Essex County Man Claims NJ Nursing Home Abused His Mom – Livingston, NJ Patch

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — Administrators at the Westfield Center Nursing Care facility in New Jersey say the cringe-inducing photos of Benny Gomez’s 86-year-old mother are the result of a “fall.” But the injured woman’s son has a different take on the images: they’re evidence of abuse.

Last week, Gomez, an Essex County resident, shared disturbing photos of his mother on social media, which show her with severe bruises, fractures and stitches. Gomez said his mother has a broken nose, as well.

The incident has now attracted the attention of Westfield police and the New Jersey Department of Health, who have launched an investigation.

“I just don’t wish this on anyone else’s family,” Gomez told CBS New York. “It’s disgusting.”

Gomez is disputing the nursing home’s explanation that the injuries happened during a fall, and that nobody abused his mother, who has slight dementia, ABC News reported.

Gomez placed his mother in the facility about a year ago after she broke her hip. Since then, she’s been seen with other injuries, he claims.

“She tells me the aides are rough with her and they hit her,” he told TAP Into Westfield.

Gomez has removed his mother from the facility and she is slowly recovering, Fox News reported Saturday.

A spokesperson for the nursing home provided the following statement about the incident to NJ.com:

“Earlier in the week, there was in fact an incident at the facility involving a resident that resulted in a fall with injuries. While the photos are difficult to see, no resident was struck, hit or abused. We cannot get into the specifics of the diagnosis of this patient, however injuries from a fall may appear to be something that they are not. In order to protect the privacy of the individual involved in this case, we cannot comment further on any specifics.”

The narrative being shown on media reports and social media is “grossly inaccurate,” spokespeople added.

According to its website, Westfield Center at 1515 Lamberts Mill Road is a Genesis Healthcare facility that offers physical, occupational, speech and respiratory therapy, as well as recreational therapy. The center offers short-stay rehabilitation and long-term care. All services are provided by a team of RN’s, LPN’s, certified nursing assistants and restorative nursing aides.

Genesis Healthcare also owns the Waterview Center in Cedar Grove, which recently saw the death of an 85-year-old resident under suspicious circumstances in August.

A Bloomfield woman accused of playing a role in the resident’s death has since been fired. She also faces charges of reckless manslaughter, obstructing the administration of law, suppressing evidence to hinder prosecution, and abandonment/neglect of an elderly person.

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