A Nashville woman has been indicted on charges of abusing a vulnerable adult in her care, according to recent reports from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI). Janice Marie Garrett, aged 66, was employed as a caregiver at a residential facility in Mount Pleasant when the alleged abuse took place. The charges come following an investigation that began in January of this year after TBI agents received a referral from Adult Protective Services concerning an incident that occurred a week earlier. WSMV notes that the indictment charges Garrett with one count of Abuse of an Elderly or Vulnerable Adult.
The TBI's Medicaid Fraud Control Division moved to investigate the alleged mistreatment after the initial referral. This probe quickly seemed to substantiate the claims that Garrett had physically abused a patient under her care. As detailed in WKRN report, the indictment was returned by the Maury County Grand Jury on June 11. Subsequently, Garrett surrendered to the authorities at the Maury County Jail where she was booked on a bond of $20,000.
In alignment with the charges filed, Garrett is accused of physically abusing an adult she was tasked to protect and nurture, a revelation that was the result of the TBI's dedicated investigative efforts. According to a publication on the TBI's official newsroom, the division responsible for uncovering the abuse receives significant funding from federal sources, with 75 percent of its budget contributed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This funding is instrumental in to enable vital investigations like Garrett's to take place. Details of this funding and the specific allocation were also shared in the newsroom post at TBI Newsroom.
