Nurse Accused of Taking Naked Photos of Nursing Home Patients
How would you feel if a nurse took pictures of your mother, father, or grandparents in various states of undress? Learn about the case against a Pennsylvania nurse for doing just this.
Elder abuse comes in many forms. However, most people believe that patients are safe at the hands of their nurse. This might be why the story out of Pennsylvania feels so jarring. Ashley Ann Smith, a 30-year-old licensed practical nurse, has been accused of taking photos of at least 17 of her elderly nursing home patients. Some of the images show the residents in various states of undress and in need of immediate private care. One video found on her phone showed a patient undergoing a medical procedure while nude. The complaint filed against Smith states, “The images are explicit and private, and some have the sole purpose to humiliate the patients.”
Not only did she take the photos, but she’s also charged with sending 20 pictures to a former co-worker, who also happens to be the father of her child. This man, Ron Whittaker, turned Smith into hospital leadership sometime last week. At this time, Whittaker hasn’t been charged with any crimes.
If all of this isn’t enough to cause outrage, police also found two pictures of a 2-year-old girl on Smith’s phone that have been called Mediaographic. So, along with the 30 crimes of invasion of privacy and abuse of care, she’s also facing child Mediaography charges. Smith was immediately suspended from Kane McKeesport Community Living Center without pay once the photos were discovered. Then, on May 1st, Smith was terminated when local law enforcement notified the long-term care center that the allegations were founded.
In a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article, Lori Rushe, the daughter of one of the alleged victims stated, “You’re taking advantage of people who don’t know their name, where they’re at or anything” about her father, a 90-year-old man with dementia. Lori told the paper that she noted a new sign on the elevator a couple of weeks ago stating that taking unauthorized pictures of residents was prohibited. She went on to say that she wished the staff had told her the seriousness of the allegations.
Understanding Elder Abuse
While this case seems pretty clear that what happened to the residents at Kane McKeesport Community Living Center is abuse, let’s just review the definition. The National Institute of Aging notes that there five types of abuse:
Emotional Abuse, also called psychological abuse, happens when a caregiver or other person yells, threatens, or repeatedly ignores an older person.
Neglect happens when the older person’s needs aren’t met.
Physical abuse occurs when someone causes bodily harm to the person, such as hitting, pushing, or slapping them.
Abandonment is when an elderly person is left alone without having their needs or care planned or met.
Sexual abuse happens when a caregiver forces an elderly person to be part of any sexual act.
Signs of Abuse
We often think that signs of abuse are only physical and usually visible. However, it’s critical to know that some seniors won’t be able to tell you about the abuse, such as what’s allegedly happened to those at Kane McKeesport. Here are a few things to monitor for if you think there’s been any sort of abuse:
Withdrawn
Stops taking part in activities they enjoy
Has unexplained burns, bruises, or other injuries
Has trouble sleeping
Seems depressed
Weight loss with no explanation
Rocks back and forth, or shows other signs of trauma
Acts violent or agitated
How Would You Feel?
It’s probably safe to say that if you had a loved one living in this facility, you would be outraged. But, what about if you worked there? Maybe you were even friends with the nurse who’s been charged and didn’t recognize any signs of this heinous crime? How would you feel?
What do you think should happen to Smith? Should she lose her job along with any criminal sentence she receives? Post your comments below. We would love to get your take on the situation.
Must be a sicko, I mean, why the H----- would somebody do that? Was it a power trip, to demean people, a sick thrill? Gross! She should be stripped of her license and go to jail at least for HIPAA violations. She has no ethics, I don't want her calling herself a nurse.
This makes me sick to my stomach. Strip her of all rights to ever work in the nursing field. Prison would do wonders for her. I do give credit to her bf for coming forward with this. How terrible for her patients.
I find this quite odd and I would like to know her intentions. Perhaps I don't know all the details .
Extremely unlikely, from my perspective, that she was trying to make a Mediao with the pictures. There wouldn't be much profit in it.
Much more likely that she was documenting the horrible staffing and lack of care in almost all LTC settings, where people commonly lay in their own excrement for hours, but the owners get 6 million dollars a year in profit. On average.
If that is the case, and it probably is, I applaud her.
I find this quite odd and I would like to know her intentions. Perhaps I don't know all the details .
Extremely unlikely, from my perspective, that she was trying to make a Mediao with the pictures. There wouldn't be much profit in it.
Much more likely that she was documenting the horrible staffing and lack of care in almost all LTC settings, where people commonly lay in their own excrement for hours, but the owners get 6 million dollars a year in profit. On average.
If that is the case, and it probably is, I applaud her.
Doesn't explain why she sent 20 of the photos to a boyfriend, or why she had images of a child.
"Not only did she take the photos, but she’s also charged with sending 20 pictures to a former co-worker, who also happens to be the father of her child. This man, Ron Whittaker, turned Smith into hospital leadership sometime last week. At this time, Whittaker hasn’t been charged with any crimes.
If all of this isn’t enough to cause outrage, police also found two pictures of a 2-year-old girl on Smith’s phone that have been called Mediaographic. So, along with the 30 crimes of invasion of privacy and abuse of care, she’s also facing child Mediaography charges. "
This sickens me. She should be held accountable and I believe because she is a licensed professional, let me rephrase she is licensed, definitely not a professional, her retribution should be much more than someone who is not. (Don’t get me wrong, it’s horrible no matter who you are committing this heinous act) but families/patients put their trust in us to protect them, It is our duty to protect them and advocate for them! And this to me is a much larger injustice being committed. If they can not trust us, who can they trust! I’m infuriated and disgusted!
Disgusting abuse of power over very vulnerable people. This isn't just someone being dumb and unprofessional, snapping photos of their favorite residents (clothed, maybe smiling or posing). This is purposely taking sexual photos of disabled elderly AND a child--attacking two of the most vulnerable populations. She should lose her job, her license, and be put on the sex offender list. She is a predator. Who knows what else she put these people through.
Specializes in ICU/community health/school nursing.
17 hours ago, Oldmahubbard said:
I find this quite odd and I would like to know her intentions. Perhaps I don't know all the details .
Much more likely that she was documenting the horrible staffing and lack of care in almost all LTC settings, where people commonly lay in their own excrement for hours, but the owners get 6 million dollars a year in profit. On average.
If that is the case, and it probably is, I applaud her.
If that was the case, would she have shared with her partner? Unless her partner happened to work as an ombudsman? I am leery of taking any pictures; I'd rather my documentation paint a picture... At any rate, I'm sure she has a lawyer at this point and I'm sure we won't hear about her motivation until trial time.
I find this quite odd and I would like to know her intentions. Perhaps I don't know all the details .
Extremely unlikely, from my perspective, that she was trying to make a Mediao with the pictures. There wouldn't be much profit in it.
Much more likely that she was documenting the horrible staffing and lack of care in almost all LTC settings, where people commonly lay in their own excrement for hours, but the owners get 6 million dollars a year in profit. On average.
If that is the case, and it probably is, I applaud her.
Nice try - I would like to think she had every good intention too. If this was the case she would have sent the pictures (de-identifying the residents first) to an entity that could actually affect change and improve conditions. In this case, she sent the pics to her baby-daddy who promptly turned her in to the authorities. Sometimes people are just evil or stupid or both.
Forest2
625 Posts
Must be a sicko, I mean, why the H----- would somebody do that? Was it a power trip, to demean people, a sick thrill? Gross! She should be stripped of her license and go to jail at least for HIPAA violations. She has no ethics, I don't want her calling herself a nurse.