Costa Rica police raid nursing home over abuse allegations

Judicial Investigation Police (OIJ) raided a nursing home in downtown Escazú Wednesday following allegations of abuse of the home’s 25 residents, according to a statement from police.

Police entered the Villa Amatista senior care facility at 8:00 a.m. and arrested the facility’s 32-year-old administrator, identified by the surnames Rodríguez Sánchez, for allegedly violating Costa Rica’s laws protecting the elderly. Police handed Rodríguez over to the Prosecutor’s Office.

OIJ reported that there were several complaints against the facility, including inappropriate use of tranquilizers and residents being inappropriately tied down in beds or wheelchairs with improvised restraints. When police raided the home Wednesday, they reported finding one resident tied down to his bed.

The food served to residents was also inadequate for people in their physical condition, according to police.

In a July 2014 Facebook post, a user identified as Marlen Incera decried her mother’s living conditions at the home before she died there.

According to police, residents at the home were paying between ₡500,000 and ₡700,000 monthly —roughly $1,000 and $2,000.

Most of the residents were Costa Rican along with one Chilean, according to OIJ spokesman Marco Monge. The residents were taken to Hospital Blanco Cervantes where doctors examined them to determine their condition.