CLAY COUNTY, Fla. — UPDATE: Man arrested, accused of abusing ‘elderly male patient’ at Orange Park hospital, Clay deputies say
A Baker County family is demanding answers after they say they were told their loved one with Dementia was attacked by a hospital employee.
These pictures were sent to us by the patient -- Julian Cohen’s -- family. Bruising can be seen all over his body.
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Action News Jax’s Madison Foglio spoke exclusively with Cohen’s family. They want to make sure this doesn’t happen to anyone else.
When Dawn Leonard went to visit her 73-year-old brother Julian Cohen at Orange Park Hospital on November 14, never did she expect his nurse to tell her this.
“She said, well, she has some broken ribs. And I said, well, what happened? Did he fall down? You know, last night? And she said no, he was attacked by a hospital worker,” Leonard said.
Hospital discharge records the family provided Action News Jax show that Cohen was admitted to HCA Florida Orange Park Hospital on Nov. 12 for issues with dementia.
The discharge report said Cohen sustained three Left Rib Fractures from “an incident in the hospital.” The report also notes “details not clear…it was overnight.”
“I kind of didn’t believe it,” Adam Cohen, Julian’s son, said.
On Friday, Nov. 14, Julian’s son, Adam, asked his Aunt Dawn to go check on Julian to see how he was doing. When Dawn arrived that Friday morning...
“The hospital administration and some of the head nurses and explained to me that when the transporter went to his room to pick him up to take him down for a CT scan that there was an altercation and that the transporter attacked my brother,” Leonard said.
These pictures were sent to us by Cohen’s family after the alleged attack.
Leonard said she immediately called Adam, and they filed a police report with the Clay County Sheriff’s Office.
The report is heavily redacted, but the crime incidents box reads “Elderly/Disabled Person Abuse.”
“The fact that it was almost it was over 7 hours, you know that this had taken place, and no one had bothered to call us to tell us that my brother had been attacked!” Leonard said.
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We reached out to HCA Florida Orange Park Hospital, and asked them to verify if, in fact, a hospital employee was the one who broke Cohen’s ribs. We also asked them if they had ever been notified of the incident prior to their conversation and if that alleged employee was still employed with them.
They replied, saying:
“We do not tolerate behavior that jeopardizes the safety and well-being of our patients or colleagues, and the staff member involved in this incident is no longer employed by HCA Florida Orange Park Hospital.”
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Leonard has one message for anyone watching at home.
“Please be careful when you have your loved one in the hospital, especially if they have dementia, because they don’t have a way to really fight for themself,” Leonard said.
We reached out to the Clay County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday and asked them if there was an arrest made in this case.
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