CLAY COUNTY, Fla. — A man has been arrested after deputies say he abused an “elderly male patient” at HCA Florida Orange Park Hospital, the Clay County Sheriff’s Office announced Wednesday.
Anthony Diaz, 52, has been charged with Aggravated Battery of an Elderly Person and is being held on a $150,003 bond, CCSO said in a news release.
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Detectives obtained an arrest warrant for Diaz on Tuesday and arrested him at his home.
CCSO said the patient “was intentionally struck several times in the face, pushed into a wall, and knocked to the ground by a hospital employee.”
Another staff member in the room witnessed Diaz’s assault of the patient, deputies said.
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Action News Jax first told you Tuesday about the incident that happened on Friday, Nov. 14.
The family of Julian Cohen, 73, exclusively told us that they want to make sure this doesn’t happen to anyone else.
We reached out to HCA Florida Orange Park Hospital and asked them to verify if, in fact, a hospital employee was the one who broke Cohen’s ribs.
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We also asked them whether they had been notified of the incident before their conversation and whether the alleged employee was still employed by them.
They replied, saying:
“We do not tolerate behavior that jeopardizes the safety and well-being of our patients or colleagues, and the staff member involved in this incident is no longer employed by HCA Florida Orange Park Hospital.”
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