North Haverhill — Prosecutors have dropped all charges against a former employee of Genesis HealthCare in Lebanon who police say assaulted an 88-year-old patient in November.

Grafton County Attorney Lara Saffo said Kareen McGregor’s second-degree and simple assault charges were dismissed for “evidentiary reasons.”

“The victim and her family indicated she was unable to give a more complete statement and testify,” Saffo said in a telephone interview on Friday. “That made it impossible to prove a case beyond a reasonable doubt.”

In a follow-up email, Saffo said, “The criminal justice process can be demanding on individuals, both emotionally and physically. The victim’s family, after consultation with her medical providers, felt it was in the victim’s interest to focus on her health, and not participate further in the criminal justice system.”

Saffo said her office respected the family’s wishes, and on March 7, dismissed the charges without prejudice, meaning they could be re-filed in the future, she said.

Police allege the 50-year-old McGregor, who was a licensed nursing assistant at the 110-bed Lebanon Center on Old Etna Road, poured water over the head and face of a female patient and then placed clothing around the patient’s head and neck to impede her breathing, according to an arrest warrant affidavit filed in court by Lebanon Police Office Amy Jerome.

After learning about the alleged assault, nursing home staff went to the police, the affidavit states.

Attempts to reach McGregor, a Lebanon resident, on Friday were unsuccessful, and her attorney, Paul McDonough, wasn’t available for comment. Genesis spokeswoman Jeanne Moore in November said McGregor was no longer working for the nursing home. That is still the case, spokeswoman Lori Mayer said on Tuesday.

“We have not had any direct involvement with the legal proceedings and have no additional comment,” she said via email.

McGregor’s license to practice is active, according to the New Hampshire Board of Nursing website. In December, McGregor signed an agreement that says she wouldn’t practice until the criminal charges had been resolved.

Genesis, which operates more than 500 nursing homes and other health facilities nationally, is the largest nursing home operator in both New Hampshire and Vermont.

In addition to the Lebanon location, it operates two additional facilities in the Upper Valley, the Elm Wood Center in Claremont and the Springfield (Vt.) Health and Rehabilitation Center.

Jordan Cuddemi can be reached at jcuddemi@vnews.com or 603-727-3248.