Before my grandmother died she was in a nursing home. At the time I would go and visit her. I didn't feel comfortable in the surroundings of the home. It was easy to walk down the halls and not look at anyone else. I didn't visit as much as I should have, because I felt uncomfortable. Then one morning, my Mother called me and told me that my Grandmother had died.
Mimi was what we all called her. She had more influence on my life than anyone else I knew. Even in the lowest point in my life, she was always there for me. When I was a teenager, one of my friends and I hitch hiked to Miami. We showed up at the Catholic condo tower that Mimi lived in on the beach. The nuns at the front desk were somewhat nervous to see two ragged looking, long haired young men walk through the doors, and get on the elevator.
We knocked on the door, and Mimi greeted us with hugs and kisses. After visiting with her for a while, she cooked us dinner, followed by Haagen Das rum raisin ice cream. She then called the front desk and had them bring up a folding bed, and made the couch up for us to sleep.
After all she had done for me throughout my life, in the end I didn't visit her because it made "me" uncomfortable. How sad is that ?
When my Mother ended up at Hendersonville Health and Rehab, I visited her every day. I think back on it now, and I realize that I still walked down the halls and avoided eye contact with most of the other residents. I remember the strange screams coming from the room across the hall from Moms room the first night she was there. I remember the woman that would call out for Jenny all the time. I think about the man in a wheelchair pushing the woman in the wheelchair to the icecream parlor one afternoon. All of these people were special to someone at one time or another. They deserve to properly cared for and treated with respect.
 I can't say for sure that all of them were neglected , but from what I saw at Hendersonville Health and Rehab, it is more likely than not. Hendersonville Health and Rehab, is a for profit home. It is run by a group  that appears to be more intrested in money than people. I'm sure there are people working at Hendersonville Health and Rehab that actually care for the residents. I'm also sure that there are many working there, that walk down the halls avoiding eye contact with the residents, just as I did. They are so short staffed that if they make eye contact with a resident, that resident will probably need something.
The NCDHHS is responsible for inspecting and investigating complaints at these facilities. If you look at the list of complaints filed against them, you will see the phrase " No defficiencies found". This is the standard response from the NCDHHS, to most complaints. I would gurantee that if you were to walk the halls of almost any of these homes, you would find more than one defficiency. I know that at Hendersonville Health and Rehab, I witnessed more defficiencies than I could list.
It's time for NCDHHS to do their job. This would probably mean that they wouldn't  get invited to the golf tournament at Kenmure. It may even affect their personal income, or the car they drive, or the college their children attend. It is still their job!!!