The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is a law that gives you the right to access information from the federal government. It is often described as the law that keeps citizens in the know about their government.
My first experience with the FOIA was when I requested the results of the investigation of my complaint with DHSR. The Complaint was against Dr. Larry Joe Russell and Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation. A SanStone Property.
I filled out the form on line and the next day received conformation that they had received my request. Three days later I received the same conformation letter in the mail. It took over one year to actually receive the information I requested that first time!
By the time I received the information, there was nothing I could do about all of the mistakes in the report. When I contacted the NCDHSR to request clarification, they said it had been too long since the complaint was filed. So basically I have no rights because it took them so long to answer my request. The system is set up to prevent the use of any NCDHSR results in a law suit or any other legal action. Basically they make you wait till there is absolutely nothing you can do. If we had the information when we started, we could have gotten quite a bit further with law enforcement. By the time we received the report, nobody wanted to hear it.
I have requested clarification from Todd Davis, the Western Regional Director of the NCDHSR, my request was denied, due to the time since the investigation. I then went the next step and contacted Beverly Speroff, the section chief of the NCDHSR. Again I was refused and informed that the time was the problem, and after subsequent investigations they could not issue a citation.
I wrote Ms. Speroff again and explained that I was not looking for a citation to be written. Again I simply wanted some clarification on parts of their report. The next communication was short and sweet. They refused all requests and informed me if I wanted to make another complaint I could call the hotline.
My brother and I also filed FOIA requests for other information from the CMS (Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services). It has been over a year and we are still being sent back and forth from one FOIA specialist to another. Robin Brooks, Michael S. Marquis, Garfield Daley, Danean Jones, TedDoolittle , Breita Gillard, Sherry Landtroop, Reg 04, Donna Mott, back to Danean Jones and now Edna Brady.
Ms. Brady responded to my email two weeks ago, she said she would call or email me by Friday July 11th. I never received any communication from Ms. Brady. I emailed her again as a reminder, and she responded that she would be in touch by Friday the 18th. It was no surprise that she failed to respond, again. I sent her another email today, and have not yet received any response.
How long does it take to get information from the FOIA? I guess it all depends on who is incriminated by the information you request. What are they trying to keep us from finding out? What right do they have to deny us the information we requested? Is FOIA keeping me "in the know about my government"? I'm more confused now than I was when this whole thing started, is the FOIA based on the discretion of the "information specialist".
Actually as I re read this, I think I may be starting to understand how the system works afterall. It doesn't. Plain and simple this group of people and agencies have no idea who has what. They cant even say they will release any information, or even if there is any thing to be released.
I have asked Ms. Brady twice to expedite the request due to the time since the actual request was made. As of now I have been lead to believe there is some information, but not sure they will release it. I guess this shows that Freedom Of Information is not always a promise, or that they actually have any information at all.
Its a good thing we have this Law like the FOIA, or we would never be able to understand how the government works!
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Wednesday, July 9, 2014
Is the NCDHSR letting Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation and Dr. Larry Joe Russell Get away with murder?
Is it possible that the NCDHSR is allowing DR. Larry Joe Russell and Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation to get away with murder? Sounds like I finally lost my mind right? Before you judge my sanity, lets look at the facts.
First you have a patient that is admitted for vocational and physical rehabilitation. The admission form states the diagnosis as rectal pain, constipation and encephalopathy ( disease damage or malfunction of the brain , not necessarily permanent).
The encephalopathy was a result of a craniotomy performed by Dr. Harold Picus. The surgery was to remove a tumor from the pituitary gland. According to Dr. Picus the surgery was successful and a complete recovery was expected.
After spending time at Care Partners in Asheville Mom returned home. She was home for about a week and then readmitted to Mission Hospital for hemorrhoids and stomach pain. After a little over a week she was discharged and sent to Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation to regain her strength and continue her recovery.
During her stay at Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation she was actively participating in the therapy, and getting stronger every day. There were several issues with the care she was receiving at Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation. At the time most of them seemed minor, and Mom was getting stronger. There was a family member with her most of the day .
The problem was Mom was not getting the assistance with toileting or eating. The time it took for them to respond to the call light, forced her to try to go to the bathroom by herself. If one of us was there we would always help, but if we weren't she would try on her own. The response time to the call lights was anywhere from five to thirty minutes .That's a long time to wait if you have to go to the bathroom.
From the roommates description of a fall that occurred days before her death, she was attempting to get to the bathroom. There was another instance that was brought up by a nurse when Mom was found outside her room using her food tray as a walker, looking for the bathroom . Although neither of the two events was correctly documented in her records.
The day of her discharge, Mom was found without a pulse and not breathing. The details of that morning are still a mystery. The owners and administration of Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation, refuse to provide any details other than the medical records. The records are inaccurate and contain false information. If there is nothing to hide, why are they going to such extremes to hide things.
I'm no doctor, and have no medical training other than what I got in Boy Scouts. I have however done a considerable amount of research, and have come up with a theory. I believe that when Mom fell, she hit her head on the terrazzo floor or her food tray. Being only two months after a craniotomy, this could have been tragic. According to medical journals and articles I have read it takes up to a year for the skull to heal after the surgery.
