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EMPLOYEES OF VA NURSING HOME ACCUSED OF MISTREATING
MEDAL OF HONOR RECIPIENT -- Prosecutor says
employees
"knowingly neglected or knowingly acted in a
manner likely to be
injurious to the physical or mental welfare" of
five patients.
Jerry Murphy
Story here...
http://www.chieftain.com/articles/2008/05
/10/news/local/doc48254d7963eca801496021.txt
Story below:
-------------------------
Report of mistreatment of war hero stuns family
Jerry Murphy's family previously had thanked nursing home for its care of
Pueblo's Medal of Honor recipient.
By PETER ROPER
THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN
When Raymond "Jerry" Murphy's family came to
Pueblo in April 2007 for the funeral of the Medal of Honor recipient, they
made a point of thanking the staff at the Department of Veterans Affairs
Pueblo Nursing Home for taking good care of the Korean War hero during the
final months of his life.
Those good feelings went sour on Friday, when Murphy's family in
Albuquerque, N.M., read news reports that the elderly man may have been
mistreated before his death by one of two nursing home staffers being
prosecuted by the Pueblo district attorney's office.
"We knew nothing about any of this until today," Tim Murphy, of
Albuquerque, said in a brief telephone interview.
The son was clearly upset with the VA, the Pueblo
prosecutor's office, and even the news media for not contacting the family
before the criminal complaint was filed against Donald Morton, 52, of Las
Animas, and Darrel McTaggart, 55, of Ordway.
Both men are on paid leave pending the outcome of the investigation. Jerry
Murphy was a well-known Pueblo hero who lived in New Mexico following the
Korean War, working as a VA administrator and then as a volunteer at the
Albuquerque VA
 hospital
until age and illness forced his retirement. In fact, the VA will rename
the hospital for Murphy in a ceremony on June 7, and a major street in
Pueblo is named for him. His family brought him to the Pueblo nursing home
in the months before his death because the soft-spoken, modest man was
suffering from dementia.
Murphy is survived by his widow, Maryann Murphy, three sons and a
daughter. Tim Murphy confirmed that the family had expressly thanked the
nursing home staff at his father's funeral more than a year ago.
"But we are refraining from commenting on this situation until we know
more about what happened to my dad," he said.
Prosecutors allege that Morton "knowingly neglected or knowingly acted in
a manner likely to be injurious to the physical or mental welfare" of
Murphy and four other patients at the VA nursing home at 2600 Oakshire
Lane. That is a misdemeanor offense.
McTaggart is alleged to have "knowingly or recklessly caused bodily
injury" to another patient. That is a felony offense.
Christina White, a VA spokeswoman in Denver, said the employees and
patients at the nursing home reported the incidents to VA officials, who
contacted the district attorney's office. Charges were filed Feb. 20.
-------------------------
posted by Larry
Scott
Founder and Editor
VA Watchdog dot Org
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