ochieng swearing at the patient, slamming her down on the toilet and then punching her with both fists, three or four times.
The proprietor of the facility was called to testify about what she saw.
"I saw the resident's wounds. She had a bruised cheek and a lost tooth and a major skin tear on her arm. So, how did that happen? Plus, it was witnessed by a supervisor," said Lynn Katekovich, the proprietor.
Officials at the personal care home say Ochieng was fired immediately after the incident.
"Nov. 18 when this happened, I did everything immediately," said Katekovich. "She was immediately terminated, the paperwork, the police were called immediately, protective services. I know I was being accused of covering things up because this didn't come out until January. That's not true. I did everything back in November."
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