During a hearing last week before District Judge Joanne Kline, a 46-year-old woman testified that a certified nursing assistant at a Bristol Township nursing home fought with her and nearly ripped out an IV port attached to her body.
The nursing home patient, who said she was unsure of her age because she stopped counting at 36, told the court she got into an argument with Peggy Wheeler, 65, of Bristol Township, after she found mold on her meal inside the Silver Lake Nursing and Rehabilitative Center on Tower Road in January.
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The woman was in the facility and continues to be following a stroke, which has left her with limited use of portions of her body.
According to testimony, Wheeler confronted the woman about her complaints and the woman ended up using her foot to push the nursing assistant away. From there, an altercation reportedly ensued and Wheeler had the wig ripped from her head.
Wheeler, according to testimony, scratched the 46-year-old woman and came close to ripping her IV port out. The resident, police said in court papers, suffered scratches and bruises and was taken to Lower Bucks Hospital.
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A food service employee tried to stop the two women from fighting with verbal instructions but neither listened, police said at the time charges were filed.
At the end of the woman’s sometimes rambling testimony, she said she could not defiantly say Wheeler was the woman who attacked her but said there were witnesses.
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The woman testified in court from her wheelchair.
Kline forwarded charges of neglect of care, simple assault and harassment onto trial in Doylestown.
Michael Ewing, a spokesperson for the nursing and rehabilitative center, told LevittownNow.com in March that Wheeler is no longer employed at the facility but would not release more information. He also said the incident was an “isolated” one and facility staff responded appropriately following the alleged assault.
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Wheeler is currently free.
