TOMBALL, Texas – The video is hard to watch and even tougher to listen to.
In it, Mary Teno says her 93-year-old mother Ethel was roughed up by a certified nursing assistant at the Grace Care Northpointe Center in Tomball, where she’s been staying for about a year.
"She just snatched her around and continued to hit her over and over again while my mom just screamed for help," Teno said.
Teno said after her mother complained of being hurt by some staff members, she decided to set up a hidden camera.
"It hurt me to see my mom being treated like that. And she could not defend herself,” Teno said.
Beyond what Teno said was verbal abuse, she also says there was physical abuse.
Teno said while the nursing assistant was wiping her mother, there was a shocking exchange caught on camera.
Although the nursing assistant may no longer be at the facility, Teno still worries how long this has happened to her mother and if it’ll happen to anyone else.
"She needs help. She’s very sick. No human being would treat a person in that manner," Teno said.
The law firm representing the nursing home released the following statement:
"Although we have not been provided the video at issue, we understand that the events depicted therein are inexcusable. We obviously do not condone such behavior and are taking every step necessary to ensure that nothing remotely similar happens again. Grace Care Center is committed to the welfare and safety of its residents and the involved nursing assistant has been permanently removed from the facility. We are working with the family, will continue our investigation, and are fully cooperating with the appropriate authorities."