Elwyn, group home staffers charged with abuse after allegedly not helping resident who fell for several hours
By Laura Fay
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New Jersey (KYW) — The parent company of a New Jersey group home for people with people with intellectual disabilities and several of its employees are accused of abusing and neglecting an elderly resident, the state attorney general said Monday.
Elwyn Pennsylvania Delaware Inc., which is based in Delaware County, and multiple people who worked at a group home it operated in Vineland have been arraigned on charges related to elder abuse and neglect, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin announced.
The abuse allegedly happened at Strathmore Group Home, and the indictment says employees failed to care for a resident who fell multiple times in April 2023.
Elwyn and Gwendolyn Singletary were arraigned Oct. 20 on charges of neglecting an elderly person and conspiracy. Singletary is also charged with assaulting an institutionalized person.
Inkie Mars, director of operations; Michele Beirne, direct support professional; Bryan F. Firlein, clinical director; DeShay Dickson, operations manager; and Brenda Hichens Torres, direct support professional, were previously indicted on related charges.
According to the attorney general’s office, a resident fell on April 13, 2023, and employees failed to help her to her feet for more than three hours. Two days later, the resident fell or dropped to the ground again and was on the floor for nearly seven hours without help. During that time, Dickson and Singletary allegedly failed to check on the resident for more than three hours each, according to the attorney general.
CBS News Philadelphia has reached out to Elwyn for comment and is waiting to hear back.
“Failure to respond quickly and properly to a resident in need of care is not only wrong but may constitute a crime,” Platkin said in a news release about the case. “The behavior described in the indictment goes beyond mere neglect. We will not allow conduct like this in our care facilities.”
“Institutionalized people should always be treated with respect and dignity,” said Theresa L. Hilton, Division of Criminal Justice director, in the news release. “They need to be safe. The indictment alleges that this did not happen in this case.”
Beirne was admitted into a pre-trial intervention program and agreed to serve 100 hours of community service and not do direct-care work with elderly people, children, people with disabilities or other vulnerable groups.
Officials allege the group home, Mars and Firlein failed to put processes in place to prevent incidents like this and solve them if they happen.
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