November 3,2011, it has been four years ago today since I lost my Mom. As I am sitting here this morning, it is hard to believe the events that have taken place since that day. I believed then and still do, that Mom's death was caused by negligence on the part of Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation and Dr. Larry Joe Russell.
November 3, 2011, I received a call from Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation at 5:07 am. The person calling spoke with a Hispanic accent, "your Mother is not breathing and they are trying to resuscitate her." That was all the information she was able to give me. I got dressed and drove straight to Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation, I arrived there around 5:20, and I had to ring the doorbell to get in. I was let in by a CNA who seemed pretty shook up, and led to the nurses desk that was right across from Mom's room. I spoke to the only person there, Tammy Mace, RN. Nurse Mace told me that they had found Mom in bed that morning and that she was not breathing. She told me that they started CPR and called the EMS, who took over and transported Mom to Pardee Hospital in Hendersonville NC. I drove to Pardee and arrived there just as they were wheeling Mom in from the ambulance. I went into the lobby and spoke to the attendant on duty. She took my information and had me sit in the waiting room until they assessed Moms condition.
I sat down in the waiting room in disbelief and called my wife to tell her to bring my son, and come to the hospital right away. As soon as I hung up, a nurse approached me and asked me to come with her. I was taken into a small room behind the reception desk and told that the doctor would be right in. Things were starting to hit me that this was not good. It wasn't long that Dr. Boleman, the ER doctor came in with a nurse. He proceeded to tell me that Mom had passed away and they did all they could. Then the standard "sorry for your loss speech" and he left. I was given some time alone, in which I notified my brother and sisters of what had happened. In the meantime my wife and son had arrived and I told them what had happened. This was the very day we had been celebrating Moms release from Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation.
The events that have taken place since then seem like a bad dream. If anyone had told me that I'd become so involved in anything, I would have told them they were crazy. I became so motivated in my quest that it almost cost me my marriage.
The more I dug into the events leading to Mom's death, the harder it was to ignore. The fact is that anyway you look at the evidence we have collected, Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation and Dr. Larry Joe Russell are definitely guilty of several different things. Patient abuse, negligence and Medicare fraud, to say the least.
I've spent over three hours in meetings with the FBI, I've spoken to two different Congressmen, two representatives from the CMS, the Ombudsman's office, the NC Medical Board, the NC Board of Nursing, the NCDHHS, Kathleen Sebelius, the Secretary of the DHHS, the NC State Medical Examiners office, an agent with the SBI and two different agents with the OIG. Most of these agencies I had never even heard of before Mom died.
My brother and I have spent countless hours researching nursing home ownership and State and Federal inspection reports. We have also researched the relationship between Blue Ridge Pharmacy and Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation and Dr. Larry Joe Russell. I can also tell you that the owner, of Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation also own many homes in NC and Loraine Ohio. Their office address is actually a post box at a Fed EX store in Arden NC.
It has been an eye opening experience for me to say the least. I have read countless stories about the horrors that occur in nursing homes. I've interviewed many people that have their own horrific stories. The sad truth is that animals are more protected than the elderly. There are plenty of laws meant to protect the elderly, but trying to find anyone to enforce them is all but impossible. I've been passed from one agency to another and back again.
I have spent four years trying to help make a change in the system to make sure that what happened to Mom doesn't happen to anyone else. At this point I cant really tell where my efforts have actually made a difference. I can no longer devote all my spare time doing this, but I will always be looking for an opportunity to make a change.
Tuesday, November 3, 2015
Friday, August 28, 2015
What more proof is needed before something gets done?
Dr. Larry Joe Russell, Annette Corn ,Susan Habel, Lara Mooney, Tammy Mace, Cookie Romeo and the Nov. 3, 2011 third shift staff at Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation. Some of these people or possibly all of them, know what actually caused my Mothers death. I have spoken to all of them at one time or another, and have been told several different things.
From the information in Mom's records and what I know, Lara Mooney LPN is the one who could provide the answer. Nurse Mooney has fabricated documents in the medical records that cover up something. Whether she did so of her own accord or not I cant say. I wouldn't put it past any of the others to coerce her into doing so.
