Seven Nursing Home Residents Killed in Gunman Attack at Long-Term Care Facility
Seven nursing home residents and one nursing home worker are dead, following a shootout at a US nursing home. The deadly attack happened on Sunday when Robert Stewart entered the Pinelake Health and Rehab Center, which houses numerous Alzheimer’s patients, and began shooting at people.
Nursing home residents that died ranged in age from 78 to 98. They are Louise Decker, Margaret Johnson, John Goldston, Bessie Hedrick, Jesse Musser, Lillian Dunn, and Tessie Garner. Nurse Jerry Avant also died from his wounds.
Police believe that Stewart may have been targeting his estranged wife, Wanda Luck, who is a nurse at the long-term care facility. The shooting rampage stopped after lone Police Officer Justine Garner entered the premises and shot him in his upper torso.
Stewart, who is receiving medical attention at a local prison, was arraigned on Monday on first-degree murder charges and a felony charge of assaulting a law enforcement official.
Nursing Home Security
It is important that all US nursing homes provide the proper security measures to keep residents safe from dangerous persons both outside the premise and within the facility. Families entrust workers at long-term care facilities to take care of their sick or elderly loved ones and not place them in harm's way.
If someone you love was abused, neglected, assaulted, raped, molested, or robbed by a nursing home worker or by an intruder to the nursing home, or if your loved one was hurt or died in a violent crime because he or she managed to leave a long-term care facility unattended, you may have grounds for filing a nursing home neglect claim or wrongful death lawsuit.
Some security measures that nursing homes might want to consider implementing:
• A registration system that documents anyone entering or exiting the building
• Security cameras
• Alarm systems
• Door locks
• Security guards
• Pre-screening (including criminal background checks) of nursing home workers
Gunman's estranged wife worked at N.C. nursing home, CBC News, March 30, 2009
Marital discord suspected as motive in North Carolina nursing home rampage, Associated Press, March 30, 2009
Related Web Resources:
Pinelake Health and Rehab, Peak Resources
Nursing Home Overview, Medicare.gov
In Illinois, contact our Chicago nursing home neglect attorneys today.
