Texas nursing home employees accused of dragging, assaulting 87-year-old resident

The man was hospitalized, had bruising and had to wear neck brace

Lisa Jo Cooper, 61, and Kecia Danielle Johnson, 57, were each charged with injury to an elderly person, with bonds set at $100,000. (KPRC)

Two Texas City nursing home employees have been arrested after a video showed them dragging and assaulting an 87-year-old resident, police said.

Lisa Jo Cooper, 61, and Kecia Danielle Johnson, 57, have each been charged with injury to an elderly person, according to KPRC, KSAT’s sister station in Houston. They turned themselves in to police on Thursday and were booked at the Galveston County Jail.

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KPRC reported that Cornelio Salinas was a Solidago Health and Rehabilitation resident and told his family that staff members were mistreating him. His family then installed a camera.

One video appeared to show the women dragging the man, who has an amputated leg, across the floor and kicking and hitting him before tossing him onto the bed. You can view the video obtained by KPRC here.

Family says man was beaten at nursing home

Staff later told his relatives that he fell on the ground and had to go to the hospital, the family told KPRC.

Salinas’ family filed a complaint with the Texas City Police Department on Oct. 2.

“You never think it’s going to happen to one of your family members,” his grandson, Lizandro Solis, said. “It’s sad.”

“That’s no way to treat nobody, especially an elderly person with one leg. What is he going to do to you? How can he hurt you?”

His family said Salinas had bruising around his eyes and had to wear a neck brace.

KPRC reported that the facility had 11 violations under Texas Health and Human Services Commission records, including failure to “provide residents with care and services related to activities of daily living” and failure to “attain or maintain the highest practicable, physical, mental, and psychosocial well-being.”

Solidago Health and Rehabilitation has since released the following statement:

“The health and safety of our residents remain our first priority. Our thoughts are with the resident and the family. Solidago Health and Rehabilitation enforces strict policies prohibiting patient abuse. Prompt action has been taken to ensure our residents are safe. Any violations of the abuse policy are reported to the appropriate agencies and legal authorities and the facility works closely with those agencies.”

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About the Author:

Rebecca Salinas is an award-winning digital journalist who joined KSAT in 2019. She reports on a variety of topics for KSAT 12 News.