Former Care Facility Employee Arrested for Neglecting Disabled Patient
Release Date
Apr 3, 2019
Contact
Kylie Mason
Phone
850-245-0150
TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Attorney General Ashley Moody’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit arrested a former care facility employee for allegedly neglecting a disabled patient. Acting on a referral from the Florida Department of Children and Families, MFCU investigators discovered that Victoria Hoseah failed to properly oversee the well-being of a Medicaid patient while on duty. The investigation revealed that Hoseah, 26, slept in a break room while the disabled patient crawled down a facility hallway.
According to the investigation, on Oct. 14, 2018, Hoseah went to a break room along with two other colleagues and fell asleep. A visiting staff member found Hoseah’s patient crawling on the floor in the hallway. Other staff members helped return the patient to his room. The primary care physician examined the patient after the incident and discovered a minor bruise, though it is not conclusive if the incident caused it. One week later, the patient’s health declined. The patient needed to be placed in hospice care in another facility. The patient passed away in December 2018.
Hoseah’s worked at Dorchester Cluster, an intermediate care facility for the developmentally disabled. Hoseah’s main task focused on providing personal support to a 60-year-old disabled patient while on duty. The patient’s diagnosis consists of intellectual disability, diabetes, high blood pressure, reflux disease and other severe conditions. The patient required constant supervision from one staff member, as listed on a behavior program sheet.
Hoseah is charged with one count of neglect of a disabled adult, a third-degree felony. The Leon County Sheriff’s Office assisted in this case. MFCU Assistant Attorney General Wesley Paxson, under the authority of the State Attorney’s Office for the Second Judicial Circuit, will prosecute the case.
According to the investigation, on Oct. 14, 2018, Hoseah went to a break room along with two other colleagues and fell asleep. A visiting staff member found Hoseah’s patient crawling on the floor in the hallway. Other staff members helped return the patient to his room. The primary care physician examined the patient after the incident and discovered a minor bruise, though it is not conclusive if the incident caused it. One week later, the patient’s health declined. The patient needed to be placed in hospice care in another facility. The patient passed away in December 2018.
Hoseah’s worked at Dorchester Cluster, an intermediate care facility for the developmentally disabled. Hoseah’s main task focused on providing personal support to a 60-year-old disabled patient while on duty. The patient’s diagnosis consists of intellectual disability, diabetes, high blood pressure, reflux disease and other severe conditions. The patient required constant supervision from one staff member, as listed on a behavior program sheet.
Hoseah is charged with one count of neglect of a disabled adult, a third-degree felony. The Leon County Sheriff’s Office assisted in this case. MFCU Assistant Attorney General Wesley Paxson, under the authority of the State Attorney’s Office for the Second Judicial Circuit, will prosecute the case.