I have been looking for answers for four years as of November 3, this year. I started by going straight to Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation. The answers I got and the attitude they had are what led me to look forward.
Next stop was Pardee Hospital, where Mom was pronounced dead by Dr. Boleman, the ER doctor on shift that morning. My brother and I actually met with Steve Pennoc and Gayle Sams RN at Pardee. We discussed the records that Pardee had on hand and procedures in the ER. I asked who Dr. Larry Joe Russell was and why he would sign the death certificate and not Dr. Boleman. I was informed that Dr. Russell was Mom's doctor at the rehab center. I had been looking in the obituaries in the local paper and found it alarming how many death certificates were signed by Dr. Russell. I asked if Pardee had a high percentage of deaths sent from Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation. The response was as expected, very non committal. The standard "we don't keep track of that sort of thing". I had counted sixteen deaths at Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation within a two month period. That doesn't count the people sent to Pardee to be pronounced by the ER doctors.
The next thing to do was to file a complaint with the NCDHSR. My brother and I both filed separate complaints. The response was that they were unable to substantiate any of our complaints. They put our complaints together and considered them one. Even though there were separate issues on each complaint. This led to a meeting with Gail Maloney, the western regional director of the DHSR. We produced documents that proved what we had alleged in our complaints. Ms. Maloney was defensive and indicated there was no one else we could go to. She suggested that they would do an administrative review, but that was all they could do. Ms. Maloney told us that she didn't have a copy of the inspection results, and that we would have to file a Freedom of Information Act request to get them. It took a year and a half to get that report!
In the meantime I made several attempts to get assistance from other agencies. I spoke to a representative of the Ombudsman's office, NC State Medical Examiners office, The SBI, Henderson County Sheriffs office, The NC Medical Board, The NC Board of Nursing, The NC Pharmacy Board, NCI Advancemed the Medicare Integrity contractor for this region and The FBI.
Of all the contacts I made there were only two that took me serious, The NC State Medical Examiner and the FBI. The medical examiners office was almost ready to order an autopsy until they received the falsified document created by Lara Monney LPN. Nurse Mooney lied about the events surrounding a fall Mom had sustained on October 30, 2011. If she had told the same story as Mom's roommate at the time there would have been an autopsy. The false document was dated Dec. 1 2011, a month after Mom died, and two days before the Medical Examiners office declined to order an autopsy.
The FBI went so far as to have my brother and I come into their office with our evidence. The initial meeting lasted over two hours. The agent was convinced that we had given him enough to initiate an investigation.
Since then I have contacted: two US Congressman, three US Senators, the office of The Inspector General, the CMS, Aldona Wos Secretary of the NCDHHS, Governor Pat McCrory, Kathleen Sebelius the Federal Secretary of DHHS, several people that responded to ads on Craigslist, some who have responded to this blog, and a representative of ABC News. I'm sure that I have left out more than one other , but there are so many.
I have two separate sets of medical records from Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation oddly neither containing the same exact information or number of pages. I have through the FOIA, the results of the initial NCDHSR investigation of both mine and my brothers complaint. Again these records are full of inaccuracies and false statements and documents. Also my brother received the records of the NCI Advancemed investigation from the FOIA( again took over a year to obtain). That was the final straw, it proves on paper that our accusations concerning certain facts are accurate. We even have a collection of State and Federal statutes that have been violated. Yet with all this information, I am still no closer to having all the facts that would allow closure.
These people are stealing millions from Medicare and Medicaid. They are also allowing, even expediting the deaths of their "patients". What more proof do I need to provide them with before they react???
From the information in Mom's records and what I know, Lara Mooney LPN is the one who could provide the answer. Nurse Mooney has fabricated documents in the medical records that cover up something. Whether she did so of her own accord or not I cant say. I wouldn't put it past any of the others to coerce her into doing so.
I have been looking for answers for four years as of November 3, this year. I started by going straight to Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation. The answers I got and the attitude they had are what led me to look forward.
