Two Nursing Home Caretakers Arrested After Camera Captures Abuse

Police arrested two women for abusing a 96-year-old woman at a metro nursing home. Officers say the suspects work at the Quail Creek Nursing and Rehab Center at 13500 Brandon Place in Oklahoma City.

4/17/2012 Related Story: OKC Women Accused Of Abusing Nursing Home Patient

Family members of the elderly woman suspected that workers were stealing from her, but they needed to prove it. So, they installed a hidden camera in her room. What they discovered is heartbreaking.

It has been said that the measure of a society can be determined in how we treat our young, our old, and our dying.

In this case, police say video shows Quail Creek does not measure up.

"In this video, you can see the suspects at some point slapping [the victim] around in the face with rubber gloves … and also shoving those gloves into her mouth," Sgt. Jennifer Wardlow of Oklahoma City police said.

Oklahoma City police arrested 23-year-old Lucy Gakunga and 28-year-old Caroline Kaseke after viewing the video. Police say Gakunga was seen slapping the senior citizen in the face and shoving gloves into her mouth. Kaseke is accused of watching it and not doing anything to stop it.

Quail Creek would not comment on the case. Visitors of the nursing home would not go on camera, but they were surprised when News 9 told them about the allegations.

"It tears me up," nursing home advocate Wes Bledsoe said. "It makes me sick to my stomach. It happens much, much more than we think."

Bledsoe says families should check medicare.gov to keep tabs on nursing homes. Families should also visit the homes at different times of the day and night and should not be afraid to do a little spying.

"It is imperative for you to use a video in your loved one's room because without it, a situation like this would never have been discovered," Bledsoe said.

Quail Creek was cited last month after not doing a background check on one of its nursing aids. Bledsoe will be meeting with the victim's family on Wednesday. He says in Oklahoma, it is legal to place cameras in a loved one's nursing home room no matter what policy the nursing home has in place.