Good Sam charges expected week of Nov. 16

Posted by ladybug (anonymous) on November 7, 2008 at 10:36 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I hope they all are charged as adults. There have been other cases around the country with people younger than 17 charged as adults.

Posted by headscratcher (anonymous) on November 7, 2008 at 11:26 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I hope they will finally print their names.

Posted by 3trees (anonymous) on November 7, 2008 at 12:13 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Let's please remember there are 3 sets of victims. 1. The people who were assaulted. 2. There families. 3. The families of these teenagers.. I hope that the 4 teenagers are prosecuted to the highest extent of the law. If people want to know the names so they can harass families, and ruin more lives, then I hope our legal system is ready to prosecute those people as well. Enough lives have been ruined.

Posted by headscratcher (anonymous) on November 7, 2008 at 12:20 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Why would you jump to the conclusion that just because we want to know the names is so we could harrass families? That's just stupid. I thought it was a law that sex offenders were supposed to be made know to the public.

Posted by speakup (anonymous) on November 7, 2008 at 1:02 p.m. (Suggest removal)

it would be nice to know their names so people are not unknowingly putting themselves or their loved ones in harms way! As a parent, this is an issue. Don't tell me they are good kids who just made bad choices, their actions are those of sick women in need of serious help! Also, why shouldn't their names be public? Don't commit crimes if you don't want your name in the paper.

Posted by seventyone (anonymous) on November 7, 2008 at 2 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I agree, the people in this community and surrounding communities have a right to know that there are potenial predators out there and who they are. I look at the sexual offender registry often just to find out if there is a potential abuser in the area, it is not to find out where they live and who they are related to, to harass them it is to protect myself and my loved ones. The girls that are charged with these crimes should have taken into consideration that they would get caught and everyone would find out who they were. As a human being we make choices, and we sometimes make bad ones, but we have to live with the consequences of our choices. If we defend these girls and not make them suffer the consequences, what kind of message are we sending to the rest of the people in the world? It's like saying do what you want, to who you want, and we will never tell anyone, we will give you the right to hide behind your crime. The fact that you took away the right of another human, to feel safe and cared for, is beside the point. I think it is our job as a community to protect the victims not the accused.

Posted by seventyone (anonymous) on November 7, 2008 at 2:09 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Sorry, me again. I was just thinking that since everything has been so hush hush, if the girls are even going to get a just punishment or if they will just slap their wrists and send them on their way. I cannot think of a time when everything was kept so quiet, as far as a crime goes. It just seems rather odd to me. I truely hope I am wrong. It really does make me wonder if their parents or family are considered "high and mighty" and have some type of influence on what has been released and what has not.

Posted by Wolfie (anonymous) on November 7, 2008 at 2:44 p.m. (Suggest removal)

The ONLY victims that matter are the elderly victims and their families. The families of the perpetrators are reaping what they sowed by their lack of parenting skills. The chances of the young women attacking their victims would be significantly decreased if their parents had taught them self-respect and respect for others. I personally hold the parents accountable, to a degree, as well as the perpetrators.

Posted by outoftowner (anonymous) on November 7, 2008 at 2:58 p.m. (Suggest removal)

These girls need to be punished, and think of what real punishment means. When you get a speeding ticket and are fined and you have to throw that money out the door knowing that you could have spent on something more important, it irks you and sticks with you. If you saw your name or mug shot on TV or in the local paper, that would stick with you for a long time—I would hope— the embarrassment of it—for you and, unfortunately, those who love you. But, that’s what punishment is intended for, so you won’t make those mistakes again. That’s why these girls need to be embarrassed, fined, and jailed, and they should never be able to take care of the vulnerable in any way.

Posted by OldTrojan (anonymous) on November 7, 2008 at 5:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)

In my opinion part of the reason that names have not been released goes back to what seventyone said about the "high and mighty" not wanting them to be. Do not be surprised if you find out that one of the names released is a close relative to one of the folks in the administration at the nursing home. Once the names are released I think that the nursing home is going to have a very bad public relations nightmare become even more severe. The time it is taking to go public about this is buying the nursing home time to formulate a public relations strategy to combat the inevitable increased onslaught of public uproar. The delay of information is intended to protect the nursing home as much, if not more, as it is to protect the accused.

Posted by tmfresh (anonymous) on November 7, 2008 at 7:13 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Wolfie---Have you ever raised kids? As parents we try to teach them the right things from day one. However, they can not be patrolled 24-7! Kids have a mind of their own and will do whatever they want to no matter how they were raised. It is ignorant to blame parents of teenagers for what they do,unless the parent was encouraging the behavior or was somehow involved.

You need to apologize to those parents.

Posted by nursingstudent10 (anonymous) on November 7, 2008 at 7:22 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I have had clinicals at Good Sam's and have no complaints about the staff there. They are very helpful and competent. Yes, they are understaffed, but so are most nursing homes. If you criticizers think you can do so much better than by all means, go get your nursing assistant certification. It's not as easy as you might think. Better yet, try to be the nurse that already has too much to do and also has to supervise all the CNA's. What these girls did is wrong but do not judge the rest of the staff (or their parents) by their actions.