Next stop was Pardee Hospital, where Mom was pronounced dead by Dr. Boleman, the ER doctor on shift that morning. My brother and I actually met with Steve Pennoc and Gayle Sams RN at Pardee. We discussed the records that Pardee had on hand and procedures in the ER. I asked who Dr. Larry Joe Russell was and why he would sign the death certificate and not Dr. Boleman. I was informed that Dr. Russell was Mom's doctor at the rehab center. I had been looking in the obituaries in the local paper and found it alarming how many death certificates were signed by Dr. Russell. I asked if Pardee had a high percentage of deaths sent from Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation. The response was as expected, very non committal. The standard "we don't keep track of that sort of thing". I had counted sixteen deaths at Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation within a two month period. That doesn't count the people sent to Pardee to be pronounced by the ER doctors.
The next thing to do was to file a complaint with the NCDHSR. My brother and I both filed separate complaints. The response was that they were unable to substantiate any of our complaints. They put our complaints together and considered them one. Even though there were separate issues on each complaint. This led to a meeting with Gail Maloney, the western regional director of the DHSR. We produced documents that proved what we had alleged in our complaints. Ms. Maloney was defensive and indicated there was no one else we could go to. She suggested that they would do an administrative review, but that was all they could do. Ms. Maloney told us that she didn't have a copy of the inspection results, and that we would have to file a Freedom of Information Act request to get them. It took a year and a half to get that report!
In the meantime I made several attempts to get assistance from other agencies. I spoke to a representative of the Ombudsman's office, NC State Medical Examiners office, The SBI, Henderson County Sheriffs office, The NC Medical Board, The NC Board of Nursing, The NC Pharmacy Board, NCI Advancemed the Medicare Integrity contractor for this region and The FBI.
Of all the contacts I made there were only two that took me serious, The NC State Medical Examiner and the FBI. The medical examiners office was almost ready to order an autopsy until they received the falsified document created by Lara Monney LPN. Nurse Mooney lied about the events surrounding a fall Mom had sustained on October 30, 2011. If she had told the same story as Mom's roommate at the time there would have been an autopsy. The false document was dated Dec. 1 2011, a month after Mom died, and two days before the Medical Examiners office declined to order an autopsy.
The FBI went so far as to have my brother and I come into their office with our evidence. The initial meeting lasted over two hours. The agent was convinced that we had given him enough to initiate an investigation.
Since then I have contacted: two US Congressman, three US Senators, the office of The Inspector General, the CMS, Aldona Wos Secretary of the NCDHHS, Governor Pat McCrory, Kathleen Sebelius the Federal Secretary of DHHS, several people that responded to ads on Craigslist, some who have responded to this blog, and a representative of ABC News. I'm sure that I have left out more than one other , but there are so many.
I have two separate sets of medical records from Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation oddly neither containing the same exact information or number of pages. I have through the FOIA, the results of the initial NCDHSR investigation of both mine and my brothers complaint. Again these records are full of inaccuracies and false statements and documents. Also my brother received the records of the NCI Advancemed investigation from the FOIA( again took over a year to obtain). That was the final straw, it proves on paper that our accusations concerning certain facts are accurate. We even have a collection of State and Federal statutes that have been violated. Yet with all this information, I am still no closer to having all the facts that would allow closure.
These people are stealing millions from Medicare and Medicaid. They are also allowing, even expediting the deaths of their "patients". What more proof do I need to provide them with before they react???
Thursday, July 23, 2015
The Lodge at Mills River, Sanstones two star " showplace "
The Lodge at Mills River, a SanStone property. This is a brand new 50 bed nursing home that was opened in November 2015. The Lodge at Mills River was built to take the place of BeyStone Health and Rehabilitaton, in Mountain Home.
Here are some quotes from an article on the Blue Ridge Now website, by one of the owners, Mike Deloach.
*Deloach said The Lodge will serve as SanStone’s “showplace” community, which is why the company is relocating its offices from Biltmore Park to the Mills River facility.
*“We’re one of the smallest — or the smallest — in Western North Carolina,” Duncan said. “Which, I think, gives us a more family-oriented, home-like environment.”
*“That’s the way of the future. That’s what people want,” Deloach said. “We’re trying to create the ‘anti-nursing home’ nursing home.”
