A nursing assistant clawed an 87-year-old. Here’s how to find out about aides like her

A case of elder abuse could cost a certified nursing assistant from Largo to lose her license.

As it is, Denise Bivens’ license has been suspended after an Emergency Suspension Order (ESO) came down from the state Surgeon General in September, 43 days after an incident at Bellair Health Care Center in Clearwater. Bivens has been licensed since 2008.

According to the ESO documents, “S.C.” was a patient and resident at Bellair Health who suffered from Alzheimer’s, osteoporosis, a chronic lung disease, muscle weakness and “required total assistance with all activities of her daily living.”

As breakfast ended July 30, S.C. was sitting in her high-back wheelchair and holding a doughnut. Bivens leaned on the arm of the wheelchair. S.C. pushed Bivens away. Bivens tried to get the doughnut out of S.C.’s grip and, in the process, the doughnut disintegrated into crumbs.

“When Ms. Bivens attempted to brush the donut crumbs from Patient S.C.’s clothing, Patient S.C. grabbed Ms. Bivens’ arm, digging her nails into Ms. Bivens’ skin,” the ESO states. “After several attempts to brush the donut crumbs from Patient S.C.’s clothing, Ms. Bivens grabbed both of Patient S.C.’s forearms and stated, ‘You dug your nails into me, so I dig my nails into you.’ ”

S.C. suffered a skin tear on the right forearm and two scratches on the left forearm. There were at least two witnesses to the incident. Bellair fired Bivens.

“Because this incident resulted from frustration related to the execution of Ms. Bivens’ regular nursing assistant duties, the danger is likely to continue without suspension of Ms. Bivens’ nursing assistant certification,” the ESO said.

Bivens’ ESO, as with is the case for all ESOs, Emergency Restriction Orders (ERO) or other disciplinary actions, can be found by clicking here to search the Florida Department of Health website’s disciplinary actions section.

To search for any medical professional’s license or certification, click here for the Florida Department of Health website’s license verification section.

This story was originally published October 24, 2018 at 7:34 AM.