THE ROLE OF THE ACADEMIC NURSE AND PHYSICIAN IN THE CRIMINAL PROSECUTION OF NURSING-HOME MISTREATMENT

Academic health care professionals have worked with the Commonwealth o f Pennsylvania Attorney General's office in a number of capacities to examine the quality of care in several Philadelphia area nursing homes . These tasks include: evaluating the quality of care; helping the pro secution understand the complexities of the cases; and testifying in c ourt, in particular, educating the court about aging, disease, nursing homes, and the appropriate care of infirm elderly. This paper discuss es the responsibilities of physician and nurse expert witnesses, using the cases of Ms. E and Ms. W as examples. It also describes some of t he tensions that arise when educators work with prosecutors.