Kern Valley Healthcare District another case of elder abuse shocks community...and hospital.
Rene Gotico a licensed Registered Nurse has been released on bail after being arrested for allegedly pushing a patient of the Kern Valley Healthcare District skilled nursing facility by the throat as she tried to get up and go to the bathroom.
According to Ray Pruitt, Public Information Officer with the Kern County Sheriff's department, officers were called out at 8:40 pm on Monday, August 23, as a witness to the alleged event called law enforcement.
The 79 year-old victim was supposedly trying to get help to get to the bathroom and Gotico was supposed to have told her to wait. It was reported the woman sat up and got to the edge of the bed.
"Allegedly Gotico took hold of her neck and pushed her back down," Pruitt said.
The incident is reported to have taken place at 7 pm Monday night, and when investigators arrived almost two hours later, they could see marks on the elderly woman's neck.
"Investigators found visible signs of redness on her neck," Pruit explained.
Pruit said Gotico was then arrested on one charge of felony elder abuse, penal code 368 B 1. This is one of the same charges facing Pamela Ott, Dr. Hoshang Pormir and Gwen Hughes, in the previous elder abuse case involving the use of psychotropic drugs allegedly used to keep patients quiet.
The report is that Gotico was arrested the same night and has now been released on bail. No word on the date of his arraignment as of today.
According to Kern Valley Healthcare District, CEO, Tim McGlew, the nurse was recently hired on at the hospital on a permanent basis, as he had been a traveling nurse for many years coming and going from the Kern Valley Hospital.
"Mr. Gotico has worked with the facility for some years as a traveling nurse. He was hired on as an employee about one month ago. He is a registered nurse," McGlew responded in an email regarding the situation.
"We had not experienced any behaviors of the kind demonstrated by this individual before Monday night. It was to all involved, a surprise" McGlew went on to explain.
The CEO also wrote that the ER director, Dr. Sacapano, was notified immediately and had the staff call the sheriff's department which he said was "protocol" in a situation like this.
All the typical hospital agencies, including Public Health were notified, as well as himself as administrator of both hospital and the skilled nursing facility as it took place after regular business hours.
"As I shared with the Californian (newspaper) and the other media outlets that have contacted us, our first priority was and is the safety of our patients and residents. Mr. Gotico was removed from all patient care contact immediately after the incident and was suspended pending investigation,"
I will follow up as Mr. Gotico will be in court in the next few weeks.
Currently awaiting basic facts in the California Attorney Generals elder abuse case, which is scheduled to come back to court on October 15 at the Kern County Superior Court for an arraignment. This includes all three defendants. Will have more details later...
Persistance and Tenacity, requires a new chapter, a new beginning....
Showing posts with label Rene Gotico arrested at KVHD. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rene Gotico arrested at KVHD. Show all posts
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Bakersfield Californian reports traveling nurse arrested on felony at KVHD: more trouble for ailing hospital's nursing center
Felony arrest of employee of the Kern Valley Healthcare District nursing center...again?
The Bakersfield Californian is reporting that Rene Gachon Gotico was arrested on Tuesday, August 24th, 2010, for an alleged elder abuse incident in the Kern Valley Healthcare District skilled nursing facility.
It has been reported that Gotico grabbed a resident by the neck and pushed her back into bed after she requested help from the nurse to go to the bathroom.
The Californian story goes on to say that the incident was witnessed and the proper authorities were notified, as the police came out and found the patient to have red marks around her neck.
While the elder abuse case has been in Kern County Superior Court
From charges of using psychotropic drugs stemming from Attorney General, Jerry Brown's investigation which brought about the arrests of three KVHD employees, including Dr. Hoshang Pormir, Geriatric nurse Gwen Hughes, and former CEO, Pam Ott, in 2009, to this new incident.
With the state's case in the Kern County Superior court this week for the preliminary hearing, news is that the older felony abuse case which may have shortened the lives of four KVHD nursing home residents, continues on to see if there is enough evidence to take the defendants to to trial.
How will this new incident reflect on the crumbling healthcare district
As the hospital, in dire financial trouble, seeks to obtain property tax dollars from residents of the Kern Valley, via a General Obligation Bond now on the Nov. 2 election ballot, this could not be considered good news as the election is only two and a half months away.
One community member hearing of the latest incident said, "this is out of control now, we can't vote to keep this hospital going the way it's going-it's getting , worse not better."
A local volunteer for the hospital said, remaining anonymous, alerted me that the problems are getting worse as nurses are understaffed in the nursing center and she said she knew something "terrible" would happen if they didn't get enough employees to cover the skilled nursing center.
