TEXAS CITY, Texas — A Houston family is demanding action after they said their loved one was caught on camera being abused at a Texas City nursing home.
Police are now investigating, and so are state officials.
The family said their 87-year-old grandfather has been telling them about the abuse for years, but they never had proof — until now.
It was Sunday afternoon when they got the news that Cornelio Salinas was in the hospital after the Solidago Health and Rehabilitation facility said he fell from his bed.
“We got a phone call that our grandpa was going to the hospital because he supposedly fell out the bed," Cornelio Salinas's grandson Lizandro Solis said. “We saw the bruising around his eyes and he was in a neck brace so we went back on the ring camera, and we saw what happened."
Solis said the video paints a different story.
In the video, you can see Salinas, who only has one leg, on the floor when two employees hit, kick and drag him back to his bed. They pull him onto the bed and close the curtain, hiding everything that happened after that.
“Right when they’re closing the curtain, you can see her hand like she’s going to hit somebody," Solis said.
He said they were behind the curtain for 15 to 20 minutes, and his grandfather ended up on the floor again.
“We literally cried. We cried. We were angry. We wanted to go do something, but what can you do?" Solis said.
Solis said they installed the camera a year or two ago after his grandfather complained of the abuse. He said the camera wasn’t hidden.
“It’s posted outside in the hallway, on his door, there’s video surveillance in there," Solis said.
The facility, Solidago Health and Rehabilitation, released this statement in response to the abuse allegations:
"The health and safety of our residents remain our first priority. Our thoughts are with the resident and the family. Solidago Health and Rehabilitation enforces strict policies prohibiting patient abuse. Prompt action has been taken to ensure our residents are safe. Any violations of the abuse policy are reported to the appropriate agencies and legal authorities and the facility works closely with those agencies."
Solis said they want justice. They want the employees to be charged, and the facility to be shut down.
“We don’t even know how long that has been happening, or if anybody else is going through it," Solis said.
Salinas is still in the hospital. His family said they are working on finding him a new home.
Texas City police said a police report has been filed and they are investigating.
The Texas Department of Health and Human Services is also investigating. They released the following statement:
"HHSC is aware of the allegations involving this nursing facility and we are actively investigating to determine compliance with all relevant health and safety rules. Once our regulatory investigation work is complete, the final report for the investigation will be available to request through our open records process."