According to what I've read, this place is like a resort. Vaulted ceilings, wood floors, dark wood furniture and accents, sunrooms and porches. That's not all folks they also have a "café style dining room, coffee and ice cream bar and hair salon! And if that weren't enough to get you signed up, they even have flat screen TV's.
Here is the description copied from the SanStone website :
About Us
Here are some quotes from an article on the Blue Ridge Now website, by one of the owners, Mike Deloach.
*Deloach said The Lodge will serve as SanStone’s “showplace” community, which is why the company is relocating its offices from Biltmore Park to the Mills River facility.
*“We’re one of the smallest — or the smallest — in Western North Carolina,” Duncan said. “Which, I think, gives us a more family-oriented, home-like environment.”
*“That’s the way of the future. That’s what people want,” Deloach said. “We’re trying to create the ‘anti-nursing home’ nursing home.”
According to what I've read, this place is like a resort. Vaulted ceilings, wood floors, dark wood furniture and accents, sunrooms and porches. That's not all folks they also have a "café style dining room, coffee and ice cream bar and hair salon! And if that weren't enough to get you signed up, they even have flat screen TV's.
Here is the description copied from the SanStone website :
About Us
The Lodge at Mills River is western NC's newest skilled and rehabilitation center. We celebrate our grand opening on November 17th with the Mills River community.
Striving for excellence, we promise to serve our residents and their families with compassion and integrity during this vital and often overwhelming time of their lives. For all of our professional services, The Lodge is committed to providing experienced care in a cheerful environment that features 38 private rooms, a rehab gym, and spacious common areas.
We invite you to visit our community, meet our dedicated staff, and discover for yourself what makes The Lodge at Mills River a leader in rehabilitation and residential care.
Wow that is quite a place, if you believe what Mike Deloach and the staff have to say. I have prior experience with SanStone, and find it hard to believe anything they say or publish. That said I decided to look them up on Medicare.gov to see their rating. Medicare.gov uses a star rating system, one being the lowest and five the highest. With all the hoopla over The Lodge at Mills River, you would expect a pretty high rating. I mean Mike Deloach himself said this was a " showplace " community. It was no surprise to me to see that they had a two star rating, which is below average!
I am assuming, like all their other facilities, they spend their money on cosmetics, and operate with a minimum staff. Nursing homes need nurses! All of the bells and whistles offered and they still can only rate two stars?
Don't believe a word these profiteers say about what they can do for you. From my experience and interviews with past patients and the families of those who didn't survive a SanStone facility, it is simple economics. It all boils down to one major thing; staffing. Staffing is a major expense in any business, but a very important component , especially in a nursing home. Unlike a restaurant, if you don't like the service, you cant just get up and leave.
Most of the major travel websites use the star rating as well. I for one will not stay at a hotel that has no more than two stars. No matter what the advertising says I wont eat at a restaurant that doesn't have more than two stars. Yet here is a nursing home that claims to be a " showplace " but only two stars from Medicare.gov. I bet they rarely have an empty bed.
I am posting the link to their review on Medicare.gov so you can see for yourselves.
Thursday, July 9, 2015
Taxation without Representation? Who ya gonna call ?
This morning I was watching the news and there was a story about a woman who was arrested and charged with a felony for mistreatment of animals. Seems that this woman was keeping dogs in her house to sell them. The animals were malnourished and the conditions were unsanitary. There were several misdemeanor charges and a charge for felony mistreatment of animals. The woman was arrested and taken to jail.
I have written before about how animals are treated as if they were more valuable than human beings. Examples of similar treatment of the elderly are all over the Medicre.gov nursing home compare website. There are inspections citing nursing homes for unsanitary conditions, malnourishment, and personal hygiene issues. There are stories of sexual abuse, physical abuse , theft and emotional abuse. These are real stories about real people, not animals. The punishment for these actions is usually just " reeducation " of the staff, and on rare occasions a small monetary penalty.
The woman who did these things to her animals is in jail, and the nursing homes are being "reeducated". Just doesn't seem right.
The main difference in the two situations is that the nursing homes have enough money and influence to avoid accountability. The other is that it is easier for people to like a cute little puppy, than an older person who is frustrated and not always pleasant. The same people who would let a nursing home patient lie in their own waste, would probably go home and clean up after the puppy had an "accident" without a second thought.
