Putnam mental health worker abused patient, officials say

CARMEL – A Putnam Hospital Center employee from Peekskill is facing misdemeanor charges after police accused him of abusing an elderly patient in his care, officials said Thursday.

Laverne Pinckney, 41, was employed as a mental health worker at the hospital when the abuse was said to have occurred. He was said to have "recklessly endangered the welfare of the elderly patient who was being treated in the hospital's psychiatric unit," according to the New York state Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs.

When Pinckney is accused of abusing the patient is not clear, but Justice Center officials said they began investigating after the claim was reported to the agency's Vulnerable Persons Central Register Hotline, a 24-hour service at 855-373-2122 through which allegations of abuse against people with special needs can be made.

The investigation led to Pinckney's arrest Thursday, officials said. He was arraigned in Putnam County Court, where he was charged with second-degree endangering the welfare of an incompetent or physically disabled person and third-degree menacing, misdemeanors. He was released without bail pending a future court appearance.

Pinckney, who officials said had been fired from his position before his arrest, did not return a message seeking comment.

No one at the Putnam Hospital Center was available to comment Friday. The state Office of Mental Health, which oversees the hospital's inpatient psychiatric unit, could not be reached.

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