Woman charged with abuse at Quadrangle nursing home

For 12 minutes, video from a camera hidden by her family showed a 78-year-old woman, a dementia patient at the Quadrangle nursing home in Haverford, as she stood naked from the waist up, trying to conceal herself while three employees allegedly taunted her and tried to pull on her ears.

"Why do they keep picking on me?" Lois McCallister asked her family, who suspected abuse at the well-known Delaware County facility and installed the hidden camera, according to court documents.

On Wednesday, the District Attorney's Office announced that employee Samirah Traynham, 22, of Yeadon, had been arrested and charged with aggravated assault, criminal conspiracy, harassment, and neglect of a care-dependent person.

"Additional arrests are expected," said Michael Mattson, assistant district attorney. Traynham was unable to post bail and remanded to the Delaware County jail, he said.

Calls to Quadrangle Sunrise Senior Living, 3300 Darby Rd., were not immediately returned.

The arrest was "long overdue," said Paul French of Haverford, son-in-law of the victim.

In March, the woman told her daughter Mary French that she was being "punched and slapped" by staff in the Holly Building at the nursing facility. The family reported the incident to nursing home officials, who attributed the allegations to McCallister's dementia and said they were unfounded, according to court documents.

McCallister, who is now residing at her daughter's home in Haverford, had moved from Pittsburgh to be closer to her family, according to French.

During a visit March 19, Paul and Mary French noticed bruising on McCallister's left hand and wrist. Within a week, Paul French placed the camera, disguised as a clock, in McCallister's room, according to court documents.

Video from the camera showed Traynham striking the victim in the face and head while attempting to pull a shirt over her head on March 28, according to court documents.

Another video, taken last Thursday, shows Traynham, along with two other employees, laughing and mocking McCallister's mental condition for 12 minutes. During that time, she got out of bed and repeatedly tried to leave the room, but was pulled back.

At one point, one of the other employees allegedly danced, holding onto the post of McCallister's bed "as if she were dancing on a 'stripper pole,' " according to court documents.

Traynham and a second employee attempted to pull on McCallister's ears, which are "overly sensitive" after the loss of hearing aids, according to court documents.

Paul French, who declined to elaborate further on advice of an attorney, said his mother-in-law suffered lasting physical issues as a result of the abuse.