Posted: Tuesday, November 4, 2014 2:46 pm | Updated: 11:25 pm, Thu Nov 6, 2014.
The former CEO, a former nurse and chief quality officer of Rideout Memorial Hospital entered not-guilty pleas in Yuba County Superior Court on Tuesday to criminal charges regarding alleged abuse of an elder patient. Nurse Deborah McNamara is charged with two felony counts of elder abuse for allegedly using unauthorized restraints on a patient.
Former Rideout CEO Theresa Hamilton-Casalegno and the hospital's senior vice president-chief quality officer, Istikram Qaderi, face misdemeanor charges of allegedly failing to report a suspected incident of dependent adult abuse and inhibiting another person from reporting the suspected abuse.
The complaints were filed by State Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Euler, Sacramento, who was present in court on Tuesday.
Hamilton-Casalegno and Qaderi were not present during their arraignments.
Defense attorney Joseph Tartakovsky, of San Francisco, entered not-guilty pleas on their behalf.
Judge Benjamin Wirtschafter appointed defense attorney John Abril to represent McNamara after the nurse said she couldn't afford an attorney. Abril entered not-guilty pleas.
Following the arraignment, McNamara denied the allegations and said she is the victim of a witch hunt.
"All I did was care about somebody," she said. "What they said happened, did not happen. I think I'll be cleared."
Wirtschafter set the next court date for Hamilton-Casalegno and Qaderi for Feb. 11.
McNamara is scheduled to appear again on Dec. 3.
CONTACT reporter Monica Vaughan at 749-4783 and on Twitter @AD_Vaughan.
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