Prosecutorcites official’s disregard in resident’s deathTuesday, January 09, 2007 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The administrator of a former nursing home knew about, but recklessly disregarded,severe understaffing and other

problems that led to the death of a resident with Alzheimer’s disease,a prosecutor said yesterday.

Mrs. Bell, 60, of West Mifflin, “poorly served an at-risk population” by ignoring complaints and failing to provide

adequate staffing and care that would have prevented the death of resident Mabel Taylor, Mr. Merrick said.

Mrs. Taylor, 88, formerly of Crafton, died Oct. 26, 2001, after she was locked in an outdoor courtyard on a 40-degree night

at the defunct Ronald Reagan Atrium I Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Robinson. An autopsy showed she died of heart

disease, with exposure to cold as a contributing factor.

“Martha Bell and Atrium had a legal duty to Mabel Taylor and other residents. They woefully failed in that duty,” Mr. Merrick told

jurors on the first day of Mrs. Bell’s and Atrium’s trial on charges stemming from Mrs. Taylor’s death.

Mrs. Bell and Atrium’s parent corporation, the Alzheimer’s Disease Alliance of Western Pennsylvania, are charged with neglect of a

care-dependent person, involuntary manslaughter and reckless endangerment. Mrs. Bell also is charged with conspiring to cover up

the circumstances of Mrs. Taylor’s death and with theft of Atrium payroll funds.

January 10, 2007