Michael Powell, the victim’s domestic partner, said when he came to see her Monday morning, she was visibly upset.
“She was in a traumatic state,” Powell said, adding she said a nurse’s aide had “fondled her body … and that she had been sexually abused.”
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The victim is paralyzed from a stroke, Powell said.
“She has no movement of her body. So if this guy had done this over third shift, there is nothing she could have done to defend herself,” Powell said.
According to Powell, Heartland of Kettering told him they would do an internal investigation and advised him to call the police. Powell said Heartland said they would interview some of the other patients and see if anything similar had happened to any of them.
“I really didn’t have any faith in their internal investigation,” Powell said.
Kettering Police said they’ve opened a sexual assault investigation. They also made a visit to Heartland on Monday.
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“She’s in such a mental state that she couldn’t possibly tell me this story without it being true,” Powell said. “She was very traumatized and was trembling when I came in.”
Julie Beckert, spokeswoman for Heartland’s parent company HCR ManorCare, said the company has “zero tolerance” for harm to its patients.
“We are awaiting the results of the police investigation,” Beckert said in a statement. “Our background and employee check are in good standing.”
Beckert said Heartland is not permitted to discuss individual patients who live at the facility due to federal and state laws and regulations.
“If this guy is guilty of this, if he’s truly done this, he shouldn’t be working in an institution like this,” Powell said. “There’s no room for him to mistreat patients that way.”
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