The state has suspended the certification of a homemaker-home health aide who was arrested in May for allegedly inappropriately touching an 84-year-old patient at the Ocean County assisted living facility where he worked, the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office said Tuesday.
Michael A. Donaldson, 32, of Manchester, was charged with aggravated criminal sexual contact after his employer, Sunrise Senior Living in Jackson, told police that another employee caught Edwards placing his hand under the shirt of a woman who suffers from dementia, authorities said.
He had already been fired by the Jackson facility, but late last month, the New Jersey State Board of Nursing filed an order stating Donaldson voluntarily agreed to a temporary suspension of his certification, the attorney general’s office said.
“It’s an egregious abuse of trust when any licensee sexually preys on a patient or client, but it is especially heinous when the victim is an elderly individual under their care,” said Attorney General Gubrir Grewal. “The actions announced today underscore both the need for our professional boards to remain vigilant in protecting vulnerable patients, as well as the importance of the review they are presently undertaking to better protect victims and hold licensees accountable for their actions.”
The State Board of Nursing has also filed orders against eight other CHHAs charged with crimes since January, the attorney general’s office said.
The attorney general’s office has directed the state Division of Consumer Affairs to review how its 51 professional boards address allegations involving the sexual misconduct and abuse of licensees. The professional boards oversee 720,000 active licensed professionals across New Jersey.
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Avalon Zoppo may be reached at azoppo2@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @AvalonZoppo.