Police: Hospital didn’t cooperate when assault was reported
By The Associated Press
news@abc6.com
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) _ Providence police say Rhode Island Hospital wouldn’t cooperate with a criminal investigation for several days after a patient claimed a nursing assistant sexually assaulted her.
The Providence Journal reports a woman told police on Feb. 4 that a nursing assistant fondled her. Police say she gave authorities the man’s first name and description.
Police say the hospital refused to identify the nursing assistant at the time. Maj. David Lapatin says police figured out the suspect’s identity without their assistance.
Hospital officials gave police the employee’s name on Tuesday following an internal investigation.
A hospital spokeswoman released a statement Tuesday morning that reads:
Immediately following a patient complaint against the hospital employee, the employee was placed on unpaid leave and subsequently terminated for reasons unrelated to the pending legal investigation. The hospital immediately reported the complaint to the Rhode Island Department of Health as required by regulation and is cooperating with the ongoing Providence Police Department investigation. The hospital provided the employee’s name to the Providence Police following our internal investigation.
Rhode Island Hospital conducted a thorough investigation into this matter, which included ensuring that the employee in question was properly identified based on the patient’s physical description. We believe that there was a delay in providing the employee’s name to Providence Police. We are currently reviewing our practices to understand why that delay occurred and to keep it from occurring in the future.
We are deeply troubled by the allegation and will do everything possible to assist in the criminal investigation. Rhode Island Hospital is committed to ensuring the safety of all of our patients and staff.
The hospital cannot comment further on this complaint due to the pending police investigation.
(C) The Associated Press 2016