You could argue that animals have no say in where they live, but the elderly in nursing homes have to take whatever bed that is available. They have little if any more choice that that little puppy. Most would rather not rely on anyone else to take care of them, they simply have no choice. If you have ever been in a nursing home, I would venture to say that you would not make a choice to live there.
People in nursing homes are there because they need more care than can be provided at home. We trust that they are being cared for in a "regulated" facility. We expect that they are being fed, bathed, assisted to the bathroom if needed, and personal hygiene is being taken care of.
Medicare.gov posts the results of their inspections on their website, and they would suggest something different. These nursing homes and the Doctors are being paid for providing the proper care, and yet they are constantly cited for the failure to do just that. The taxpaying citizens are financing the substandard care, often times at inflated costs. The government is not doing their job to make sure we are getting what we pay for.
I have been to the register of deeds office in the Henderson County Courthouse and reviewed books of death certificates, Specifically Dr. Larry Joe Russell. It is amazing how many of the good doctors "patients" are dying from a "failure to thrive". These are patients in nursing homes, people that are being cared for 24/7, by a "professional" staff. How could so many be failing to thrive?
Should Dr. Russell and his staff , and the staff at Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation be arrested or felony mistreatment of human beings? Is it sufficient that they are simply " reeducated " or fined a meager amount for this mistreatment. Do they really need to be reeducated to make sure that people are fed, bathed, clothed, and medicated properly?
The NCDHSR is the agency that inspects these facilities, and on inspection days their arrival is announced before the inspection begins. This gives the staff time to rush around fixing anything that they might get written up for. The investigators or " surveyors " usually have a nursing background, or something similar. They already know when they walk in the door what kind of things are going on in these places. It is obvious that much of the deficiencies are so prevalent that they don't even seem to matter.
The NCDHSR is a branch of the NCDHHS, which is headed by Dr. Aldona Wos, who was appointed by Governor Pat McCrory. The NCDHHS is a branch of the DHHS, a federal agency headed by Sylvia Mathews Burwell, who under questionable circumstances replaced Kathleen Sebelius in late 2014.
I have personally contacted each branch of the DHHS, State and Federal, all the way to the top. I have written to Governor Pat McCrory three separate times and have never received a reply. I have reached out to Senators and Congressmen with little to no response. As a citizen of the State of North Carolina and the United States of America, I am entitled to representation. As citizens we need to stand up for representation of the people. Elected officials are representing the corporations and their friends who have serious money invested in these places.
I will continue to write about these injustices till I am heard. I would welcome comments or opinions from anyone reading these posts. I'm sure of the 8,500 plus people reading this someone must have something to say. Stand up and fight for your representation, you are paying for it!!!
I have written before about how animals are treated as if they were more valuable than human beings. Examples of similar treatment of the elderly are all over the Medicre.gov nursing home compare website. There are inspections citing nursing homes for unsanitary conditions, malnourishment, and personal hygiene issues. There are stories of sexual abuse, physical abuse , theft and emotional abuse. These are real stories about real people, not animals. The punishment for these actions is usually just " reeducation " of the staff, and on rare occasions a small monetary penalty.
The woman who did these things to her animals is in jail, and the nursing homes are being "reeducated". Just doesn't seem right.
The main difference in the two situations is that the nursing homes have enough money and influence to avoid accountability. The other is that it is easier for people to like a cute little puppy, than an older person who is frustrated and not always pleasant. The same people who would let a nursing home patient lie in their own waste, would probably go home and clean up after the puppy had an "accident" without a second thought.
You could argue that animals have no say in where they live, but the elderly in nursing homes have to take whatever bed that is available. They have little if any more choice that that little puppy. Most would rather not rely on anyone else to take care of them, they simply have no choice. If you have ever been in a nursing home, I would venture to say that you would not make a choice to live there.
People in nursing homes are there because they need more care than can be provided at home. We trust that they are being cared for in a "regulated" facility. We expect that they are being fed, bathed, assisted to the bathroom if needed, and personal hygiene is being taken care of.
