One of the five employees charged with abusing an elderly woman at a Kane Regional Center previously pleaded guilty to two harassment charges from separate incidents while she worked for Allegheny County.
Kane officials did not know about the incidents and are expediting a plan to do periodic background checks on employees, Kane Executive Director Dennis R. Biondo said Tuesday.
Administrators do background checks on job applicants, but might not be alerted if an employee is arrested.
Shalaya Hatten, 30, of the Hill District was charged with misdemeanor simple assault in 2003 and felony aggravated assault in 2005, but both times pleaded to lesser harassment charges, court records show. Details from those cases were not immediately available.
"If they were summary offenses, that would not have made much of a difference," Biondo said. "We can't dismiss anyone for a summary offense (because of state law). ... We're very limited."
A summary offense is a crime that typically results in a fine rather than a jail sentence, such as minor traffic violations, harassment, simple trespassing, minor retail theft or public drunkenness.
Hatten and her attorney could not be reached.
In the case announced last week, Hatten is accused of elbowing and swearing at Alzheimer's patient Thelma Bryant, 94, at Kane's Glen Hazel facility.
Hatten cursed at Bryant and then put her elbow into Bryant's chest and pushed hard for as long as a minute, according to one witness' account to Allegheny County Police. The witness said this happened at least twice, dating possibly to June.
Witnesses did not come forward about the abuse until Oct. 30, county officials said. The five accused were suspended a few days after the first reports and then fired as the investigation unfolded.
For background checks, Kane officials use state police records, which show convictions, Biondo said. County officials have for months considered implementing checks on active workers as better technology made searches more efficient.
The abuse allegations inspired Kane officials to expedite that process, he said.
Biondo expects it to start within the next month. Officials are trying to solidify some of the plans, such as whether to check all employees annually or biennially.
"It's not something that doesn't take any time," he said. "You have to have the correct name, the correct birth date, all the right spellings, and you have to be careful that the information is for the correct person.
"... If you make a mistake and take action against the wrong person, then you have an issue."
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