Home health aide neglected two chronically ill children
An investigation by the Minnesota Office of Health Facility Complaints has revealed a home health aide neglected two chronically ill children for months while working at the Divine Healthcare Network in St. Paul.
The aide, who was not identified, did not provide the children with their prescribed tube feedings and medications, left them unattended for extended periods of time and had sexual intercourse with a male friend in their living quarters, the investigation found.
The woman was hired as a home health aide at the Divine Healthcare Network in July 2007 after a background check was cleared, according to the report. The woman was fired for her misconduct.
As part of the investigation, a camera was set up for seven days after the children's parents became suspicious the children were losing weight. According to the report, one child lost 23 pounds from April to October 2008.
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Camera footage revealed the aide was not consistently changing the children's diapers or providing them with their feeding tubes, which may have resulted in at least one of the children developing a nutritional problem.
The aide also "had a sexual episode with a man and did not administer medications and nebulizers during that time," according to the report.
Both children have Myotubular Myopathy, a congenital disease that causes a defect in the cell structure of voluntary muscles. Both have chronic respiratory failure and are ventilator dependent.
In October, the aide completed a written statement admitting her neglect of the two children. The Divine Healthcare Network was not cited in the investigation.