GOODYEAR, AZ — Sal Anastasi was a patient at Palm Valley Post Acute, a long-term care facility, last year in Goodyear when another patient approached him and asked if she could tell him something.
She cried as she told him an employee at the facility was sexually assaulting her. She asked him not to say anything, 56-year-old Anastasi told ABC15 in a recent interview.
“I was shocked, like, wow, this can’t be happening,” he said.
Anastasi told ABC15 he is speaking out in hopes that the patient will get justice. He also wants to ensure that long-term care facilities are safe places for the people who stay there.
“When you go to these places, you’ve got to have a feeling of safety and trust,” he said. “So you can get better.”
Anastasi spent about six weeks at the facility, dealing with recurring health issues after being shot in the stomach.
He said the woman continued to confide in him about what was happening to her. She was crying, distraught, fearful.
“She wasn't gonna do anything about it at all,” he explained. “Because she was afraid.”
State records from an investigation by the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) state the woman was admitted to the facility on September 21, suffering from a head injury and post-concussion syndrome. Anastasi said she used a walker.
She told investigators that a certified nursing assistant would come into her room and sexually assault her. She alleged it happened 15-20 times during her stay. She left the facility on October 5, according to state records.
After she left, Anastasi said he called her and encouraged her to go to the Goodyear Police Department. He said they met in a local Walmart parking lot and drove over to the department, where they told a detective their stories.
Goodyear police investigated, as did ADHS and the Arizona State Board of Nursing. ADHS licenses long-term care facilities while the nursing board oversees nurses.
ADHS records say Palm Valley Post Acute also investigated but was initially unable to substantiate the claims. After receiving a letter from a law firm alleging sexual abuse in November, the facility suspended the employee and then fired him.
ADHS issued multiple citations to Palm Valley, saying the facility:
- Failed to immediately report sexual abuse allegations to ADHS as required.
- Didn’t suspend the employee until November 13, weeks after allegations were made.
- Failed to thoroughly investigate the allegations.
One facility administrator admitted to state inspectors that the facility “could have done a better job and could have dug deeper on the incident,” according to the ADHS report.
ADHS later fined the facility $2,000 related to the alleged sexual abuse of a patient.
The nursing board also investigated. The former employee confessed to having sex with a patient during a telephone interview with a board investigator, according to board records. But he said it was consensual.
In January, the employee voluntarily surrendered his nursing certification following the allegations, according to board records.
Palm Valley officials issued a statement to ABC15, saying they take patient safety seriously.
They say on September 28, a resident “raised a concern about possible inappropriate relations between a nursing assistant and another female resident. The Palm Valley staff investigated, and the female resident denied any inappropriate relations. Palm Valley closed its investigation.”
The statement goes on to say Palm Valley was subsequently notified of a police investigation. They suspended and then terminated the nursing assistant. The statement also says that the care and well-being of patients is the facility’s top priority. They say they will continue to cooperate with authorities as they complete their investigation.
Goodyear police are recommending criminal charges against the former employee. The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office is still reviewing the case.
Email ABC15 Investigator Anne Ryman at: anne.ryman@abc15.com, call her at 602-685-6345, or connect on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @anneryman.
