OKLAHOMA CITY – A horrific case of elderly abuse that happened inside an Oklahoma nursing home has the victim’s family fighting for her medical records.
It has been nearly a year since the family of 96-year-old Eryetha Mayberry put a hidden camera inside her room and captured horrifying video of their loved on being abused.
Mayberry has since passed away.
One of the abusers is in prison; the other is on the run.
However, after all this time and a criminal investigation, the family said they still cannot get the nursing home to release their mother’s basic medical records.
Besides the fugitive nursing home worker, and maybe closure, something else is missing in this case.
Mayberry’s daughters have been repeatedly asking to have their mother’s medical records from the nursing home where she was abused.
“We don’t understand what the big deal is unless they are hiding something,” her daughter Sandra Cisper said.
Three months ago, Mayberry’s daughters hired an attorney who sent a letter requesting those records but they said Quail Creek Nursing and Rehabilitation Center ignored it.
News Channel 4 went to the facility where they told us they had no comment.
Mayberry’s family put a hidden camera inside her room before she passed away and that is when all this came to light but they want more.
“These aides were arrested on April 16 of last year,” elderly care advocate Wes Bledsoe said. “Here we are 10 and a half months later and there’s no investigative report.”
There was a police investigation which is what put the abusers behind bars but the family and Bledsoe said the State Department of Health should step in and conduct a second investigation.
“That’s the State Department of Health’s responsibility to make sure these residents are safe,” Bledsoe said. “Where’s the investigation? What happened to Mrs. Mayberry?”
State health officials tell News Channel 4 they are not conducting an investigation because the facility acted promptly when they were notified of the abuse.
By state law, once someone requests medical records from a facility, that facility has two days to release them.
In this case, it has been four months.
“To some degree it would bring closure to our mother’s death,” Cisper said. “We would like to know if they documented all of her injuries.”
Quail Creek Nursing and Rehabilitation Center could be cited for not providing the medical records to the family after two days.
We also asked the State Health Department about that and they tell us if the family brings it to their attention, they will definitely look into it and cite the facility if needed.
