Woman indicted in death

Administrator of Madison Township assisted living facility facing charges in death of 85-year-old woman resident

The woman accused of causing the death of a Madison Township assisted living facility resident has been indicted on charges of involuntary manslaughter, reckless homicide and three counts of patient abuse.

Alice Ramsey, 55, was arrested earlier this year following the Jan. 3 death of Mary Srpan, an 85-year-old resident of Hubbard Road Meadow.

Ramsey was the administer of the facility, which permanently lost its license March 30.

An arraignment date on the five felony charges in Lake County Common Pleas Court has not been scheduled.

If convicted, she faces up to 18 1/2 years in prison.

Ramsey, who remains free on a personal bond, did not yet have an attorney on record.

According to officials with the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services:

The resident was in her room banging to be heard on Jan. 3. Visitors alerted staff, who tried to get into her room unsuccessfully and had to return to get keys. When employees returned, they saw the victim’s head wedged in a nightstand. Visitors helped free the woman, who later died at an emergency room.

ODMHAS officials said the facility had previous incidents of neglect, failure to report deaths and falls, and violations of hiring

regulations.

Three of the four rooms furnished with bathtubs did not have the required nonskid surfaces in the tubs, according to an ODMHAS investigation.

In addition, required background checks were not completed on all employees, and there was no documentation verifying compliance with staff training requirements.

The ODMHAS investigation also found that residents were not given keys to their rooms, which had deadbolts that can be opened from the inside. This presented a danger of a resident with dementia accidentally locking themselves in their room — or being locked in the room by staff against their will.

Ramsey’s case has not yet been assigned to a judge.

Ramsey