Wildcard: Security in LTC facilities.

While down in South Florida this past week I watched an investigative story aired on a local news station that immediately grabbed my attention, and as a future Health Administrator got me to thinking about different scenarios and solutions. The story focuses on the security of residents of a LTC facility; not necessary from the employees of the facility but from fellow residents.

A seventy-seven year woman was raped in a nursing home facility by a male resident several years ago. The male resident turned out to placed in the nursing facility by the State of Florida because the state deemed him “vulnerable” and “in need of protection” (Gillen, 2009). According to the investigation team, the male resident was a career criminal having been arrested 58 times prior to being placed within the nursing facility with his future victim (Gillen, 2009). The man was arrested for the rape of the female resident but later found incompetent to stand trial, and was placed in a state hospital in Chattahoochee (Gillen, 2009). In 2005 he was released from the hospital, and his whereabouts are now unknown.

So, I am sure you are thinking, “What makes this story relevant now if it happened several years ago? It is still relevant because the State of Florida just acknowledged that they dropped the ball on this case. And according to the story, "There are 80 registered sex offenders in Florida Nursing homes," said Wes Bledsoe, founder of A Perfect Cause (Gillen, 2009). That statement alone is what got me thinking. Should sex offenders be denied long-term care due to the fact that they could become a risk to other residents? I believe that extreme special precautions should be set into place such as informing all residents that sex offenders are being housed in the same facility, and the offenders should be placed under 24 hour watch or placed in a special ward away from other residents. However, I believe that these types of individuals should not be denied Long-term care. The nursing facility involved in story security procedures was obviously inefficient especially if they were aware of the man’s record. Protection of residents is a critical part of quality assurance not just housing clients and performing services.


Gillen, Michele. (2009, May 21). I-Team: DCF Reviewing Nursing Home Rape. CBS4 Broadcasting Inc. Retrieved June 2, 2009, from http://cbs4.com/iteam/iteam.dcf.rape.2.1016008.html