Medicare.gov posts the results of their inspections on their website, and they would suggest something different. These nursing homes and the Doctors are being paid for providing the proper care, and yet they are constantly cited for the failure to do just that. The taxpaying citizens are financing the substandard care, often times at inflated costs. The government is not doing their job to make sure we are getting what we pay for.
I have been to the register of deeds office in the Henderson County Courthouse and reviewed books of death certificates, Specifically Dr. Larry Joe Russell. It is amazing how many of the good doctors "patients" are dying from a "failure to thrive". These are patients in nursing homes, people that are being cared for 24/7, by a "professional" staff. How could so many be failing to thrive?
Should Dr. Russell and his staff , and the staff at Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation be arrested or felony mistreatment of human beings? Is it sufficient that they are simply " reeducated " or fined a meager amount for this mistreatment. Do they really need to be reeducated to make sure that people are fed, bathed, clothed, and medicated properly?
The NCDHSR is the agency that inspects these facilities, and on inspection days their arrival is announced before the inspection begins. This gives the staff time to rush around fixing anything that they might get written up for. The investigators or " surveyors " usually have a nursing background, or something similar. They already know when they walk in the door what kind of things are going on in these places. It is obvious that much of the deficiencies are so prevalent that they don't even seem to matter.
The NCDHSR is a branch of the NCDHHS, which is headed by Dr. Aldona Wos, who was appointed by Governor Pat McCrory. The NCDHHS is a branch of the DHHS, a federal agency headed by Sylvia Mathews Burwell, who under questionable circumstances replaced Kathleen Sebelius in late 2014.
I have personally contacted each branch of the DHHS, State and Federal, all the way to the top. I have written to Governor Pat McCrory three separate times and have never received a reply. I have reached out to Senators and Congressmen with little to no response. As a citizen of the State of North Carolina and the United States of America, I am entitled to representation. As citizens we need to stand up for representation of the people. Elected officials are representing the corporations and their friends who have serious money invested in these places.
I will continue to write about these injustices till I am heard. I would welcome comments or opinions from anyone reading these posts. I'm sure of the 8,500 plus people reading this someone must have something to say. Stand up and fight for your representation, you are paying for it!!!
Friday, June 12, 2015
Todd Davis, Kom Britt, Paul Yockey, Beverly Speroff, just plain stupid or is it corruption?
I have had time to review the information received from NCI Advancemed, the zone program integrity contractor for Medicare. There is one thing for sure, that is that the NCDHSR investigation was a farce. There is definitely reason to believe that someone is paying someone to look the other way.
It is also apparent that Dr. Larry Joe Russell is no stranger to stealing from Medicare. Turns out that Larry Joe got caught with his hand in the Medicare cookie jar and had to repay $116,520.00 . Seems he was billing for services he was not providing! That's exactly what he was doing in Mom's case. I guess old habits are hard to break especially when they make you rich.
There was a claim that Dr. Russell was "pre signing" forms for his mid levels, "who are of course, very well paid". As for Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation, they were accused of keeping beneficiaries longer than necessary. It looks like everything Dr. Russell is involved with is on the shady side.
Why is it that Todd Davis, Paul Yockey, and Kim Britt couldn't see anything wrong. Are they so stupid that a bunch of number crunchers ( NCI Advancemed ) can see the obvious but they cant? How many lives have been lost because of the corrupt employees of the NCDHSR ? If they actually performed thorough investigations, lives would definitely be saved.
I have contacted Beverly Speroff, the Chief of the Nursing Home Liscensure and Certification Division of the NCDHHS. Ms. Speroff has informed me that they were not interested in anything I had to say, and I could file another complaint if I wanted, but there would be no more discussion from her office. Next I contacted Aldona Wos, the Secretary of the NCDHHS, her office has no interest in learning about the obvious flaws in the system. Last but not least I attempted to contact Governor Pat McCrory, and have never even received the courtesy of a reply. I guess he is too busy covering for his friends at Duke Power and their coal ash issues.
The bottom line is that the elderly patients in nursing homes have no one looking out for them. It's bad enough for the ones that are capable of complaining, but what about those who aren't ? What kind of treatment is provided to the dementia patients, or the ones that are to weak to speak up ? I shudder to think of the abuse that these people suffer.