I will follow up on Gotico, described in the article as a "traveling nurse" who has been working for the district "on and off" for fourteen years. Traveling nurses are temporary employees brought in to cover shifts which can't be handled with the current staff. (More on this situation: no overtime, traveling nurse brougth in to cover) The cost are higher, and often times the nurses are given housing along with the moving expenses.
According to the California Board of Nursing, Gotico, has had his Registered Nursing License since 1993 and the website shows no disciplinary action.
Updates on the new "felony" abuse case as it is another serious issue which will likely bring more attention to the hospital's reputation and ability to manage with serious shortages of money, even difficulty making payroll.
The hospital focusing on "Measure G" will have an uphill battle to climb as they have marketed the property tax measure as a 22.7 million dollar emergency room construction project.
Under fire, they have said many things on video over the past months and even years much of that will appear on our Youtube website for confirmation of the allegations of KVHD's lack of adhering to laws pertaining to public healthcare districts.
I'll send in questions to the hospital, but they have still not answered my public requests in a timely fashion, so we will see if the CEO, is willing to step forward and give a statement on behalf of the district
Here's the link to the article from Bakersfield Now a blog from the Bakersfield Californian.
http://www.bakersfield.com/news/local/x464578841/Nurse-arrested-on-felony-elder-abuse-charge
Update on Gotico as well as the on going preliminary case regarding the use of drugs to control the elderly patients of the hospital's nursing center.
The Bakersfield Californian is reporting that Rene Gachon Gotico was arrested on Tuesday, August 24th, 2010, for an alleged elder abuse incident in the Kern Valley Healthcare District skilled nursing facility.
It has been reported that Gotico grabbed a resident by the neck and pushed her back into bed after she requested help from the nurse to go to the bathroom.
The Californian story goes on to say that the incident was witnessed and the proper authorities were notified, as the police came out and found the patient to have red marks around her neck.
While the elder abuse case has been in Kern County Superior Court
From charges of using psychotropic drugs stemming from Attorney General, Jerry Brown's investigation which brought about the arrests of three KVHD employees, including Dr. Hoshang Pormir, Geriatric nurse Gwen Hughes, and former CEO, Pam Ott, in 2009, to this new incident.
With the state's case in the Kern County Superior court this week for the preliminary hearing, news is that the older felony abuse case which may have shortened the lives of four KVHD nursing home residents, continues on to see if there is enough evidence to take the defendants to to trial.
How will this new incident reflect on the crumbling healthcare district
As the hospital, in dire financial trouble, seeks to obtain property tax dollars from residents of the Kern Valley, via a General Obligation Bond now on the Nov. 2 election ballot, this could not be considered good news as the election is only two and a half months away.
One community member hearing of the latest incident said, "this is out of control now, we can't vote to keep this hospital going the way it's going-it's getting , worse not better."
A local volunteer for the hospital said, remaining anonymous, alerted me that the problems are getting worse as nurses are understaffed in the nursing center and she said she knew something "terrible" would happen if they didn't get enough employees to cover the skilled nursing center.
I will follow up on Gotico, described in the article as a "traveling nurse" who has been working for the district "on and off" for fourteen years. Traveling nurses are temporary employees brought in to cover shifts which can't be handled with the current staff. (More on this situation: no overtime, traveling nurse brougth in to cover) The cost are higher, and often times the nurses are given housing along with the moving expenses.
According to the California Board of Nursing, Gotico, has had his Registered Nursing License since 1993 and the website shows no disciplinary action.
Updates on the new "felony" abuse case as it is another serious issue which will likely bring more attention to the hospital's reputation and ability to manage with serious shortages of money, even difficulty making payroll.
The hospital focusing on "Measure G" will have an uphill battle to climb as they have marketed the property tax measure as a 22.7 million dollar emergency room construction project.
Under fire, they have said many things on video over the past months and even years much of that will appear on our Youtube website for confirmation of the allegations of KVHD's lack of adhering to laws pertaining to public healthcare districts.
I'll send in questions to the hospital, but they have still not answered my public requests in a timely fashion, so we will see if the CEO, is willing to step forward and give a statement on behalf of the district
Here's the link to the article from Bakersfield Now a blog from the Bakersfield Californian.
http://www.bakersfield.com/news/local/x464578841/Nurse-arrested-on-felony-elder-abuse-charge
Update on Gotico as well as the on going preliminary case regarding the use of drugs to control the elderly patients of the hospital's nursing center.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)