By TRACEY DRURY
Business First

Three nursing-home employees from Western New York have been arrested and charged, while a fourth person has been convicted of crimes involving the abuse of elderly and ill patients.

Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced the arrests Monday, all of which stemmed from a statewide investigation into abuse and neglect at institutional care settings.

According to a prepared release, the acts of abuse include physically attacking and using racial slurs against an 86-year-old Alzheimer's patient, slapping a 100-year-old patient in the face and tying an elderly patient with dementia to a chair for two consecutive nights. Cuomo said in the release that elderly New Yorkers deserve better than to endure suffering at the hands of those entrusted with their care.

"My office remains committed to protecting the vulnerable and defenseless by uncovering and prosecuting alleged abuses at nursing homes across the state," he said.

Those accused include Corey Austin, 28, a certified nurse's aide formerly with Gowanda Nursing Home who was terminated in February 2007 after a violent encounter with a patient. Austin was convicted of endangering the welfare of an incompetent or physically disabled person, a Class A misdemeanor, and wilful violation of health laws, a misdemeanor, after a nonjury trial before Hon. Arnold Andolsek in Town of Persia Court, Cattaraugus County. Austin faces a maximum of two years in jail when he is sentenced on Jan. 13.

Also charged were:

• Patricia Penman, 57, a certified nurse's aide accused of physically abusing a 100-year-old female resident of Rosa Coplon Jewish Home and Infirmary in Getzville. Penman, who pleaded not guilty at her arraignment in Amherst Town Court, is due back in court on Dec. 10.

• Jeffrey Perry, 23, a certified nurse's aide who allegedly tied an elderly resident with dementia to a chair with a belt for two nights at the Gowanda Nursing Home. Jeanette Sovereign, 45, a licensed practical nurse, was accused of knowing that the incident occurred but not reporting it. Both pleaded not guilty and are due back in court on Dec. 23.

The attorney general's investigation also resulted in the arrest of a certified nurse's aide who stomped on an 84-year-old female resident of Kaleida Health Deaconess Skilled Nursing Facility in Buffalo and the sentencing of a certified nurse's aide who stole $8,000 from a 97-year-old resident at The Waters of Orchard Park nursing home in Orchard Park.

The ongoing nursing-home investigations, which included the use of hidden-cameras, have led to the arrests or convictions of more than 47 nursing-home employees.