Unchecked

Mark Mueller (thanks, Andy): Until she breathed, the woman on the fifth floor looked like a shrouded corpse.



A sheet covered her body from head to toe. Uneaten dinner lay at the end of the bed, by her feet. No one in the Newark nursing home removed the sheet to check on her.



In another room, Elizabeth Maxey tried desperately to feed herself, but she couldn't bring up her arm without shaking, losing bits of mashed potato and blobs of pudding with each attempt. No staff member came to her aid.



The temperature in both rooms stood at 84 degrees.



Neglect. Stifling heat. Broken televisions. Unsanitary bathrooms.