Published: December 23, 2008 09:02 am      

Former nursing home aide pleads not guilty

Charged with neglect

A former Madison Manor nurse’s aide pleaded not guilty Monday in Madison District Court after being arrested last week for the alleged neglect of an elderly resident.

Jaclyn Dawn VanWinkle, 25, of Richmond, was accompanied by family members as she sat in the courtroom waiting her turn for an arraignment in front of District Judge Earl-Ray Neal.

She is facing the charge of wanton endangerment. She was arrested Wednesday, Nov. 17, at her grandmother’s home on Boone Way in Richmond.

She has since been released from the Madison County Detention Center on a $7,500 unsecured bond.

VanWinkle is scheduled for a preliminary hearing Wednesday, Jan. 7, at 9:30 a.m. in Madison District Court where it will be determined if the case will be handed up to a grand jury for a possible indictment against VanWinkle.

She declined to comment Monday after appearing before the judge.

The charge stems from an ongoing investigation involving the nursing home and several of its employees.

Nine Madison Manor staff members, including the administrator and nursing director, were fired after investigators from the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services showed management personnel clips from a video allegedly showing the physical abuse and neglect of a patient.

Family members of a resident who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease had taken the video with a hidden camera. Extendicare, the owner of the Madison Manor facility, also have viewed the videotape, according to Cindi Simpson, a regional manager for the Madison, Wisc.-based company.

VanWinkle recently was reported in another Kentucky newspaper stating the tape showed her singing and dancing in front of the patient.

“They said it looked like I was taunting her,” VanWinkle said. “They said I was being disrespectful. I think I took very good care of (the patient). I’ve done nothing wrong. I like working with the elderly. I like taking care of people.”

Shelley Catherine Johnson, a spokesperson for the attorney general’s office, said last week that the investigation is ongoing and additional charges could result from the investigation.

The state Cabinet for Health and Family Services has cited the home over the abuse allegations, threatening its ability to take Medicaid patients, but the state has issued a statement saying that management has taken sufficient steps to correct the problems.

Ronica Shannon can be reached at rshannon@richmondregister.com or 623-1669, Ext. 234.