Employees from Hibbing assisted-living center fired after resident was pushed into recliner

An employee of Greenview North assisted-living center in Hibbing was fired and charged with fifth-degree assault after allegedly pushing a resident into a reclining chair.

The incident happened last March but was included in a Minnesota Department of Health listing published online last week. The health department is responsible for licensing and certification of all of the state’s health facilities.

Vicky Korynta, senior vice president of operations for Fairview Range, said both the employee who pushed the client and a second employee who took no action while witnessing the incident were fired. Fairview Range operates Greenview North.

“We thought an employee’s behavior was abusive toward one of our residents,” Korynta said. “We’ve clearly made known that this sort of behavior won’t be tolerated.”

She declined to name the employees or the resident involved. The report says police investigated and filed the assault charge against the employee who allegedly pushed the resident. Korynta said she didn’t know if that criminal charge had been resolved.

According to the health department report:

On March 20, an employee was attempting to guide the resident to a walker. The resident, who was cognitively impaired, kept pushing the walker away and became increasingly agitated. A second employee, who had been sitting on a couch and watching TV, stood up, walked over to the resident, grabbed the walker by the crossbar and pushed it forward, forcing the resident to take backward steps toward the recliner. The employee then put her left hand on the resident’s chest and shoved, causing the resident to fall back into the recliner. Surveillance video showed that the employee pushed hard enough that the resident’s feet came off the floor along with the walker, which fell into the chair with the resident.

The first employee “made no attempt to intervene and appeared unconcerned about the incident,” the report states.

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