Death certificate statistics, Larry Joe Russell and Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation!

It's amazing the things that you can find at the courthouse. Today I went to the Henderson County N.C. courthouse, to the register of deeds office. I went to the records room and began my research. I decided as the new year begins, to find out as much as I can about Dr. Larry Joe Russell and Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation. I am basically starting all over again, with a new determination. It all began at Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation, so that was today's focus.
My research today was in the book of death certificates, from November 1, 2011 to December 30, 2011, this would contain Mom's death certificate. In those two months, there were thirteen deaths listed at Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation. If you include Mom, that would be fourteen. That seems like a lot of deaths for a Health and Rehabilitation facility. Especially one run by SanStone Health and Rehabilitation, their commercials say "Our passion makes the difference". I guess they must be passionate about letting patients die!
Next I looked at how many death certificates were signed by Dr. Larry Joe Russell, Mom's supposed doctor during her stay at Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation. Turns out he has passion, similar to SanStone. Dr. Larry Joe Russell signed thirty three death certificates in the same two months. That's roughly one every other day! Of those thirty three, seven were at Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation, eight if you count Mom. Out of Dr. Russell's share of death certificates, eight of them died from a failure to thrive.
This is alarming to me, and I am of the opinion, that this should be alarming to someone else. I have shared similar information with the NCDHHS, and other government and law enforcement agencies. Not one seemed to have a problem, or even seemed concerned enough to look.
I will continue to share the statistics from the death certificates, until I am able to attract enough attention. I would ask that if this seems alarming to you, that you comment on this blog.

Holiday memories, how can you not do something!!

When you lose someone, it is difficult during the holidays. Everything you do brings back memories of the person you lost. A certain Christmas carol, buying a tree, a special gift , an ornament on the tree, a specific holiday dish, and in my case ,especially eggnog.
It has been over two years since Mom died. During that time I cant think of one day I didn't think about her. Rather than forget her, and go on with my life, I have spent countless hours, going over her medical records. My brother and I spend hours almost every day talking about what is wrong with the system, and how it could be fixed. My Mom did not die for nothing, she died so that we would fight for the living, that cant fight for themselves.
I have had discussions about the lack of care in nursing homes, with almost anyone who would talk about it . I have heard stories that would make your skin crawl. I have been on the NCDHHS website, and the Medicare.gov website, it's hard to believe what they allow to happen.
The most disheartening thing of all, is the family members are just willing to let it happen. Although some of the people we have spoken with, have information that could help, they will not come forward. We have reached out to almost any agency or person that would listen, and they all say the same thing. It takes more than the death of one elderly person, to get anything done about it. I have an opportunity now, to get the necessary attention from some very important people. I will go to them with what I have concerning my Mom. I hope it is enough to get them to look at what is happening. I am certain, that if I had more people willing to act, we could make things better for those still suffering in nursing homes. I am asking anyone who reads this, who has any information that could help, to come forward .
I personally know at least two people who are currently going through issues with nursing homes. I know they have knowledge, and can prove that their loved ones are not being cared for. I cant not understand how they can stay silent. Their parents, or a family member, are suffering terrible things at the hands of these people, yet they wont help. I can only hope that when their time comes, someone will care enough to help them.
Old people die, that is the mantra of the nursing home owners and managers. They leave out how they die, some from being dropped, given the wrong medication, or just because there was not enough staff to help. They simply" fail to thrive " or suffer from an" acute coronary arrhythmia ". No one ever checks the doctors cause of death, simply because "old people die".
I don't know about anyone else, but I don't have a whole lot of faith in doctors. I cant tell you how many times I have avoided tragedy by asking the right questions, or questioning something the doctor was doing. Many times the doctors depend on some low level office clerk, to catch potential life threatening issues. That's simply not good enough. If you are a doctor and you are getting paid, do your job. Take the time to actually examine the patient, and get familiar with their medical history. Make sure that there are no potential medication reactions. If you have a patient that had there skull sawed open, expect problems, especially if they fall.
There is one doctor in Hendersonville North Carolina, that definitely has to many patients. Dr. Larry Joe Russell,he is the medical director at The Laurels of Hendersonville, and also has an office, where he sees patients. Dr. Russell is also the doctor at all the nursing homes in Henderson Count NC. At least the ones that accept Medicare and Medicaid. Dr. Russell is also the registered agent for several other medical practices in Henderson County. Dr. Russell is also partners with the owners of SanStone Health and Rehabilitation.
How could one doctor keep up with all of those patients? Simple, doctor Russell has fourteen LPN's and one PA. My guess is that he never actually "sees" a patient. Although he was supposed to be Mom's doctor, the records prove that he never even saw her. How can a doctor, that has not even seen a patient, have the knowledge to sign the death certificate?
I am using Dr. Larry Joe Russell as an example, simply because I have personal knowledge about him from Moms medical records. The same goes for Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation, personal experience. Everything I have read, and my personal experience, indicates that this is the normal.
If you wish to share any information, email me at jaemark7@bellsouth.net, I will answer you promptly, and will keep any information in strict confidence, if you desire. I just need to know more about how they operate, in order to stop them. It takes more than one dead elderly person to get attention.
Merry Christmas, and if you still have your parents and grandparents, love and hold them, enjoy them while you have them. You never know when they may end up in the hands of a Dr. Russell, or Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation of their own.

What does CMS do, and who is NCI Advancemed?

