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Inset: Larry Hedrick (Tomblyn Funeral Home). Background: Hopemont Hospital (West Virginia Department of Health).
A registered nurse and certified nursing assistant from West Virginia are facing charges in the death of a 68-year-old nonverbal man after they allegedly left him in a scalding hot bath for nearly an hour.
CNA Kylah Beard and RN Delilah Clayburn-Hill are charged with felony neglect of an incapacitated adult by a caregiver, the West Virginia Attorney General’s Office said in a press release. According to the AG, the victim, Larry Hedrick, was a patient at Hopemont Hospital in Terra Alta in need of around-the-clock care. On Jan. 4, 2024, Beard allegedly helped Hedrick into the bath, but “unreasonably failed” to check the water temperature gauge. The water was 134 degrees and they left him in the tub for 47 minutes, prosecutors say.
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After staff removed him from the bath, he was suffering from second- and third-degree burns and blisters on his feet and legs. Clayburn-Hill learned of the injuries but never did anything to treat them, including giving him pain medications, the AG’s office said. Hedrick was taken to the West Penn Hospital Nursing-Burn Trauma Unit in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He died from his injuries on Jan. 13, 2024.
The investigation so far has focused on people who have had “hands on” care with Hedrick but detectives are also looking other staff that may have violated state laws, the AG’s office said.
“This is a very disturbing case and there needs to be accountability for the horrific death of the victim, Mr. Larry Hedrick, who was supposed to be under the care of medical professionals,” said Attorney General and Governor-elect Patrick Morrisey.
Clayburn-Hill and Beard are slated to face a judge on Jan. 29. The Preston County Prosecutor’s Office will handle the case.
According to his obituary, Hedrick was one of 13 children. Hedrick worked for a tree service company and at a Perdue Chicken plant before moving to Ohio where he became disabled.
“He liked working on cars and building model cars, hunting and being outdoors,” the obituary read.
Hopemont Hospital is a long-term care facility for geriatric patients. It originally treated tuberculosis patients but transitioned to a long-term nursing facility in the late 1980s.
