Rehab employees broke 92-year-old dementia patient’s bones, Colorado cops say

Two rehab center employees have been accused in the abuse that left a 92-year-old with broken bones, Colorado officials said.

On May 9, deputies were called to the Sky Ridge Medical Center after it was determined that a 92-year-old woman with dementia had two separate broken bones in her leg, according to a June 11 Facebook post by the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office.

In an interview with the orthopedic trauma nursing manager of Sky Ridge Medical Center, officers learned the report completed by the Orchard Park Health Care Center was not consistent with the woman’s injuries, according to the arrest affidavit obtained by ABC 7 Denver.

Orchard Park Health Care did not immediately respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News on June 12.

The original report said the woman was found “sitting in her wheelchair, screaming for help in terrible pain” and “that no one had seen her fall” or knew what happened, officers said.

It was later determined that the woman’s injuries could not have happened while she was in the wheelchair, as it was a “clean break,” according to the arrest affidavit.

After a four-week long investigation, Patience Jackson, a certified nursing assistant with Orchard Park Health Care, was arrested on charges of criminal negligence, crimes against an at-risk person and complicity, officers said.

An active arrest warrant was issued for Zainab Namale, a licensed practical nurse with Orchard Park Health Care, officers said.

Jackson was booked into the Arapahoe County Detention Facility, officers said.

Arapahoe County is about a 50-mile drive southeast from Denver.

This story was originally published June 12, 2025 at 3:07 PM with the headline "Rehab employees broke 92-year-old dementia patient’s bones, Colorado cops say."