VISTA -- A former Vista nursing home worker who reportedly took part in posting a video online mocking an elderly patient is facing state criminal charges.
LaToya Walker was charged Wednesday with misdemeanor counts of elderly abuse and invasion of privacy.
Walker is accused of taking part in posting a video on Snapchat in October that reportedly showed a partially nude patient being mocked by two female employees. The video allegedly shows two female LifeHOUSE Vista Healthcare Center employees mocking a 90-year-old woman with severe dementia before they gave her a shower.
A whistleblower provided images from the video to 10News since videos posted to Snapchat disappear within 24 hours.
“Something like that is really bad. I mean it's horrible,” said Dolores Jones Thursday, who was visiting her daughter at LifeHOUSE.
“I couldn't believe that was actually happening here because they're pretty sweet people over here,” Jones said.
Jones said she knows Walker, who would sometimes care for her daughter.
“My daughter is getting good care. She's been here for quite a long time,” Jones said.
10News went to an address listed for Walker, but no one answered the door
Tom Allen, an attorney for LifeHOUSE said he could not immediately comment on the charges because he may be called as a witness in the case.
Earlier this week, Allen confirmed that Walker and the other worker have since been fired. The name of the other worker has not been released.
Allen also added that the California Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) board revoked the certification of one of the women and suspended the other for 30 days.
Since the video surfaced, the case has been investigated by the California Department of Health and the San Diego County Sheriff's Department as possible elder abuse.
LifeHOUSE was featured in a Team 10 investigation late last year. In that instance, the family of a woman who died after being hit by a food cart at the facility filed a wrongful death lawsuit.
Following an emotionally trying legal battle for the family, a jury ruled in their favor. The defense appealed the verdict and the case was settled before the appeal concluded.
