Sheriff's Office investigates elder abuse complaint

A 41-year-old Carolina House employee has beensuspended pending the results of an investigation into allegations of elder abuse, according to the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office.

The investigation began last month after a manager suspected a caregiver of physically abusing an 83-year-old female patient at the facility at 35 Beach City Road on Hilton Head Island, according to a sheriff's report.

The patient had a bloody nose. No other injuries were reported, Sgt. Robin McIntosh, sheriff's spokeswoman, wrote in an e-mail Thursday.

Holly Botsford, a spokeswoman for Brookdale Senior Living, the Tennessee-based company that operates Carolina House, wrote in an e-mail Wednesday that the company is also conducting an internal investigation.