Aide fired after abusing patients in outstate nursing home

Investigators from the Minnesota Department of Health say an aide emotionally and physically abused two residents at a West-Central Minnesota nursing home earlier this summer.

The former aide, who was not identified, was fired from Glenwood Village Care Center in Glenwood, Minn. She had been working at the home since January of 2009 and denied all the allegations. It's the fourth case of nursing home abuse in Minnesota in the last 12 months.

According to the report filed by the health department, the former aide made a patient cry after lifting the patient's leg even as she complained that it hurt. The former aide also told the same patient that she could soon see her deceased husband.

Another employee interviewed in the report said the former aide told her she "Wouldn't hit [the patient], but believe me, I want to. I just want to smash her."

The health department says the home reacted properly to the incidents and has done more staff training on resident rights and the need to report cases of abuse or neglect.

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