‘Humiliating’ videos of nursing home residents posted to Snapchat, MN officials say
A series of “humiliating” photos and videos of nursing home residents were posted to a worker’s Snapchat account, an investigation by the Minnesota Department of Health found.
Videos showed a worker at the Bayshore Residence & Rehabilitation Center in Duluth throwing pasta at a resident with limited mobility due to his cerebral palsy, posting photos of another resident’s genitalia and taking photos of residents as she pointed her middle finger at them, according to the department’s report.
Documents shared with McClatchy News on Nov. 15 said Minnesota Department of Health launched an investigation into the worker when nursing home leadership learned of the videos. Investigators concluded Oct. 22 that the residents were abused by the worker, according to the report.
”We are deeply troubled by the allegations against a former member of Bayshore’s staff,” Executive Director David Uselman said in an email to McClatchy News. “When Bayshore learned of the allegations, it immediately terminated the staff member, engaged with local law enforcement, and worked with affected members of our community to strengthen relationships.”
Four residents living in the nursing home appeared on the worker’s Snapchat account, investigators said.
A resident who officials said “had difficulty being understood by others” appeared half-naked in a video sitting on a bed when the worker turned on the camera, pushed the resident down and threw his shoes at him, striking him in the chest and face, the report said.
In another video of the same resident, the worker was behind the camera throwing pasta at him, documents said. The worker said “here, catch” before continually lobbing the pasta at the resident sitting in a wheelchair, then leaving him covered in pasta as he tried to pick it off of himself, according to the investigation.
Photos of two other residents at the nursing home appeared on the worker’s social media showing them in vulnerable states, according to the report. One photo clearly showed a resident’s face with her holding up a photo of a man with an erection, according to investigations. According to the report, the photo was captioned, “showing me the (expletive) pics she gets.”
A fourth resident also had intimate photos of her genitalia posted online by the worker, according to investigators. When she learned of the photos, she told investigators she felt violated because she thought of the worker as her “friend.”
“I’m not beautiful, why would she do this?” the resident said when she learned that the photos were posted on social media, according to the report.
Investigators said a police report was filed.
Duluth is about a 155-mile drive northeast from Minneapolis.
This story was originally published November 18, 2024 at 3:55 PM with the headline "‘Humiliating’ videos of nursing home residents posted to Snapchat, MN officials say."
