need to terminate

Late one evening this past weekend, I dropped in at work just to see how things were going. Typically, my staff gives great care. But one of the halls reeked of urine. I began to check and found extra pads under several residents. Half the residents were wet, one so much so that his sheets were brown almost the entire length of his body. I was so angry! I found the aide, who began to give me every excuse in the world. (All the residents in question were assigned to her. All the other residents in the building were clean). I told her not to bother with excuses, they were not short staffed, she has worked there 3 yrs and so knows what to do. I made her stay over until she had everything done right. I have suspended her for her next 3 scheduled days. I think she should be terminated, but hated to make that decision when I was angry. She has always seemed to care so much for her residents. She has trouble keeping her mouth shut and is over dramatic, but did seem to really care. To make it worse, today I found out that she had left the building earlier that day without clocking out. So I guess I am just venting. I know what I need to do. I hate firing people, but my people have to be taken care of.