Two nursing aides fired for abusing elderly

NORTH TONAWANDA, N.Y. (WIVB) - There are shocking allegations of elder abuse at a Niagara County nursing home.

The incident happened about a year ago, but the details are now just surfacing. Two employees of a Wheatfield nursing home are accused of "humiliating, distressing, and violating the dignity" of two elderly residents last April, according to State Department of Health documents obtained by News 4. The incident happened at the Northgate Healthcare Facility on Nash Road.

The documents detail disturbing allegations in which Alicia Clemens, a certified nursing assistant "took cell phone camera pictures" after she and another employee, Gloria Maxwell, brought a female patient into a room shared by a married couple. They then moved the female patient in between the couple, the documents state, and got the married man, who is legally blind and suffers from dementia, to touch the woman's shoulder.

>> See the documents from the State Department of Health here

People we spoke with say they're happy with the treatment loved ones are getting at Northgate. Ron Lontkowski's wife is receiving therapy at the facility for a knee replacement.

"These things happen. There are individuals that are, let's say, not up to par, and they work everywhere, and it's a shame if they make a bad reputation for a good thing," said Lontkowski.

Grace Leaderstorf's sister has been a resident at the facility for several years.

Leaderstorf said, "I heard the story, and basically I'm very satisfied with the care my sister is getting here."

State Department of Health spokesperson Jeffrey Hammond tells News 4 that the evidence did not rise to the level of criminal activity. Two other employees were cited by the state for failing to immediately report the incident to supervisors.

When we contacted the facility on Wednesday, a person who answered the phone said there would be no comment. The Buffalo News is reporting that the nursing assistants were terminated before the state finished its investigation.