There is a reason Dr. Russell signs so many death certificates with " failure to thrive ". If they are being properly taken care of, how can they fail to thrive? I looked up the term " failure to thrive " in medical publications. Here is one example of the many articles I have read.
"Although it's been recognized for more than a century, failure to thrive lacks a clear definition, in part because it's not a disease or disorder itself. Rather, it's a sign that a child is undernourished. In general, kids who fail to thrive don't receive or cannot take in, keep, or use the calories that would help them grow and gain enough weight.
Doctors usually diagnose the condition in infants and toddlers — an important time of physical and mental development. After birth, a child's brain grows as much in the first year as it will grow for the rest of a child's life. Poor nutrition during this period may have lasting harmful effects on brain development."
I guess the same would apply to the elderly, basically they are starving to death. Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation allows this to happen regularly according to death certificates signed by Larry Joe. The reason this happens is that if you dont have the strength to eat, they do not have enough employees to assist with meals. According to Mom's records, she required assistance with meals due to poor vision. The only assistance she received was from the family members that would be there at meal time.
The bottom line is if you have someone you care about in Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation, watch out for them. Despite all the money they are charging, they are not providing the care necessary for their patients to thrive. Sanstone, who operates Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation has other facilities, and I would guess they are all the same.
Look at all the pretty landscaping and the clean exterior of their properties. Seems like landscaping and putting greens are more important than nursing staff. It is not always the staff's fault. They are overworked and underpaid, creating a who cares attitude. In a place where people are so fragile, that's a dangerous attitude to have. Watch out for these people, they are dangerous!
It is also apparent that Dr. Larry Joe Russell is no stranger to stealing from Medicare. Turns out that Larry Joe got caught with his hand in the Medicare cookie jar and had to repay $116,520.00 . Seems he was billing for services he was not providing! That's exactly what he was doing in Mom's case. I guess old habits are hard to break especially when they make you rich.
There was a claim that Dr. Russell was "pre signing" forms for his mid levels, "who are of course, very well paid". As for Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation, they were accused of keeping beneficiaries longer than necessary. It looks like everything Dr. Russell is involved with is on the shady side.
Why is it that Todd Davis, Paul Yockey, and Kim Britt couldn't see anything wrong. Are they so stupid that a bunch of number crunchers ( NCI Advancemed ) can see the obvious but they cant? How many lives have been lost because of the corrupt employees of the NCDHSR ? If they actually performed thorough investigations, lives would definitely be saved.
I have contacted Beverly Speroff, the Chief of the Nursing Home Liscensure and Certification Division of the NCDHHS. Ms. Speroff has informed me that they were not interested in anything I had to say, and I could file another complaint if I wanted, but there would be no more discussion from her office. Next I contacted Aldona Wos, the Secretary of the NCDHHS, her office has no interest in learning about the obvious flaws in the system. Last but not least I attempted to contact Governor Pat McCrory, and have never even received the courtesy of a reply. I guess he is too busy covering for his friends at Duke Power and their coal ash issues.
The bottom line is that the elderly patients in nursing homes have no one looking out for them. It's bad enough for the ones that are capable of complaining, but what about those who aren't ? What kind of treatment is provided to the dementia patients, or the ones that are to weak to speak up ? I shudder to think of the abuse that these people suffer.
There is a reason Dr. Russell signs so many death certificates with " failure to thrive ". If they are being properly taken care of, how can they fail to thrive? I looked up the term " failure to thrive " in medical publications. Here is one example of the many articles I have read.
"Although it's been recognized for more than a century, failure to thrive lacks a clear definition, in part because it's not a disease or disorder itself. Rather, it's a sign that a child is undernourished. In general, kids who fail to thrive don't receive or cannot take in, keep, or use the calories that would help them grow and gain enough weight.
Doctors usually diagnose the condition in infants and toddlers — an important time of physical and mental development. After birth, a child's brain grows as much in the first year as it will grow for the rest of a child's life. Poor nutrition during this period may have lasting harmful effects on brain development."
