Christann Shyvin Gainey has been charged with involuntary manslaughter, neglect and falsifying documents regarding the death of former Trump adviser H.R. McMaster’s father.
H.R. McMaster Sr. died on April 13, just eight hours after falling and hitting his head at the Cathedral Village retirement community. The mandatory monitoring and examinations that are required after such an injury may have saved his life, but Gainey did not perform them—and then claimed that she did.
“This nurse violated the trust that was placed in her by her patients and their families,” Attorney General Josh Shapiro said. “We will hold her accountable for failing to perform her job and then lying about it.” Shapiro said Gainey failed to perform eight different potentially life-saving checks.
She then filed paperwork to the contrary, and told the Assistant Nursing Director that he was “fine.” When it was pointed out that her last supposed check was performed about 20 minutes after the time of McMaster’s death, she said “Well, I falsified that one.” In fact, despite recording that she had completed the required examinations, Gainey neglected to perform even a single one.
“When a family selects a senior living facility, they do not expect their loved one to be found dead in the lobby of a place that was supposed to be caring for him,” Shapiro said. “This nurse ignored her job responsibilities, falsified paperwork, lied to her supervisors and neglected Mr. McMaster, who died,” he concluded.
In a statement, McMaster’s daughter Letitia said: “Our father … was a tough and compassionate soldier and public servant. The best way to honor his memory is for all of us to do all we can to prevent others from suffering at the hands of those who lack compassion and abandon even the most basic standards of human decency. Today’s charges are an important step forward in that connection.”
Cathedral Village officials are cooperating with authorities, and have contacted the state Health Department in advance of their own internal investigation into the matter. More than two million cases of elder abuse are reported every year, according to NursingHomeAbuseGuide.org. Nearly one in every 10 elders will experience some form of abuse.