Two Florida health care workers were charged with felonies this week after authorities said they posted a video of themselves on social media mocking an elderly patient with dementia.
The Post Millennial reports the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office announced charges against Shy’Tiona Bishop, 20, and Jada Harris, 18, on Monday after they were fired from the assisted living center Market Street Viera in Melbourne, Florida. They were employed as nurses aids.
On April 3, authorities said the two young women posted a livestream video on Instagram of them verbally abusing a female patient with dementia while she screamed.
“The perpetrators in this case are not only disgusting but they are vile individuals who live-streamed themselves abusing one of our elderly citizens who suffers from dementia,” Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey said.
What makes the abuse even more disturbing is that the women unashamedly published the video of themselves doing it online to get attention, the sheriff continued.
“They actually put it up on a live-streaming platform so that their friends could watch it, laugh about it as they mocked this elderly person in her condition,” Ivey said.
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In the video, two women can be heard swearing, laughing at and mocking the patient. According to the report, “At one point, the staffers purposely block the [patient] from entering her bathroom and begrudgingly help her put on a pair of pants while complaining about being forced to look after the senior.”
The sheriff said another staff member at the assisted living facility tipped off authorities after noticing the patient’s distress on April 4, the day after the livestream.
Authorities said the assisted living facility quickly took action to protect the patient by contacting authorities and firing the two nurses aids, the Daily Mail reports. They said the patient did not suffer any physical injuries.
However, the sheriff expressed frustration that the two former employees are not facing harsher consequences.
“Sadly the bond is only $6,000 for Jada and $4,000 for Shy,” Ivey said. “Please know, a lot of times we’ll get about the bonds too low and I agree, it is truly too low.”
He continued: “Unfortunately, the state sets the bond limits when they’re first arrested. They don’t let us do it because I can tell you if they let me do it, the bond would be when hell freezes over when these two get out.”
Although the pro-life movement focuses a lot on saving unborn babies from abortion, it also works to protect the elderly and people with disabilities from abuse and death through medical rationing, assisted suicide and euthanasia. Pro-life leaders were among the first to speak out against COVID-19 mandates by the governors of New York, Michigan and other states that forced nursing homes to admit COVID-positive patients and place them with those most vulnerable to die from the virus. The policies eventually were reversed but not before thousands died.
