Oct 2, 2009 9:01 pm US/Eastern
Police: Nurse Wanted Elderly Patient 'To Suffer'
PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa. (CBS 3) ―
A licensed practical nurse in Montgomery County, who is trusted to care for the elderly, has been arrested after being accused of causing harm to one of his patients.
Abiodun Oke worked at the Arista Care at Meadow Springs in Plymouth Meeting.
According to court documents, Oke was taking care of an 81-year-old female patient at the facility who suffered from dementia, pneumonia and who has a tracheotomy.
The facility has a visual and audible alarm that goes off when a patient's ventilator becomes detached.
According to court documents, Oke reattached the 81-year-old patient's ventilator two times in one day, but when the alarm went off a third time for a minute and a half, the Montgomery County District Attorney's office says Oke did nothing.
Instead a respiratory therapist who also heard the alarm, but was not responsible for the patient, responded.
The respiratory therapist told Plymouth Township police she found Oke in the patient's room behind the door with his hands folded. She reconnected the patient who was blue and in respiratory distress to the ventilator.
Then she allegedly asked Oke if he saw that the patient was disconnected.
According to court documents, Oke told her: "I connected her twice, now I want to see her suffer."
The facility fired Oke right after the alleged incident and has cooperated with authorities.
Arista Care at Meadow Springs issued CBS 3 a statement that read:
"We look forward to justice being served and take comfort in knowing that the systems and processes we have in place to protect the heath and safety of our patients has yielded results."
The elderly patient is said to be doing OK.
Oke has been charged with aggravated assault, neglect of a care dependent person and recklessly endangering another person.
He has a preliminary hearing scheduled in Montgomery County Friday morning.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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