Lisa Ortiz wishes she had known sooner that her 78-year-old mother-in-law Patricia was suffering in her new home.
"It's upsetting," said Ortiz.
Patricia Ortiz was temporarily living at James Square Health and Rehab Center, a place where her family thought she'd be safe. Instead, they say she was abused.
"One of the aides was hitting her," said Ortiz.
In just six weeks, she was allegedly both physically and verbally harassed three times.
"We were upset she hadn't called the first time the aide had put her hands on her," said Ortiz.
Once Patricia finally started revealing the abuse to her family, they were shocked and angry. The most disturbing incident was over dinner one night.
"The aide said she had to eat. She said she wasn't hungry," said Ortiz. "The aide then grabbed her by the hair, forcefully grabbed her face to look at her, and then kind of mushed her face into her pillow."
The allegations against James Square come a month after the state Attorney General's office raided the center, looking for patient care records.
In a statement, James Square officials said: “James Square has worked to address the family’s allegation. Unfortunately, however, we are limited in the information we can share due to health privacy requirements. We can say that Syracuse Police found no wrongdoing and that James Square fully reported the care provided to regulators.”
Police say they did look into the case. They say there were no injuries and they made no arrests. Advocacy groups say laws just haven't caught up with the issue of elder abuse.
"Sometimes things that appear to be wrong may not be 'breaking the law,' " said Jenny Ackley of the Vera House Abuse in Later Life Program. "Physical violence might need to create an injury, and if that injury isn't clear, it's hard to prosecute something like that."
One of the reasons they believe the elderly population has always been the target of abuse.
"Especially within the nursing home. The elderly are frail; there's all kinds of reasons they can be taken advantage of," said Jeff Parker of the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program.
In the meantime, Ortiz has removed her mother-in-law from James Square. She wants this to serve as a warning to others in the community: "I'm hoping this awakens people to listen to what their loved ones are telling them."
If you or someone you know is being abused, there are many resources in the community that can help. Here are a few links that can be helpful: