REGINA -- A former Regina nursing home worker faces one year of probation after pleading guilty to assaulting a resident in her care.
Tessie Weigetz was employed at Santa Maria Senior Citizens Home when she was charged in December 2014.
The family of the victim, Gerald Small, said he developed a fear of staff shortly after arriving at the home and complained of physical abuse.
That prompted the family to secretly install video surveillance which captured images of the assault in his room.
Court heard that Weigetz was fired and is now living on welfare.
Following the sentencing, Small's daughter, Lori Hallas, said change is needed in long-term care.
"While nothing can undo what has happened to our loved one, we hope that this case will serve as a deterrent to other people who work in the care industry, and that it will raise awareness that the system, as it stands, needs improvement," she said.
Saskatchewan's NDP Opposition has been calling for minimum-care standards as well as for the creation of a seniors advocate. Leader Cam Broten has repeatedly said understaffing is an issue in homes across the province.
Small no longer lives at the Santa Maria home.
The home first became the focus of debate on provincial care standards when the death of a resident was brought forward by the Opposition last fall.
Medical records showed Margaret Warholm, 74, reported losing 30 pounds in a year and had compression fractures in her vertebrae. She also had a large bedsore on her back that her family believes could have been prevented.