Posted by outoftowner (anonymous) on November 7, 2008 at 7:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)

It is unfortunate how understaffed these places are and how underpaid the CNAs are. When I was just out of high school I worked at a care facility and I also have a friend who worked at a nursing homes that would be so short staffed that one person would have to take care of almost 20 people. The administration at these nursing homes do not care about anything but money. When we were short staffed not once in the several years I worked in my unit would the administration staff step up and help with the actual care of the residents no matter how short we were—that wasn’t their job. It was and is disgusting. These elderly are paying customers--upwards of 2000-3000 a month, A MONTH. Where is all the money going? Certainly not to the staff actually taking care of the residents. That is why you get some of the characters you get working in the nursing homes because the pay is not good and instead of trying to overstaff so there are plenty of people to cover all the floors, they love to save money by going short and they don’t care that they are hiring many people who aren’t qualified and how bad the turnover is (obviously, I know there are good, decent, hardworking people who work at these places as well—and in my experience they ironically get treated the worse). What we need is people to start taking care of their own grandparents, moms and dads, I would rather my tax money go to families that want to take care of their elderly parents with home health care nurses popping in to keep an eye on things than to see it go to a nursing home who doesn’t care.

Posted by bobbyg (anonymous) on November 7, 2008 at 9:35 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Funny how they're protecting the offenders all along? But you better give these people some protection when the names are released!

Posted by dj8887 (anonymous) on November 7, 2008 at 10:30 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I agree with outoftowner. I know a friend who has left the facility to work at another facility. They are a hard working individual and care a lot about the residents there at Good Sams, and when the time came to get a day off here and there they would get harassed. Then there would be the staff's kids working there and they could get the days off when they wanted them off-- go figure. They felt that when the names of these individuals get out in the public, Good Sams employees will probably be known as the" Oh you work at that place" and then the jokes will start.

Posted by sbahr (Stacey Bahr) on November 8, 2008 at 12:18 a.m. (Suggest removal)

My heart goes out to the victims and their families -- and yes, the families of the accused. I'm thankful that my own mother was in another facility at the time, or she may very well have been one of those victims. I get sick to my stomach every time I think of it.

That being said, you can raise a child with the most respect and dignity possible and still end up with a bad person. Some people are just plain bad, in spite of good parents. I don't know the home lives or the upbringing of these girls, and neither do any of you, so you have no right to pass judgment on the families of the girls for the actions of the girls. Perhaps there was horrible parenting involved with these girls, but perhaps there wasn't. What matters is that these girls are reported to have done horrible things, questioning their upbringing can't change that now. THEY are the ones being charged with these heinous acts, NOT their families.

As we all make comments and form opinions on this case and are pointing fingers not only at the girls but at everyone associated with them, we have to ask ourselves if we are pointing the fingers with knowledge or angry speculation? I know that this is a very disgusting story and angering situation, but let's not lose focus on the fact that it was these girls, not their families, that chose to do these horrible things. Is an investigation into the facility warranted? Absolutely. But I don't know if any of us is qualified to say with certainty at this point in time that the entire facility was at fault or not, or that the girls are related to higher-ups, so on and so forth. To me that sounds a lot like conspiracy theory, and personally, I'm reserving judgment until an investigation is done. If you have some information that isn't heresay or speculation, I'd love to hear it, but until then, my focus is on the charging and prosecution of the girls.

Posted by sbahr (Stacey Bahr) on November 8, 2008 at 12:26 a.m. (Suggest removal)

However, if it is found that the administration of the facility is also at fault, then I certainly hope that appropriate action is taken against the facility. I have also heard of sub-par adminstration at this facility, and perhaps you are right, fromthearea, maybe those in charge of hiring these girls are also somewhat to blame, but like I said, I'd like to know the whole story first.

Anyway, it just all boils down to a tragedy for these families, and I hope that those involved get the full punishment that is inevitably waiting for them, and if that includes the facility, then so be it.

Posted by nursingstudent10 (anonymous) on November 8, 2008 at 8:26 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Outoftowner- interesting that you bring up that people should consider taking care of their parents with the help of home health aids. This is a growing trend. My classmates that are from other countries have a hard time understanding the whole "nursing home" concept. In their countries, there are very few nursing homes because family cares for family. Obviously, every situation is different.

Yes, nursing home residents pay an enourmous amount of money. The technology used/needed in the nursing home is very expensive.

fromthearea - my point was that I really hope people don't judge the other staff at good sams and other nursing homes by these girls actions. I did have a loved one in a nursing home in this area and they received top care, my family couldn't have been happier.

Posted by OldTrojan (anonymous) on November 8, 2008 at 8:14 p.m. (Suggest removal)

WARNING! While in Albert Lea today I heard a RUMOR that one of the 4 suspects is now working at the nursing home in Lake Mills, Iowa! I have no proof of this but it came from a reliable source who I trust.

