Nurse Accused of Taking Naked Photos of Nursing Home Patients

[Melissa Mills]

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.

[canoehead, BSN, RN]

I would be absolutely outraged, as a staffperson, let alone if I was family. I think I'd be up for most anything that would prevent it

[Oldmahubbard]

I feel just the opposite.

let's see all the people who lay around in their own excrement for many hours.

[KalipsoRed21, BSN, RN]

So first off it sounds like this lady is mostly in trouble because her baby daddy turned her in....no one else finds that suspicious? Second, I don’t know what the pictures were of. Yes the article indicates by whoever wrote it that the pictures were of the elderly “in various states of undress” and the complaint filed by who states :

“The images are explicit and private, and some have the sole purpose to humiliate the patients.”

”some have the sole purpose to humiliate the patient.” Is an opinion and not an unbiased statement. So as I have not seen the pictures I cannot judge her. If I was in a relationship with another nurse or someone in medicine may find a circumstance so out of the ordinary that they may take a picture to explain it to them. I have also worked in enough facilities to know that privacy, and what does and does not constitute privacy can be left vague enough that this LPN may have not understood. I can also see how a non medical person would look at images I would feel worthy enough to take a picture of to discuss with other medical people as having a “sole purpose to humiliate” or that it may look sexual due to the fact that there is any nudity at all. ( I mean really guys? If you are a nurse with a lot of modesty, then you have been working in some pretty low human contact areas.) Furthermore, people are so screwed up these days to think than any nude pictures of children is Mediaographic. I have a picture of my entirely nude 4 year old niece pretending she is a water fountain in a plastic pool. And I also know people who would think that it was weird or sexual that I took those pictures even though she was PLAYING and I didn’t think of it as sexual. So until I see the pictures and hear the LPN side I will not judge.....which is what any decent American should do. Innocent until proven guilty guys!!!

Now with all that said, should her testimony and the pictures actually prove her to be what this article is indicating, then sure she is horrible and should be prosecuted as a felon.

On 5/8/2019 at 11:47 AM, Melissa Mills said:

The

[Leader25, ASN, BSN, RN]

Shocked beyond words,how horrid.Strip license forever,jail time,counseling forever,ban from healthcare forever.

[turtlesRcool]

19 hours ago, KalipsoRed21 said:

So first off it sounds like this lady is mostly in trouble because her baby daddy turned her in....no one else finds that suspicious? Second, I don’t know what the pictures were of. Yes the article indicates by whoever wrote it that the pictures were of the elderly “in various states of undress” and the complaint filed by who states :

“The images are explicit and private, and some have the sole purpose to humiliate the patients.”

”some have the sole purpose to humiliate the patient.” Is an opinion and not an unbiased statement. So as I have not seen the pictures I cannot judge her. If I was in a relationship with another nurse or someone in medicine may find a circumstance so out of the ordinary that they may take a picture to explain it to them. I have also worked in enough facilities to know that privacy, and what does and does not constitute privacy can be left vague enough that this LPN may have not understood. I can also see how a non medical person would look at images I would feel worthy enough to take a picture of to discuss with other medical people as having a “sole purpose to humiliate” or that it may look sexual due to the fact that there is any nudity at all. ( I mean really guys? If you are a nurse with a lot of modesty, then you have been working in some pretty low human contact areas.) Furthermore, people are so screwed up these days to think than any nude pictures of children is Mediaographic. I have a picture of my entirely nude 4 year old niece pretending she is a water fountain in a plastic pool. And I also know people who would think that it was weird or sexual that I took those pictures even though she was PLAYING and I didn’t think of it as sexual. So until I see the pictures and hear the LPN side I will not judge.....which is what any decent American should do. Innocent until proven guilty guys!!!

Now with all that said, should her testimony and the pictures actually prove her to be what this article is indicating, then sure she is horrible and should be prosecuted as a felon.

I'm going to tentatively agree. The accusations are really serious, but the article was so sensationalized to stir up outrage that I have a hard time forming an opinion.

If the facts are as presented in the article, then she should face serious consequences.

But I think we need to know a little more about the context and intent before we get out the pitchforks.

A picture of someone in his or her excrement could be an attempt to document poor patient conditions. I don't know. Yes, the pictures were sent to her "baby daddy," but he's identified as a former colleague, so maybe she was looking for some kind of guidance. We don't even know if the naked child was a bath time picture of her own kid.

[Nunya, BSN]

On 5/9/2019 at 5:49 PM, Oldmahubbard said:

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.

Why would you take a one time picture of someone lying in their own excrement trying to prove it was for hours? The only way to prove it would be to take several pictures where you can tell it's the same incident or a video. And documenting staffing problems would best be done by a picture of the schedule and the census.

[turtlesRcool]

On 5/12/2019 at 10:36 AM, Elaine M said:

Why would you take a one time picture of someone lying in their own excrement trying to prove it was for hours? The only way to prove it would be to take several pictures where you can tell it's the same incident or a video. And documenting staffing problems would best be done by a picture of the schedule and the census.

Eh, no one has said this nurse's actions were smart.

I think PP was just suggesting there could be less sensational and nefarious motives behind these pictures.

The article is so one-sided that it's hard to tell if the nurse is a depraved individual who should be locked up or if she is a naive (and maybe a little stupid) new nurse shocked at resident conditions.

[Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN]

Quote

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.

What the ever loving ???????!??!!

[KCLSEA]

Wow, I am completely shocked beyond words. I can't believe that this happened.

[Megarline, CNA]

I can't wrap my head around why would a nurse has a desire to take pictures of people who don't look like Magic Mike's body or Marilyn Monroe's body.

The person must have some sort of a depraved sexual fetish, or he or she was taking photos with the suspicion of abuse.

[ArmyRntoMD, BSN, RN]

Man I wish I could choke slam her dumb a*s

[Megarline, CNA]

Why would she take photos for?

When she is proven guilty, she should be punished appropriately.