Detectives are investigating whether a 71-year-old resident of an Oak Lawn nursing home died as a result of neglect. The male nursing home resident had a history of health problems but there is reason to believe that neglect may have played a role in his death. An autopsy proved to be inconclusive. A spokesman for the medical examiner's office said a ruling on the death was pending the police investigation.
The nursing home in question, Regal Health and Rehabilitation Center, was fined $10,000 in 2004 for failing to report an allegation of sexual assault against a 95-year-old female patient by nurse's aide Henry McCuller.
The nursing home fired McCuller for threatening his accuser, but managers at the time said they believed he was not guilty of the attack. He pleaded guilty in 2005 and was sentenced to nine years in prison. (Nursing Home News - Full Story)
