PORTLAND, Maine (WGAN) A federal agency says staff at Maine Medical Center in Portland struck patients in two separate incidents over the summer.

According to the Bangor Daily News, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services became aware of an incident that happened July 10th of 2019, when a security guard at the hospital struck a mentally impaired patient who struck the officer in the face while being restrained.

In another case on July 26th, a nurse struck an 83-year-old patient with dementia, after the patient spit out medicine and punched the nurse in the chin.

The federal agency determined that the hospital violated rules for participating in the federal Medicare program by failing to protect patients from abuse. The hospital was told they would no longer be part of the program unless they submitted a plan for corrective action, which the agency says they did. That plan included de-escalation training for staff and proper reporting standards.

A hospital spokesman says both staff members no longer work at the hospital, and a report says they were criminally charged.