The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has fined a home health care company, Elara Caring, approximately $161,000 for failing to protect a visiting nurse who was killed during an appointment with a convicted rapist at a Connecticut halfway house. Joyce Grayson, a 63-year-old nurse and mother of six, was killed on October 28 while working for Elara Caring. OSHA stated that the company exposed its employees to workplace violence from patients known to be a risk to others. Elara Caring disputes OSHA’s findings and plans to contest them.
OSHA’s investigation determined that Elara Caring could have reduced the risk of workplace violence by providing comprehensive background information on patients, panic alert buttons for health care providers, and developing procedures for using safety escorts with certain patients. The agency has mandated that Elara Caring implement a comprehensive workplace violence prevention program and develop necessary safeguards. Elara Caring, along with its subsidiaries Jordan Health Services and New England Home Care, must comply with these directives.
Elara Caring responded to the OSHA citation by stating that it is unwarranted and that the company intends to contest it vigorously. The company mentioned that Connecticut officials had deemed the convicted rapist accused of killing Grayson, Michael Reese, as not being a danger to the community. Reese, who was on probation and living in a halfway house in Willimantic, had previously served time for stabbing and sexually assaulting a woman in 2006. Elara Caring expressed condolences to Grayson’s family and asserted that it continues to grieve with them.
Following Grayson’s tragic death, Connecticut lawmakers are considering a bill to improve safety for health care workers, particularly those in home health care. Grayson was found strangled in the basement of the halfway house after missing subsequent appointments with Reese. Reese is facing charges of murder, attempted first-degree sexual assault, and other crimes in connection to Grayson’s death. His public defender has not responded to messages seeking comment. Kelly Reardon, a lawyer for Grayson’s family, expressed hope that the OSHA findings will prompt safety changes in the home health care industry.
An informal meeting between OSHA and Elara Caring has been scheduled, and the company has until May 17 to respond to the OSHA citation. OSHA also cited Elara Caring for a less serious violation related to not providing work-related injury and illness records to OSHA within the required time frame. The tragic death of Joyce Grayson has underscored the need for greater protections for home health care workers in Connecticut and across the country, as highlighted by OSHA’s findings and the ongoing legal proceedings related to the case.
