Following a report that nursing home workers across the country have posted embarrassing and degrading photos of seniors on social media networks, U.S. Senator Joe Donnelly today called on the Senate Aging Committee to investigate the issue. The ProPublica report found that since 2012 there have been approximately three-dozen cases around the country, including in Indiana, that violated the privacy and dignity of seniors, and in some instances, the law.
Donnelly, who serves on the Senate Aging Committee, said, “It is troubling and disturbing that some seniors are unwillingly and unknowingly victims of exploitation and abuse on social media by some nursing home workers. That is why I am asking the Aging Committee to use all appropriate tools and resources to investigate this issue.”
Among the incidents cited in the report was the case of a former nursing assistant in Indiana. The former nursing assistant pleaded guilty to one count of voyeurism and served three days in jail for sharing an explicit photo of an elderly resident on Snapchat. The report was based on court cases, government inspection reports, and media reports.
