TUPPER LAKE - The alleged abuse of an 88-year-old resident of Adirondack Medical Center's Mercy nursing home almost seven months ago led to the Wednesday arrest of John Ette, a certified nurse assistant in Tupper Lake.
Shortly after midnight on Oct. 20, 2008, Ette (Eh-tee) struck the bedridden patient in the face, grabbed her arm and pushed her down into her wheelchair, according to the court complaint filed against him.
The patient suffered a broken collarbone and some facial bruising. Her condition is now stable, and she still lives at the nursing home, said David Doyle, spokesman for the state Office of the Attorney General.
Ette admitted the act to state investigators on Nov. 12, 2008, the court papers read.
Ette turned himself in Wednesday and was processed at the state police barracks. He was charged with endangering the welfare of a vulnerable elderly person in the second degree, a class E felony; endangering the welfare of an incompetent or physically disabled person, a class A felony; and willful violation of health laws, a class A misdemeanor.
Town Judge Leonard Young III arraigned Ette Wednesday and set his bail at $1,000 cash or $2,000 bond. Two attorney general's investigators then escorted Ette to Franklin County Jail in Malone, where he remained this morning.
Sgt. Edward Work at the jail said this morning that Ette had not yet obtained a lawyer.
The maximum sentence for the charges is four years in prison.
Ette's estranged wife, Jodi Ette, told the Enterprise John Ette had displayed violent tendencies in the past. She said he had never been violent toward her but had lashed out at inanimate objects.
"I think he needs to pay his (debt to society), but I hope he doesn't go to prison for it," said Jodi Ette. She said she thought he should be placed in a psychiatric hospital or a psychiatric ward of a prison, because she was worried about his safety.
"I'm a little scared," she said.
She said that when the incident happened, it took John Ette several days to divulge the details of the alleged abuse.
"He wouldn't tell me the full story for quite some time," she said.
Nursing home staff discovered the woman's injuries the morning after the incident and reported it to AMC supervisors, who then followed protocol and reported the alleged abuse to the state Department of Health, which referred it to the attorney general's office.
"It's what you're supposed to do, but not everybody does it," said AMC spokesman Joe Riccio, referring to the fact that AMC reported the incident to state authorities.
Mercy fired John Ette on Oct. 21, 2008, the day after the incident, Riccio said. He had worked at Mercy since Feb. 21, 2006.
Riccio said there was nothing in John Ette's background to indicate prior abuse. AMC goes through an extensive screening and background check process before it makes a hire, said Riccio.
AMC officials met with the patient's family to inform them of the recent developments, according to a prepared AMC statement.
The case is being prosecuted by Richard Harrow, director of the attorney general's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit's Albany Regional Office.
"Nursing home care must be administered with the respect and professionalism that New York's seniors deserve," Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said in a prepared statement. "It is appalling when our dependent and vulnerable loved ones are victimized by the very people who are entrusted with their care."
Phone calls to family members of the victim were not returned.
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Contact Jessica Collier at 891-2600 ext. 25 or jcollier@adirondackdailyenterprise.com.