FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEWS ADVISORY
January 12, 2014
For More Information, contact:
Luther Strange
Mike Lewis (334) 353-2199
Alabama Attorney General
Joy Patterson (334) 242-7491
Claire Haynes (334) 242-7351
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AG ANNOUNCES ARREST OF FORMER NURSING ASSISTANT
FOR STRIKING ELDERLY WOMAN AT NURSING HOME
(MONTGOMERY) – Attorney General Luther Strange announced the arrest of a
former employee of a Tuscaloosa County nursing home for abuse of an elderly resident
of the facility. Anita Brenett Watford, 47, of Tuscaloosa, was arrested on January 8 and
released on a $10,000 bond.
The Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit presented evidence to a
Tuscaloosa County grand jury resulting in an indictment* on October 31, 2014,
charging Watford with a violation of the Adult Protective Services Act of 1976. The
charges allege that Watford, a certified nursing assistant (CNA) at Glen Haven Health
and Rehabilitation, struck Emma Matthews, 93, a resident of the facility, on the head
causing injury. The investigation was initiated after management of the facility was
alerted to Matthews’ injuries. It is alleged that Watford attempted to forcibly give
Matthews medication but that she kept spitting the medication out. Watford then
punched Matthews on the head above her eye. Watford told administrators at the
nursing home that she was attempting to hold Ms. Matthews hands down and that
Matthews forced Watford’s hands to hit her on the head; however, other witness
statements contradict Watford’s account.
The Adult Protective Services Act of 1976 (Ala. Code 1975 ß38-9-7d) provides
that any person who intentionally abuses or neglects a “protected person” shall be
guilty of a Class C felony if the intentional abuse or neglect causes physical injury. The
Act defines a “protected person” as any person who resides in a nursing home, mental
institution, development center for people with intellectual disability and/or other
convalescent care facility.
Watford is scheduled for arraignment before Tuscaloosa County Circuit Judge
James H. Roberts Jr. on April 3, 2015.
*An indictment is merely an accusation. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until
proven guilty.
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501 Washington Avenue * Montgomery, AL 36104 * (334) 242-7300
www.ago.alabama.gov