I believe she suffered a subdural hematoma (bleeding on the brain) that eventually caused her death. According to the records there are facts that indicate she was exhibiting symptoms of the above. There were no tests done after the fall, other than a blood pressure test, oxygen saturation, and pulse. A simple check of her pupils could have indicated further treatment , that was not done. The nurses note describing the fall was dated a month after Mom's death. It was created in an effort to stop the NC State Medical examiners office from doing an autopsy. The nurse Lara Mooney LPN states that she witnessed the fall. According to her statement, Mom actually slid out of bed and did not hit her head. It seems a little hard to believe that a month after a fall, she would remember such details! Not to mention Mom's records say she was to have a personal alarm, and bed and chair alarms at all times.
I have a death certificate of another patient at Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation , signed by Dr. Larry Joe Russell . I believe the cause of death listed on the original death certificate was failure to thrive. According to the coroner Dr. Huntley, the actual cause of death was a "subdural hematoma as a result of a fall". I was given the name of that patient, by someone who has a relative in Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation. According to witnesses, the patient was dropped on her head by a nurse, who tried to lift her alone, which is against regulations.
The NCDHSR is conducting bogus investigations which are allowing people to die. In 2011 and 2012, there were nine complaints filed against Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation. Of those only one was found to be substantiated. In that case the patient was given the wrong medication, and ended up in the hospital. It would have been hard for the NCDHSR to find that one unsubstantiated.
During their yearly inspections they managed to find a total of forty six pages of deficiencies.
Is the NCDHSR letting nursing homes get away with murder? They certainly don't go out of their way to find deficiencies. I've been trying to get them to look at the report for over two years. I cant even get them to answer my letters.
The definition of murders : the killing of another human being under conditions specifically covered by law. Maybe like dropping an elderly lady on her head and not getting her the proper medical treatment. Murder or not you be the judge, because the NCDHSR will never bring them to a real judge.
First you have a patient that is admitted for vocational and physical rehabilitation. The admission form states the diagnosis as rectal pain, constipation and encephalopathy ( disease damage or malfunction of the brain , not necessarily permanent).
The encephalopathy was a result of a craniotomy performed by Dr. Harold Picus. The surgery was to remove a tumor from the pituitary gland. According to Dr. Picus the surgery was successful and a complete recovery was expected.
After spending time at Care Partners in Asheville Mom returned home. She was home for about a week and then readmitted to Mission Hospital for hemorrhoids and stomach pain. After a little over a week she was discharged and sent to Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation to regain her strength and continue her recovery.
During her stay at Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation she was actively participating in the therapy, and getting stronger every day. There were several issues with the care she was receiving at Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation. At the time most of them seemed minor, and Mom was getting stronger. There was a family member with her most of the day .
The problem was Mom was not getting the assistance with toileting or eating. The time it took for them to respond to the call light, forced her to try to go to the bathroom by herself. If one of us was there we would always help, but if we weren't she would try on her own. The response time to the call lights was anywhere from five to thirty minutes .That's a long time to wait if you have to go to the bathroom.
From the roommates description of a fall that occurred days before her death, she was attempting to get to the bathroom. There was another instance that was brought up by a nurse when Mom was found outside her room using her food tray as a walker, looking for the bathroom . Although neither of the two events was correctly documented in her records.
The day of her discharge, Mom was found without a pulse and not breathing. The details of that morning are still a mystery. The owners and administration of Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation, refuse to provide any details other than the medical records. The records are inaccurate and contain false information. If there is nothing to hide, why are they going to such extremes to hide things.
I'm no doctor, and have no medical training other than what I got in Boy Scouts. I have however done a considerable amount of research, and have come up with a theory. I believe that when Mom fell, she hit her head on the terrazzo floor or her food tray. Being only two months after a craniotomy, this could have been tragic. According to medical journals and articles I have read it takes up to a year for the skull to heal after the surgery.
I believe she suffered a subdural hematoma (bleeding on the brain) that eventually caused her death. According to the records there are facts that indicate she was exhibiting symptoms of the above. There were no tests done after the fall, other than a blood pressure test, oxygen saturation, and pulse. A simple check of her pupils could have indicated further treatment , that was not done. The nurses note describing the fall was dated a month after Mom's death. It was created in an effort to stop the NC State Medical examiners office from doing an autopsy. The nurse Lara Mooney LPN states that she witnessed the fall. According to her statement, Mom actually slid out of bed and did not hit her head. It seems a little hard to believe that a month after a fall, she would remember such details! Not to mention Mom's records say she was to have a personal alarm, and bed and chair alarms at all times.
I have a death certificate of another patient at Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation , signed by Dr. Larry Joe Russell . I believe the cause of death listed on the original death certificate was failure to thrive. According to the coroner Dr. Huntley, the actual cause of death was a "subdural hematoma as a result of a fall". I was given the name of that patient, by someone who has a relative in Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation. According to witnesses, the patient was dropped on her head by a nurse, who tried to lift her alone, which is against regulations.
The NCDHSR is conducting bogus investigations which are allowing people to die. In 2011 and 2012, there were nine complaints filed against Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation. Of those only one was found to be substantiated. In that case the patient was given the wrong medication, and ended up in the hospital. It would have been hard for the NCDHSR to find that one unsubstantiated.
During their yearly inspections they managed to find a total of forty six pages of deficiencies.
Is the NCDHSR letting nursing homes get away with murder? They certainly don't go out of their way to find deficiencies. I've been trying to get them to look at the report for over two years. I cant even get them to answer my letters.
The definition of murders : the killing of another human being under conditions specifically covered by law. Maybe like dropping an elderly lady on her head and not getting her the proper medical treatment. Murder or not you be the judge, because the NCDHSR will never bring them to a real judge.
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