Jaclyn Dawn VanWinkle pleaded guilty to an amended misdemeanor charge of reckless abuse or neglect of an adult as part of a plea agreement with the state attorney general’s office which requires her to cooperate with their investigation.
She was sentenced by Special Judge David Hayse to 12 months in jail, which will be conditionally discharged for a two-year period if she does not commit another offense and cooperates with prosecutors. She also is forbidden from working in a job which requires her to care for “vulnerable adults,” including the elderly.
VanWinkle, 25, had been charged with wanton abuse or neglect, a Class D felony punishable by one to five years in prison after her Dec. 18 arrest.
A hidden camera video showed VanWinkle dancing in front of a patient at Madison Manor, part of the Richmond Health and Rehabilitation complex. The camera had been hidden by the patient’s family, who were concerned about conditions at the nursing home, including possible abuse of residents.
Investigators from the state Cabinet for Health and Family Services began looking into the allegations in October, and nine employees, including the administrator and nursing director, were fired.
VanWinkle was working as a nurse’s aide when the video was taken. Her attorney, Jim Baechtold, said after the plea that he thought his client got “a good result.”
“From the beginning, I’ve asserted that while Ms. VanWinkle’s conduct was distasteful, it did not rise to the level of felony abuse,” Baechtold said. “On the day in question, the videotape clearly shows Ms. VanWinkle was operating under the supervision of other employees of Madison Manor that had the responsibility to supervise her conduct.”
Baechtold said VanWinkle has “specifically agreed” to help prosecutors as they investigate and potentially bring charges against other employees.
The state attorney general’s Office of Medicaid Fraud and Abuse Control Division is prosecuting the case.
Under the terms of the agreement, VanWinkle must pay $158 in court costs by Aug. 24.
Another nursing home in the same complex, Kenwood, is the target of a lawsuit filed March 25 by the executor for the estate of a former patient.
That suit seeks a jury trial against the complex’s owner, Extendicare of Wisconsin, for legal and medical expenses as well as punitive damages.
Brian Smith may be reached at bsmith@richmondregister.com or at 624-6694.
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