In The News:
Nearly 20 Virginia nursing home staffers now face charges in connection with death of elderly resident
COLONIAL HEIGHTS, Va. — More than one month after police officers and state agents conducted a sweeping raid of a Colonial Heights nursing home at the center of an elder abuse investigation, another staff member has been charged with a felony.
Michelle Beddoe was arrested Tuesday. She now faces one count of abuse of a vulnerable adult resulting in death.
Beddoe works as a nurse manager at the Colonial Heights Rehabilitation and Nursing Center on Ellerslie Avenue, and investigators say she managed the unit where the victim resided.
Prosecutors have identified the victim as a 74-year-old woman who suffered from cerebral palsy and diabetes prior to her death, which investigators say was caused by sepsis due to poor care at the facility.
Per her role, Beddoe was required to know the status of all the patients in her unit, assess their acuity, and make sure they were being taken care of properly, but she failed to do that, according to prosecutors.
Within a week, the Colonial Heights detective handling the case had received 84 complaints from community members about concerns related to the nursing home, according to prosecutors.
Last week, a doctor at the facility was charged in connection with the death of another patient.
Beddoe was arraigned Wednesday morning and requested a court-appointed attorney. She was also granted bond, under the condition that she cannot work in healthcare, pending the outcome of this case.
Beddoe and many of the other defendants are due back in court on March 26.
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NHAA is here to assist families, residents, and the community by sounding the alarm on issues like those found above. This nursing home and many others across the country are cited for abuse and neglect.
If you have or had a loved one living in this nursing home or any other nursing home where you suspect any form of abuse or neglect, contact us immediately.
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