As the son of two doctors who practiced medicine from home offices and treated sick people around the clock, Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge David R. Cashman said he knows what constitutes good patient care.

"That's not what happened here,'' the judge told former nursing home supervisor Kathryn Galati yesterday before sentencing her to five years of probation for her role in a failed plan to cover up how a former resident died in 2001.

Judge Cashman also barred Ms. Galati, a registered nurse, from working in health care during that time. Ms. Galati, 61, of the North Side, in March pleaded guilty to perjury, false swearing, conspiracy and tampering with evidence.

Ms. Galati was the supervisor at the defunct Ronald Reagan Atrium I Nursing, Research and Rehabilitation Center in Robinson when resident Mabel Taylor died on Oct. 26, 2001. Mrs. Taylor, 88, who had Alzheimer's disease, was trapped overnight in an outdoor courtyard in 40-degree weather.

Investigators accused Ms. Galati of conspiring with former Atrium administrator Martha F. Bell to deceive Mrs. Taylor's family by directing employees to drag the victim's body inside, wash and place her in bed and claim she'd died peacefully in her sleep.

Mrs. Taylor's daughter, Jane Baczewski of Hopewell, testified yesterday of her horror after discovering the "elaborate scheme to conceal'' the truth.

"I will live with that picture of my dear mother being dragged on that pavement for the rest of my life,'' she said, her voice cracking.

Ms. Galati did not speak yesterday. Her attorney, Leslie Perlow, said she is "not the greatest communicator,'' but is remorseful and knows "what she did was wrong.''

Ms. Perlow said Ms. Galati was following orders from Ms. Bell, a boss she feared to defy, but knows that does not negate what she did. Ms. Galati's son, Dennis Galati Jr., and other relatives implored the judge to spare her from jail, saying she is the primary caregiver for an adult son who is autistic and has other health problems.

After presiding at Ms. Bell's six-week trial earlier this year, Judge Cashman said he is well-acquainted with Ms. Bell's actions and her operation of the troubled nursing home before the state closed it in 2004.

"We go back through history and hear, 'I was only following orders,''' he told Ms. Galati. "[Those orders] should have set off flashing lights to you.''

Mrs. Bell and Atrium were convicted in February of neglect of a care-dependent person, involuntary manslaughter and other charges in Mrs. Taylor's death. Mrs. Bell was sentenced to 22 to 44 months in state prison but first must complete a five-year term in federal prison for her conviction on federal charges of health care fraud and making false statements about health care matters.