Posted by friendswithall (anonymous) on November 8, 2008 at 8:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I work at Good Sams and it is very frustrating hearing about how "everyone" is to blame over the actions of these young women! Why is it so hard to understand that abuse that accured was solely the responsibility of those that committed the actions and no one else..?? The administration is excellent at G.S. It is impossible to know what each staff member is doing at all times..In my opinion, the only thing that G.S. did wrong was hire a bunch of idiots that left the impression that they actually could give a damn about our residents!~
I feel very badly for those residents that were abused and for their families also! It is a terrible thing and it is very upsetting to staff members there also.

Posted by time2share (anonymous) on November 8, 2008 at 11:12 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Most of these comments are blaming management and every employee in the establishment. Isn't this getting a little harsh?? What is happening here is the very reason co-workers are inclined to not report this type of incident. This abuse that happened just out of view of management is a horrible thing, but by blaming the entire staff isn't it going to make a witness more apt to not report a problem next time it happens? This is probably why it took as long as it did for someone to come forward. I feel bad for the very people who decided to do the right thing and report this incident. They are being accused of the crime as harshly as the perpetrators. I hope that justice will be served but not at the expense of the hard working people who go to work every day and serve their patients with the dignity and respect they deserve.

Posted by dolphin (anonymous) on November 9, 2008 at 10:51 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I also work at good sams and it is sad that the whole facility looks bad because of the actions of them girls, which is not fair to everyone else who does great work. Everyone who talks bad about good sams shouldnt because the girls are gone. And just remember that this could of happened anywhere, not just at good sams.

Posted by ravlin (anonymous) on November 9, 2008 at 11:08 a.m. (Suggest removal)

If it was 4 men that that did this would they still free around town. And would there names of been withheld?

Posted by OldTrojan (anonymous) on November 9, 2008 at 11:17 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Nobody is saying that the employees of Good Sams are all bad. I have visited there before, I know people who work there and once upon a time had a relative as a resident there. It is overall a good place from what I have experienced. However, the administration is responsible for knowing what is happening within their four walls. If they did not know, they should have known. The interesting thing for me about this case is that it was not just one employee who was a bad apple. There may be four bad apples! Four employees being involed in the alleged actions given the severity is a large number. Yes, this potentially could have happened at any nursing home. The question for me is whether it would have gone on long enough in another nursing home whereby four employees became involved. The ball got dropped big-time by the administration in my opinion.

Posted by friendswithall (anonymous) on November 9, 2008 at 1:35 p.m. (Suggest removal)

OldTrojan.."If they did not know, they should have known." That doesn't make any sense...It is impossible for them to know everything that goes on in the facility..How are they supposed to know about anything if they aren't informed! Luckily, someone had the guts to stand up and report it..Then they were made aware. See how that works?
Also, what some people need to remember is that they were secretive about their actions (when they were at work). They pulled the curtains in the residents rooms..Watched out for eachother to make sure they didn't get busted. They knew what they were doing. It's not likely administration is going to be hovering over staff while they are doing cares on a resident... Should they be? Yes, probably! But that's not how it works anywhere.
I'm not trying to twist your words around, I'm just saying it is not possible for them to know everything that is going on. Of course we want to blame them for not knowing, but they did not know!!!

Posted by citizen07 (anonymous) on November 9, 2008 at 2:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)

It is hard to know what goes on behind closed doors and curtains. Privacy is a huge issue at nursing homes, it is pushed into us over and over to make sure we are knocking, closing doors, and closing curtains. It's hard to know what these girls are like since we don't know who they are so it's hard to judge if Good Sam's should have know they were bad eggs or not. To those of you (like myself) that work at nursing homes and hospitals, keep up the good work! I think we are all a lot more aware of what we need to watch for now that we know it can happen in our own community.

Posted by OldTrojan (anonymous) on November 9, 2008 at 4:10 p.m. (Suggest removal)

friendswithall: Your question on my statement about should knowing even if not knowing is fair. If you check with an attorney who if familiar with workplace discrimination, sexual harassment laws they can explain that this does exist and is a valid statement according to the courts.

Posted by soupy (anonymous) on November 9, 2008 at 7:32 p.m. (Suggest removal)

i hope these people are charged and my heart goes out to the victims and families. How can anyone say the administration is excellent at Good Sam's? I've seen patients neglected, verbally abused and the top people in administration ignore the complaints. If you work there and say there are good, you must be one of them that are in a high position and don't do anything about it. i would not bring anyone to Good Sam's in Albert Lea to be cared for. Yes, they may be short staffed but then maybe RN's need to help out more, maybe they need to hire more people and treat their employees well. I wish a better audit would be done on how they take care of their patients and how long it takes for a patient to get help.

Posted by citizen07 (anonymous) on November 10, 2008 at 8:51 a.m. (Suggest removal)

So about the administration, the reason they are off the hook is because they reported it right away? Is that right?

Posted by ladylocks (anonymous) on December 4, 2008 at 10:03 a.m.

(This comment was removed by the site staff.)

Posted by ladylocks (anonymous) on December 4, 2008 at 10:18 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Hey site staff whatever happened to freedom of speech??????????????? Take my personal information and email address off your list!

Posted by soupy (anonymous) on December 10, 2008 at 9:18 p.m. (Suggest removal)

citizen07 - you obviously have not been around administration enough.