Nurse arrested on felony elder abuse charge
By THE BAKERSFIELD CALIFORNIAN
A registered nurse working at a hospital near Lake Isabella has been arrested on charges of abusing an elderly patient.
Rene Gachon Gotico, 65, a resident of Delano, was arrested Monday night at the Kern Valley Healthcare District hospital in Mountain Mesa after the hospital reported an incident to authorities.
A Kern County Sheriff's Department spokesman said a 79-year-old patient was sitting on the edge of her bed when she asked Gotico to help her to the restroom. According to a witness, Gotico refused to help, said sheriff's spokesman Ray Pruitt.
When the patient tried to stand up on her own, Gotico allegedly grabbed the patient around the neck with one hand and pushed her back onto the bed.
The hospital's nursing supervisor witnessed the alleged incident and immediately informed the emergency room director, who called the Sheriff's Department, Pruitt said.
When deputies arrived, they reported finding red marks on the patient's neck.
Gotico was booked early Tuesday morning on a single charge of elder abuse causing injury, a felony, Pruitt said.
Hospital Chief Executive Tim McGlew said Gotico has worked for the hospital on and off for years as a travelling nurse. He was hired full-time about one month ago.
McGlew said the care and safety of patients is a top priority at the medical center.
"We've never had any issues with him before," McGlew said of Gotico. "This was so off the wall."
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