Caregiver Responds To Charges Of Leaving Dementia Patients
By Jamie Leary
EVANS, Colo. (CBS4) - An Evans woman is facing five neglect charges after police say she walked out on the job at a senior living facility in early September.
According to the arrest affidavit, Briana Mashek, 27, told police she was angry with her boss at the Ashley Manor Senior Living Facility and left without notifying her boss or her supervisor.
"She decided that she had had it and walked out the front door of the facility without telling anyone that she had left," said Greeley District Attorney, Michael Rourke.
Five patients ranging in age from 74 to 93 were left without food or medication. One man was left without his oxygen tank. A woman fell out of her wheelchair and surveillance revealed she was left on the floor for four hours.
Mashek, however, tells a very different story. She says she never told police she left without notifying someone.
"I would never do that," cried Mashek, "This is my passion."
She told CBS4 she did call someone to replace her. She called her office manager, Jessica Holler, the same person she had been fighting with.
Mashek says she saw Holler arrive at Ashley Manor. Mashek's mother picked her up and she felt it was okay to leave. Mashek says the surveillance should prove it.
According to the affidavit, surveillance shows Mashek leaving. There is no mention of anyone seen arriving to replace her.
CBS4 asked Mashek why she didn't mention this to police and why none of those details were included in the affidavit.
Mashek said she was scared and claims when she was arrested, she was never given an opportunity to tell her full story.
Up until the incident, Mashek says she had been employed with Ashley Manor for about two months. She held the evening shift where she was the sole caretaker for the five elderly patients with dementia.
Mashek gave a tearful apology to the families of the patients. She reiterated that she never meant to leave her patients alone and says she regrets calling Holler to replace her.
Ashley Manor would not comment on the case except to say they are cooperating with authorities on the investigation.
The District Attorney felt the case needed to be publicized to show the families of the patients and the public that someone will be held accountable.
"I want the public to know when these kinds of things occur because if there are individuals who shouldn't be in a caretaker role, if there are other changes that need to be made to assisted living facilities, this is the vehicle by which we can get that message out," said Rourke.
Mashek says she is getting a lawyer and plans to make a request to view all surveillance from the time of the incident.
Mashek made her first court appearance on Tuesday. If convicted, she faces up to 18 months in prison for each of the five cases of neglect.
Jamie Leary joined the CBS4 team in 2015 and currently works as a reporter for CBS4 News at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. She couldn't imagine a better place to live and work and will stop at nothing to find the next great story. Jamie loves learning about and hearing from her fellow community members, so connect with her on Facebook or Twitter @JamieALeary.
