A Georgia nurse allegedly stole jewelry from hospital patients she was entrusted to care for.
Stephanie Phillips-Siwiec, 54, is accused of stealing valuables on at least two occasions and, at one point, using hand sanitizer to forcibly remove rings from the fingers of a dementia patient who was only He realized hours later.
Phillips-Siwiec faces charges of elder abuse, neglect or exploitation, three counts of robbery and aggravated assault.
Collection documents viewed by fox 5 They allege how the nurse was working the night shift at Wellstar North Fulton Medical Center, north of Atlanta.
The robbery took place between 1 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. when he removed four rings from the fingers of Patricia Gaskins, an 87-year-old dementia patient.
Stephanie Phillips-Siwiec (pictured), 54, is accused of stealing valuables from her patients on at least two occasions.
Phillips-Siwiec appeared in court Thursday and appeared stressed as the judge went over the details of her case.
The nurse was so forceful in her actions in removing the jewelry that she allegedly dislocated the elderly woman’s finger and broke a bone in the process.
Police officers in Roswell, Fulton County, were summoned to the hospital in August to deal with the robbery after Gaskins called them. daughter.
He told them that his mother had been taken to the hospital at one in the morning after a fall. An x-ray at 2 a.m. showed her wearing all of her rings.
It was only when she was taken back to the retirement home later that day that Gaskins noticed her precious rings were missing.
The rings, a yellow gold wedding ring, a yellow gold ring shaped like a tennis racket, and a gold wedding set of two white gold wedding rings, one with a diamond valued at $5,800, already belonged to her. her late husband.
The robbery occurred between 1am and 9.30am when he removed four rings from the fingers of Patricia Gaskins (pictured), an 87-year-old dementia patient.
When a doctor took a closer look at Gaskins’ ring finger, he determined that his finger had been dislocated causing a bone to break due to the rings being forcibly removed.
When a doctor took a closer look at Gaskins’ ring finger, he determined that the dislocation had also led to a broken bone and had been caused by the rings being forcibly removed from her fingers, not by the original fall that had caused her. sent to the hospital.
Phillips-Siwiec admitted to using hand sanitizer to forcefully remove the rings, according to an affidavit seen by WAGA.
‘I can’t explain the feeling that came over me of horror, nausea, the desire to scream. “You lose faith in humanity at that moment, that this happened in a place where someone is supposed to be cared for,” Carolina Ortloff, Gaskins’ daughter, told the television station.
Ortloff hopes to eventually get the rings back because of their sentimental value.
Patricia Gaskins, an 87-year-old dementia patient, fell in her residence and had to be hospitalized
‘I can’t explain the feeling that came over me of horror, nausea, the desire to scream. You lose faith in humanity in that moment, that this happened in a place where someone is supposed to be cared for,” said Gaskins’ daughter, Carolina Ortloff (pictured).
He also believes there may be other potential victims and they might now decide to come forward.
Phillips-Siwiec has also been charged in a second case at the same hospital in which a patient’s 95-year-old daughter alleged that her mother’s 18-karat gold bracelet, valued at $1,000, had been stolen after she It was removed from his wrist last month.
On that occasion, the woman told how her mother had been taken to the hospital by ambulance with the bracelet, but after being taken to a hospital room, the jewelry disappeared.
Wellstar Health System said Phillips-Siwiec was placed on administrative leave pending further investigation.
‘These accusations, if true, go against everything we stand for as caregivers. “Every person should feel safe and comfortable when receiving care,” a spokesperson said.
‘We are cooperating with the investigating authorities and will take additional action as appropriate. We have apologized to the patient and her family.
“We conduct extensive background checks on employees and encourage our team members and patients to report concerns, which they can do anonymously, to help ensure the highest levels of care and safety,” he added. the spokesperson.
At one point Phillips-Siwiec could be heard saying, “Oh my God,” as the judge described the alleged incidents.
A Fulton County Court judge went over all the details of Phillips-Siwiec’s case Thursday.
Phillips-Siwiec is being held on $140,000 bail and will not be allowed to work as a nurse if she is released.
The alleged robberies occurred at Wellstar North Fulton Medical Center (pictured) north of Atlanta.
Phillips-Siwiec appeared in court Thursday and seemed particularly stressed as the judge went over the details of her case.
At one point she was heard saying, “Oh my God,” as the judge described the alleged incident.
She was booked into the Fulton County Jail on $140,000 bail and will return to court in November.
In the meantime, she has been ordered not to have any contact with anyone over the age of 75, nor anyone who works at North Fulton Hospital or who works as a nurse.