John Jefferson
Inset: Stephanie Phillips-Siwiec (Fulton County Sheriff). Background: Wellstar North Fulton Medical Center (WAGA).
A Georgia nurse is accused of stealing jewelry from hospital patients, in one case allegedly using hand sanitizer to forcefully remove rings from the fingers of a dementia patient, dislocating a finger in the process, authorities said.
Stephanie Phillips-Siwiec, 54, faces charges of abuse, neglect or exploitation of the elderly, robbery, and aggravated battery, online jail records show.
Information has surfaced in at least two cases. One from Aug. 28 is outlined in an affidavit obtained by local Fox affiliate WAGA and reviewed by Law&Crime.
The document says that between 1 a.m. and 9:30 a.m., the defendant took four rings off the fingers of an 87-year-old patient at Wellstar North Fulton Medical Center, dislocating a finger.
That night, officers were dispatched to the hospital for a theft call. The victim’s daughter told officers her mother, who has dementia, had fallen at her retirement home and was taken to the hospital by ambulance at 1 a.m. An X-ray at 2 a.m. showed she was wearing all her rings.
Later that day, after she had been brought back to her retirement home, she noticed her rings missing.
The rings were hers and her dead husband’s wedding rings, the affidavit said. They were a yellow gold wedding band, a yellow gold ring shaped like a tennis racket and a gold wedding set consisting of two white gold bands, one with a diamond valued at $5,800.
Days later, a doctor examining the injury to the victim’s ring finger concluded it was not caused by the fall that led to her trip to the hospital in the first place but happened when the rings were forcibly stolen off her fingers, the affidavit said.
Citing the affidavit, WAGA reported that the defendant admitted to using hand sanitizer to forcefully pull the rings off the patient.
“You lose faith in humanity in that moment that this could have happened in a place where someone is supposed to be cared for,” the victim’s daughter told the station.
In another alleged case, the daughter of a 95-year-old patient reported to Roswell police on Oct. 4 that her mother’s $1,000 18-karat gold bracelet had been taken off her wrist at the same hospital on Sept. 28, WAGA reported.
A spokesperson for Wellstar Health System said the defendant was placed on administrative leave pending further investigation.
“These allegations, if true, go against everything we stand for as caregivers. Every person should feel safe and comfortable when they receive care,” the spokesperson said. “We are cooperating with the investigating authorities and will take further action as appropriate. We have apologized to the patient and her family.”
The statement also noted how Wellstar tries to prevent such incidents.
“We conduct thorough employee background checks and encourage our team members and patients to report their concerns, which they can do anonymously, to help ensure the highest levels of care and safety,” the spokesperson said.
She was booked into the Fulton County Jail with bail set at $140,000, jail records show. She’s expected back in court next month.
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