All the details in our Health Safety stories come from publicly available Final Orders, Consent Orders, Orders of Suspension and other documents from the Virginia Department of Health Professionals. For more information, see the Editor’s note below the story.
WAYNESBORO – A resident of the Waynesboro Manor assisted living community was uncomfortable. He’d had a bowel movement in his clothes and needed a member of staff to clean him.
The date is uncertain, but it’s before Oct. 5, 2022.
That day, his nurse aid was Nancy Robin Hall Rice. Rice worked with residents and distributed medications at Waynesboro Manor.
Rice wasn’t soothing to him. Rice was upset. Coworkers reported her shouting and using profanity at the resident because of the incident, calling him “nasty.”
Rice cleaned up using the resident’s clothing. She told the resident she was going to leave the now-soiled clothes in a trash bag in the room so he would “smell them all night.” She removed all the resident’s underwear, forcing him to wear incontinence briefs.
After learning of the incident, Waynesboro Manor Administrator Tammy Bare fired Rice on Oct. 5. Bare told The News Leader she found the incident “appalling,” and explained what she expects staff to do when residents have similar issues.
“You smile, and you make the person feel like they still have some dignity,” Bare said. “You clean it up and you tell them it’s okay. I say it happens all the time.”
Rice moved on to another facility, but Bare didn’t. She called Rice’s new employer and reported her to the Virginia Board of Nursing.
“Of course, it was hearsay at the time,” Bare told The News Leader. “It was kind of our word against hers because, of course, she denied everything.”
An investigator arrived. Rice denied the allegations during the investigation, and again in an informal conference with the board. The staff was interviewed, with two of her coworkers describing the incident.
“The resident was able to confirm some of what was said to us,” Bare said. “He was cognitive enough to say yes.”
Since then, the resident has passed away.
The resident’s ability to answer questions, and have his answers backed up by Rice’s coworkers as witnesses, is significant. Not all patients in assisted living facilities can speak up for themselves. Some struggle with dementia or other neurological issues, Bare explained.
Though anonymous, the order quotes a Waynesboro Manor administrator as telling the board, “I strong feel she should not be allowed to work with elderly anymore as she lacks compassion and patience.” Bare confirmed this was her.
The Virginia Board of Nursing found against Rice on Jan. 23. Neither Rice nor her legal counsel was present. The board revoked her license to practice as a nurse aid and entered a finding of abuse against her. The finding prohibits Rice from working as a certified nurse aid in any long-term care facility that receives Medicare or Medicaid reimbursement.
Rice’s license to practice as a medication aide was not revoked. She was reprimanded and required to complete “at least three contact hours” on professionalism, ethics, and patient rights. According to the Virginia Department of Health Professions license lookup, Rice’s license is active.
Bare was concerned Rice could still work as a medication aide.
“I don’t care if I’m in here working in the office, it doesn’t matter, we take that person to the restroom” Bare said. “We’re all qualified, that work here, to do resident care. That’s a little concerning because that means somebody could hire her as a med tech and have her in a facility.”
Rice did not response to a request for comment from The News Leader.
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To file a formal complaint against a health professional, click here. For links to the public information informing this story, see below.
Want to know if your doctors, other medical professionals or local pharmacies have been investigated? Check out the license lookup.
EDITOR’S NOTE: When citizens are a danger to the public safety, law enforcement arrests them and charges them with crimes; they have the opportunity to face a jury of their peers; if convicted, they serve time and/or probation that can often ensnare them in the system for years.
When a medical professional is an alleged danger to the public safety, the Virginia Department of Health Professionals handles all facets of the inquiry, including the investigation and penalties. And sometimes, even when a medical professional is found liable of doing harm to patients, they may face a reprimand, pay a fine and continue to practice, without missing a day of work and with little chance for the public to see what they’ve done.
The Health Safety stories in this series tell the facts of cases where medical professionals endanger our public health safety. They also bring you into the world of the medical board’s consent orders and public final orders, so you can see exactly how the VDHP’s self-policing system works.
More in this series: Do no harm: Staunton pharmacy still on probation after board investigation in 2023
About the ‘Do No Harm’ series: Local doctors and medical professionals get in trouble. Here’s how to find out who and how.
This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Do no harm: Local nurse’s aid mistreats nursing home patient, is fired, yet still retains part of license
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