THE nursing profession is a field that Filipinos are known to excel in. Patients credit and are most thankful for Pinoy nurses’ high level of knowledge, strong work ethic and remarkable degree of compassion.
However, we also hear stories of abuse being committed by a few, which may taint or affect the image and reputation of our hardworking nurses.
Take the case of these two registered nurses, as reported by Balitang America.
Russel Olvena Torralba is a Filipino nurse, who was accused of molesting a 98-year old stroke victim in San Diego. He was arrested in South Vancouver last week by Canada Border Services Agency, after a tip from US marshals.
Torralba, who was working as a live-in caregiver for a disabled boy in Canada, is now facing felony elder neglect and felony lewd conduct by a caregiver on a dependent adult in San Diego.
Very revealing evidence that lead to the charges was a shocking incident caught on video, which graphically shows Torralba and another Filipino nurse (co-accused Alfredo Ruiz) allegedly fondling each other, while touching the bedridden victim.
The two also performed other lewd sexual acts, which are too graphic to be published in this column.
The abuse reportedly took place numerous times from February to March of 2011.
According to Balitang America, these nurses were reportedly hired by the woman’s family to work in her San Diego home. The family’s attorney, William Berman, told local station San Diego 6 that the nurses were hired through a company called AMS Home Care Solutions, which was never licensed by the California Department of Public Health to provide skilled nursing care.
Torralba reportedly took nursing at the Lorma School of Nursing in San Fernando, La Union while Ruiz finished his degree at the University of Cebu in Cebu City. Both finished in 1993.
San Diego Deputy District Attorney Paul Greenwood, head of the Elder Abuse Prosecution Unit, told Balitang America that Ruiz has pleaded not guilty and is out on bail. Torralba, on the other hand, has yet to enter a plea.
Greenwood said both Filipino nurses are expected to appear in a preliminary hearing on March 20. If found guilty, Torralba and Ruiz could each spend 11 years in jail.
Unfortunately, this is not the first time we’ve heard news about Filipinos nurses and caregivers sexually abusing their helpless elderly patients.
But I have to stress, this horrific abuse is committed not only by kababayans, but by other ethnicities as well.
This begs the question: Should there be stricter screening procedures in hiring nurses and caregivers, who are entrusted to care for the elderly?
Are there enough laws that can deter any of these deplorable abuses from happening again?
What should we do, as a community, to protect the good record of our Filipino nurses and caregivers?
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Gel Santos Relos is the anchor of TFC’s “Balitang America.” Views and opinions expressed by the author in this column are are solely those of the author and not of Asian Journal and ABS-CBN-TFC. For comments, go to www.TheFil-AmPerspective.com, https://www.facebook.com/Gel.Santos.Relos
