That’s not what happened here
Posted by Kim on June 7th, 2007 / Print This Post
Several months ago we wrote many posts here about the case of Mabel Taylor, the woman with Alzheimer’s Disease, who eloped from her nursing home and was found dead outside. The owner of the home, Martha F. Bell, was recently convicted of covering up the death of Mrs. Taylor. Now the nurse who was on duty that fateful night has also been convicted.
As the son of two doctors who practiced medicine from home offices and treated sick people around the clock, Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge David R. Cashman said he knows what constitutes good patient care.“That’s not what happened here,” the judge told former nursing home supervisor Kathryn Galati yesterday before sentencing her to five years of probation for her role in a failed plan to cover up how a former resident died in 2001.
Judge Cashman also barred Ms. Galati, a registered nurse, from working in health care during that time. Ms. Galati, 61, of the North Side, in March pleaded guilty to perjury, false swearing, conspiracy and tampering with evidence.
Ms. Galati was the supervisor at the defunct Ronald Reagan Atrium I Nursing, Research and Rehabilitation Center in Robinson when resident Mabel Taylor died on Oct. 26, 2001. Mrs. Taylor, 88, who had Alzheimer’s disease, was trapped overnight in an outdoor courtyard in 40-degree weather.
Investigators accused Ms. Galati of conspiring with former Atrium administrator Martha F. Bell to deceive Mrs. Taylor’s family by directing employees to drag the victim’s body inside, wash and place her in bed and claim she’d died peacefully in her sleep.
Mrs. Taylor’s daughter, Jane Baczewski of Hopewell, testified yesterday of her horror after discovering the “elaborate scheme to conceal” the truth.
“I will live with that picture of my dear mother being dragged on that pavement for the rest of my life,” she said, her voice cracking.
Ms. Galati did not speak yesterday. Her attorney, Leslie Perlow, said she is “not the greatest communicator,” but is remorseful and knows “what she did was wrong.”
A sentence of probation seems a little insufficient to me in this case. A woman died due to the lack of good supervision this nurse failed to provide; and the actions after are just horrible. But I am not a judge or jury in this case.