Rehab center sued for failure to report sex abuse

A Portland, Oregon rehabilitation center is still shuddering from the fallout of a sexual misconduct case whose perpetrator has a long past.

A female nursing assistant at West Hills Health and Rehabilitation Center tipped off administrators that Adeladilew Mekonen, a former certified nursing assistant from December 2014 to May 2016, had sexually harassed her, had raped a resident and had touched other residents in an inappropriate way.

The center’s executive director, Nicole Easley, allegedly never reported the accusations to authorities and is accused of threatening to fire the whistleblower. Easley has called the claims “false, misleading and without merit.”

The organization is also under fire for failing to do adequate background checks on Mekonen, who had been in plenty of trouble at a previous place of employment, according to The Oregonian. He has since admitted he sexually abused two residents at a different care facility and is currently awaiting trial on five other counts of sexually abusing residents.

Pamela Tabar

Pamela Tabar was editor-in-chief of I Advance Senior Care from 2013-2018. She has worked as a writer and editor for healthcare business media since 1998, including as News Editor of Healthcare Informatics. She has a master’s degree in journalism from Kent State University and a master’s degree in English from the University of York, England.