A Kittanning nursing home is the latest to be sued in connection with a patient’s death tied to former nurse Heather Pressdee.
A wrongful death lawsuit was filed against Armstrong Rehabilitation and Nursing Facility in Kittanning and its parent company, Armstrong SNF Operator LLC. It is at least the ninth such suit against nursing homes where Pressdee worked.
It was filed on behalf of the family of patient Louise Skinner, 90. The suit contends she died Dec. 18, 2022, as a result of Pressdee’s actions.
Pressdee of Harrison is being held in the Butler County jail, criminally charged with killing at least two nursing home patients in another facility. State prosecutors have connected her to the deaths of at least 17 patients, including Skinner, at nursing homes in Westmoreland, Allegheny, Armstrong and Butler counties between 2020 and 2023.
According to the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office, she is accused of intentionally administering overdoses of insulin to patients. She is charged with the mistreatment of 22 patients in total, 17 of whom died. The victims ranged in age from 43 to 104.
The latest suit, filed by Hal K. Waldman & Associates, argues that Armstrong Rehabilitation was negligent in hiring Pressdee and is liable for the acts of its staff. The lawsuit claims that, despite Pressdee being fired or forced to resign due to her abusive behavior at nine other nursing homes she worked for prior to Armstrong, she still was hired there on Nov. 30, 2022.
“It’s a red flag when you’re moving around every two or three months in the health care world,” said Hal Waldman of Waldman & Associates.
The suit argues that staff members at Armstrong Rehabilitation were negligent by failing to prevent Pressdee from administering unnecessary insulin to Skinner, who was in the facility to be treated for dementia, and failing to report or act on reports regarding suspected abuse, among other claims.
“I can’t imagine what was going through Miss Pressdee’s head when she committed these horrible acts,” Waldman said.
The lawsuit contains nine counts, including negligence and vicarious liability.
Skinner’s family seeks unspecified damages and a jury trial.
“(The Skinners) are a very nice family,” Waldman said. “Mrs. Skinner’s husband is still alive. He’s in his early 90s, and it’s tragic that he’s now having to live alone after this.”
Waldman said this is the first suit filed in Armstrong County in connection with Pressdee. It joins four lawsuits filed against Guardian Healthcare and its facility in Lower Burrell, Belair Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center, as well as four suits filed against Sunnyview Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Butler.
All of those suits make similar claims of liability against the nursing homes and their owners.
A call to the state Attorney General’s Office for comment regarding this latest suit was not immediately returned.
