Nursing home employees fired over nude photos of residents
BREMERTON, Wash. -- At least three former nursing home employees are under investigation for possibly exploiting elderly patients.
The Kitsap Health and Rehabilitation Center reported the caretakers after they were seen laughing at cell phone photos of nude residents. The nursing home also said it fired at least three employees for sharing those photos.
But one fired nurse's aid told KOMO News police have no proof of wrongdoing.
Detectives say that's because only three or four nursing home employees shared the pictures. And when word got out, those workers deleted the photos from their phones.
According to the police report, some of the pictures showed naked residents bent over or making faces. One former employee told police he sent the photos to co-workers as a joke.
The fired nurse's aid tells a different story, however. She said she saw some of the photos, but no one was naked in them and the pictures were never on her phone.
"I think it was unfair, because they don't have any evidence that I did it. It was somebody else. I told them it was somebody else who took the pictures," the worker said.
The woman added the employee who took the pictures was fired months ago before the investigation started.
Evergreen Healthcare manages the Bremerton facility. A spokesperson said the company is conducting its own investigation, and remains committed to quality care.
Four separate investigations are now being conducted by the company, Bremerton police, the Department of Social and Health Services and the state Board of Nursing.
The Board of Nursing said this is a high-priority case, and the licensed practical nurse who admitted to police he took and shared some of the pictures could lose his state license.
Bremerton police turned their investigation over to prosecutors, but investigators said there isn't enough proof to file criminal charges.
"Probably not in this case, because that crime requires an element of taking the photographs or viewing them for sexual gratification," said Sgt. Kevin Crane. "We have no indication in this case that the photos were for sexual gratification."
DSHS Secretary Susan Dreyfus called the allegations "disgusting" and "stomach-turning."
She said the state has launched a 30-day investigation, and if she finds a lack of supervision or broken standards at the Bremerton nursing home, the center could be fined, be placed under increased supervision or be shut down.
The Kitsap Health and Rehabilitation Center reported the caretakers after they were seen laughing at cell phone photos of nude residents. The nursing home also said it fired at least three employees for sharing those photos.
But one fired nurse's aid told KOMO News police have no proof of wrongdoing.
Detectives say that's because only three or four nursing home employees shared the pictures. And when word got out, those workers deleted the photos from their phones.
According to the police report, some of the pictures showed naked residents bent over or making faces. One former employee told police he sent the photos to co-workers as a joke.
The fired nurse's aid tells a different story, however. She said she saw some of the photos, but no one was naked in them and the pictures were never on her phone.
"I think it was unfair, because they don't have any evidence that I did it. It was somebody else. I told them it was somebody else who took the pictures," the worker said.
The woman added the employee who took the pictures was fired months ago before the investigation started.
Evergreen Healthcare manages the Bremerton facility. A spokesperson said the company is conducting its own investigation, and remains committed to quality care.
Four separate investigations are now being conducted by the company, Bremerton police, the Department of Social and Health Services and the state Board of Nursing.
The Board of Nursing said this is a high-priority case, and the licensed practical nurse who admitted to police he took and shared some of the pictures could lose his state license.
Bremerton police turned their investigation over to prosecutors, but investigators said there isn't enough proof to file criminal charges.
"Probably not in this case, because that crime requires an element of taking the photographs or viewing them for sexual gratification," said Sgt. Kevin Crane. "We have no indication in this case that the photos were for sexual gratification."
DSHS Secretary Susan Dreyfus called the allegations "disgusting" and "stomach-turning."
She said the state has launched a 30-day investigation, and if she finds a lack of supervision or broken standards at the Bremerton nursing home, the center could be fined, be placed under increased supervision or be shut down.