Western NC nurse charged with punching, shoving disabled patient
A Robbinsville nurse was charged with misdemeanor assault on an individual with a disability after a coworker said she abused a patient.
Robin M. Hoffman, a nurse through the staffing agency Medical Solutions Staffing, was working at Graham Healthcare and Rehabilitation on May 5, according to a report from the North Carolina Board of Nursing.
A witness and fellow employee told Graham leadership that she saw Hoffman, 56, violently shake a patient’s wheelchair, punch the patient on the back and shove her down by the neck, the report said. The patient had attempted to get water from behind the nurse’s station when Hoffman began screaming at her and hit her, the witness told facility leadership during a May 12 interview.
“The witness reported patient B.W. attempted to stand up out of the wheelchair, and Licensee shoved the patient back into her wheelchair by the patient’s throat while screaming expletives at her,” the June 8 report from the nursing board reads.
Hoffman could not be reached for comment.
The witness identified scratches to the patient’s neck, bruising on her right arm and two swollen fingers after the incident, according to the report. Facility leadership escorted Hoffman out of the building and contacted law enforcement, according to a complaint Graham submitted to the nursing board.
Hoffman was released on a $50,000 bond and charges are pending in Graham County District Court, court records show. Her nursing license is suspended pending a July 29 hearing before the state nursing board.
Hoffman was first issued a license to practice in November 2002.