Nurse charged with abusing patient, stealing drugs

QUEENS Prosecutors say 56-year-old Jessie Joiner was employed at the William O. Benenson Rehabilitation Pavilion when on March 20, 2010, she knocked a resident out of her wheelchair, resulting in a broken hip that required surgery to repair. Instead of properly reporting the incident and seeking medical attention for the resident, Joiner allegedly ignored the resident as she lay on the floor in the hallway, and left her there to be found by another employee. The true cause of the fractured hip was revealed after the nursing home administration reviewed the video from a hallway surveillance camera.

Additionally, during an unrelated investigation that was being conducted following the disappearance of prescription narcotics, police say Joiner admitted that on the same night of March 20 she stole 21 to 24 Percocet pills that were meant for another resident. Joiner stated that she took the drugs for her own personal use and destroyed the paperwork for the drugs in an effort to hide her actions.

"The callous actions of this nurse are alleged to have caused an elderly wheelchair-bound resident to endure serious injury and subsequent surgery," Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said. "We expect nursing homes to be staffed with professionals who will provide dependable and compassionate care for our loved ones. In this case, these standards were not met, and we will take action to ensure that this individual is brought to justice."

Joiner is charged with endangering the welfare of a vulnerable elderly person, falsification of business records, criminal possession of a controlled substance, petit larceny, endangering the welfare of an incompetent or physically disabled person and willful violation of the health l. The charges carry a maximum penalty of seven years of incarceration.