Nursing Home Supervisor Served with More Charges
This week, John Riems, a 22-year veteran nurse who worked as a nursing home supervisor, was served with more charges of rape and "felonious sexual penetration." Police say the man may have worked in as many as 10 nursing homes in three Ohio counties, and, according to his confession, may have abused as many as 100 residents. His victims were generally disabled and unable to defend themselves.
What makes these crimes even worse is that they do not occur in a vacuum. Instead, while Riems was abusing residents, he had coworkers and supervisors who should have known and many of them probably did. Coworkers who have come forward have described him as physically and verbally abusive to residents and coworkers. Some said they went to management with complaints about evidence of abuse and neglect at the nursing home where Riems had been promoted to nighttime supervisor, but management was "sweeping stuff under the carpet."
Nursing home abuse and neglect is a corporate crime. In addition to the individual criminals, there is a support structure of facilitators, often managers and executives who are happy to turn a blind eye to abuse or neglect, as long as costs are kept low and profits high. If your loved one has suffered abuse or neglect in a nursing home, it is unlikely that only the perpetrator is to blame.
If you or a loved one has suffered as a result of nursing home abuse or neglect, it is important to target the revenue stream that motivates executives to turn a blind eye to the conditions at their facilities. To stop nursing home abuse, abusive nursing homes must become unprofitable. Contact an experienced nursing home injury attorney at Pomerantz, Perlberger, and Lewis, LLP, to make sure everyone responsible is made to suffer for what they have done to you.