In my last post I made reference to Government managed health care. I am specifically focusing on Medicare. I have documented proof of fraudulent billing, by Medicare providers. Now I will explain how difficult it is to get someone to do something about it. This is money that comes from taxpayers, and is administered by the government.
First a complaint was filed with the NCDHHS, the agency that licenses nursing homes that accept Medicare. Although we presented them with documented proof of over billing for doctor visits, pharmaceutical drugs, and quality of care, they found nothing wrong. The NCDHHS is the local agency that oversees the regulation of federal money for the DHHS. They basically ignored the fact that these things were happening, even though we have proof. We were told by Gail Maloney, the Western regional director of the NCDHHS, that they had the final say on these issues. Well technically they don't, but all the other agency's base their decisions on the findings of the NCDHHS.
Next let me tell you about CMS, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. I was directed to them through Congressman Heath Shulers office. Congressman Shulers office contacted them on my behalf. I received a letter in August of 2021, saying how seriously they take Medicare fraud. The letter states that they will be contacting me directly for more information. I never heard from them so I contacted them directly. I was able to read the name and phone number although it was blacked out on the letter to Heath Shulers office. I spoke to Alfreda Walker, who told me that someone in her office was investigating the fraud issue. Ms.Walker also told me that the other issues were being investigated by a someone else.
I never heard from them till I contacted Congressman Shulers office in November 2012.They were closing their office, but they contacted CMS on my behalf. In December of 2012, I received a letter from a company called NCI Advancemed. The letter said that they had investigated my complaint and appropriate action had been taken. I called them and asked, who they were , and what action had been taken. Their response was that they took no action, they found no issues. I asked them why they never contacted me for copies of the bills, or other information. I got the typical government runaround, without ever getting a real answer. Turns out they are a private contractor, overseeing the integrity of the Medicare program! They had gotten my information from the NCDMA, from a complaint I filed with the NC Medical Board.
 Turns out Ms. Walker from the CMS, had done absolutely nothing to investigate my complaint, although she had indicated that she had. What exactly happened here, I cant even explain. Who, if anybody, actually did anything? This is how the government regulates the taxpayer money paid to Medicare providers.
My brother and I both contacted NCI Advancemed, to question their results. Turns out they didn't actually have any of the information I had provided. My brother then put together a packet of information and sent it directly to them. It took about a week or maybe two for them to determine that they could not see any fraud. They did however find something, but they were not at liberty to discuss that with us. My brother is waiting for information from the freedom of information act, as I write. They are not quite so free with information, and they are definately in no hurry.
This is where we are right now, waiting. Mom died two years ago in November, and we are still waiting. I guess you can sense my opoinion of Government, and government contractor, regulated health care.   

Government managed health care , what a joke!

This blog is intended to call attention to the way our government fails miserably, to enforce regulations concerning health care . This is some scary stuff considering the situation with Obamacare. Medicare is administered by the government, and almost entirely managed by private contractors. I have reported Medicare fraud, and seen how it is (not) dealt with. The authorities who investigate Medicare fraud, are too busy to actually investigate. What are they to busy doing?
My main focus is on nursing homes and rehabilitation centers. This all started when my Mom died at Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation, in Hendersonville North Carolina. Sanstone Health and Rehabilitation, operates this facility. It was originally operated by Margret Pardee Memorial Hospital.
Pardee sold the business in 2008, supposedly due to the high cost of operations. Hospitals operating this type of facility, are required to have adequate numbers of staff, to care for the patients. Private companies operating nursing homes, have no staff to patient requirements. This is how they become so profitable, and also why they are so dangerous.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services,(NCDHHS), North Carolina Department of Health Service Regulation (NCDHSR), inspects and licenses these places. They also supposedly investigate complaints filed against these homes. The lack of enforcement is the focus of this blog.
After receiving Mom's medical records, I filed a complaint with the NCDHHS. The records I have are missing required signatures, dated wrong, have the wrong room number, and reflect a pattern of overbilling of Medicare. The initial result of their  " investigation " of my complaint, was unsubstantiated.
 I met with the Western regional director of the NCDHSR, Gail Maloney, at their Black Mountain office. I produced all the mixed up medical records from Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation, including a signed notarized statement concerning the night Mom fell. The statement conflicted the nurses notes, which were dated December 1, 2011, a month after Mom died.
My brother and his wife, and my oldest sister were also at the meeting. We had a list of questions that included discrepancies in the pharmacy bill, doctors bill and the bill for a private room, which Mom never had. There was a question as to whether Mom was given Ativan, that was prescribed. The Ativan, was unaccounted for. When I asked Ms. Maloney what happened to the Ativan, she replied, "maybe they put it back". We were told that the NCDHSR would do a review of the complaint, with the information we provided as well.
It took a little more than a month for them to call and say they found no substantiated complaints. Hard to believe, when provided with records, that prove there were reasons to substantiate the complaints. It was becoming more and more obvious, that the NCDHHS was quite friendly with the nursing home owners.
I have since filed through the freedom of information act, the results of their investigation. The day I received the report back, I had to go outside and calm down. The answers given, for the issues we complained about were absurd. There were conflicting reports written by the same person, there were actually three copies of the letter written by the doctor who preformed the review. Each letter had a different story, and none of them was entirely accurate. One of the letters stated that if Mom tried to get out of bed and fell, it was her fault. Another copy says that Dr. Larry Joe Russell had seen Mom the morning after she fell, as he would any patient when he was there. The other version says that Dr. Russell would not have seen her if the nurses evaluation didn't request it. The whole report is full of the same kind of confusion. I wonder if they ever even went into Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation.
As for the review, it is obvious, that the doctor just sat and wrote letters till he got one close enough to the actual story. Even then, they found no deficiencies. Who is supposed to watch the people who are watching the nursing homes ?
More to come on what agency does, or fails to do.