Nursing Home Aide Charged with Assault of 84-Year-Old Man

[Editor's note: Arrest information is supplied by the Fairfield Police Department. It does not indicate convictions.]

An investigation into an alleged assault of a patient at Ludlowe Health Center resulted in the arrest of a certified nurse's assistant Monday, Fairfield police said.

Tina Blake, 27, of Bridgeport, was charged with cruelty to persons, third-degree assault of an elderly person, and first-degree reckless endangerment for allegedly breaking the left ring finger and at least one facial bone of an 84-year-old man, according to police.

The investigation was launched in April, after the staff at the Jefferson Street nursing home told the victim's son that his father, who suffers from dementia, had an accident and bumped his head on a bed rail.

The man's son visited his father and saw his left ring finger was distorted and his face bruised and swollen, according to the report. The son asked several times that his father be seen by a doctor. Two days later, a doctor examined the father and told the staff and the man's family that he needed to go to the hospital, where his fractured bones were diagnosed and treated.

The son reported the incident to police, who interviewed the person -- Tina Blake -- who was providing care for the victim the night he "bumped" his head, according to the report. Blake, who had begun working at Ludlowe only a few months before the incident, was suspended upon the start of the investigation and subsequently fired.

Blake reportedly first told investigators that the victim was being combative while she was caring for him. According to the report, she later admitted that she was frustrated because it was the end of her shift and the victim had to be cleaned up.

While cleaning him, Blake allegedly pried open his left hand, breaking his finger. She told police that she rolled him on his side to clean him and he started to slip off the bed so she forced him back on, injuring him further, according to the report.   

Blake was released on a $15,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court on Oct. 24. The incident remains under further investigation.

Police Chief Gary MacNamara said the department is grateful the victim's son came forward.

"This is a family's worst nightmare," he said.