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HARRISBURG — A nursing supervisor accused of neglecting a patient who died has waived her preliminary hearing, according to a press release from the Attorney General’s office.

Kelly Levandowski, 39, of West South Street, Nanticoke, allegedly failed to call 9-1-1 and take proper staffing precautions — such as one-on-one care — for a patient who pulled a tracheostomy tube from her throat while a patient at Guardian Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center in Nanticoke on June 20, 2013.

Patient Melvin Johnson, 72, died the same day.

Levandowski is charged with a first-degree felony of neglect of a care-dependent person.

A tracheostomy is a surgically created hole through the front of a patient’s neck and into the trachea, or windpipe. A tube is inserted through the hole to provide an air passage to help with breathing.

“This defendant could have saved a woman’s life by simply following the protocols of her employer. Instead, she neglected a patient entrusted to her care, ultimately leading to the patient’s death,” said Attorney General Josh Shapiro in the release.

Levandowski now has a dispositional hearing set for 9 a.m. May 24 in Luzerne County Court.

Shapiro
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By Times Leader Staff