I guess the same would apply to the elderly, basically they are starving to death. Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation allows this to happen regularly according to death certificates signed by Larry Joe. The reason this happens is that if you dont have the strength to eat, they do not have enough employees to assist with meals. According to Mom's records, she required assistance with meals due to poor vision. The only assistance she received was from the family members that would be there at meal time.
The bottom line is if you have someone you care about in Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation, watch out for them. Despite all the money they are charging, they are not providing the care necessary for their patients to thrive. Sanstone, who operates Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation has other facilities, and I would guess they are all the same.
Look at all the pretty landscaping and the clean exterior of their properties. Seems like landscaping and putting greens are more important than nursing staff. It is not always the staff's fault. They are overworked and underpaid, creating a who cares attitude. In a place where people are so fragile, that's a dangerous attitude to have. Watch out for these people, they are dangerous!
Thursday, May 21, 2015
NCDHSR, are they the death panels we were warned about during the last election.
Well we finally received the information we have waited two years to get. The information is concerning an investigation done by NCI Advancemed. The investigation involved Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation and Dr. Larry Joe Russell.
Finally a government agency that actually does something, actually a government contractor. Their job is to verify Medicare benefits and maintain integrity in the program.
It seems that the issues that were not substantiated by the NCDHSR, are questioned repeatedly by NCI Advancemed. The issues that we had been raising with the NCDHSR for over three years were almost all addressed in this report. Imagine that,an agency that actually reads the records and questions the answers.
Possibly the single most important issue is the records from the night Mom fell. I have always believed that the " late entry " nurses note was created simply to avoid the State Medical Examiners requiring an autopsy. The one thing that could have proved my suspicions was the facility incident report. This is considered an internal document and was not included in Mom's records. The administrator of Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation , Paul Shogren refused to share them with me when asked.
Imagine my surprise that according to the investigation, the original entry didn't match the nurses late entry. Not only did it not match but according to NCI Advancemed there was more added to the incident report in different hand handwriting! None of the entries were dated or signed. It specifically states that Mom fell while trying to ambulate to the restroom, contradicting the "late entry where the fall was witnessed by Lara Mooney. In Lara Mooney's "late entry" she states that mom was sitting on the side of her bed and slid to the floor before she could get to her.
Is it a coincidence that this "late entry " was created after I asked the NC State Medical Examiners office to consider an autopsy based on the fall, and two days before I received their refusal? Is it also a coincidence that the "late entry" was faxed from Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation to somewhere only two days before that refusal? I think it is obvious that the folks at Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation falsify documents to protect themselves. It is also obvious that the NCDHSR who investigates them is so used to seeing this kind of thing that they just ignore it.
NCI advancemeds' investigation found several deficiencies, and they are not even trained to look at those kind of things, they basically work with numbers. It has always been obvious to me that the NCDHSR was covering for Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation, Now after reading the reports from NCI Advancemed my suspicions are confirmed.
You may ask, is there any real harm done if the NCDHSR looks the other way during their inspections. I would venture to say that the 189 people who died at Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation in 2011 might say yes. Along with the ones who died at Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation but were sent to Pardee to be pronounced. That is what happened to Mom, she had not had a heartbeat or breath for over twenty minutes and was still sent to the ER and billed for their services as well as the ambulance. Looks like fraud to me.
Is it normal for a health and rehabilitation to lose a patient every other day? I cant answer that I only have figures from Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation. I am assuming that most of them had the same doctor, Larry Joe Russell. He and his staff of PA's and FNP's are the ones who see most patients there. I personally wouldn't let Dr. Russell treat me for anything, statistics would prove my chances better with no treatment at all!
I have lots more information to share from the recent FOIA documents, keep watching it gets better.
Finally a government agency that actually does something, actually a government contractor. Their job is to verify Medicare benefits and maintain integrity in the program.
It seems that the issues that were not substantiated by the NCDHSR, are questioned repeatedly by NCI Advancemed. The issues that we had been raising with the NCDHSR for over three years were almost all addressed in this report. Imagine that,an agency that actually reads the records and questions the answers.
Possibly the single most important issue is the records from the night Mom fell. I have always believed that the " late entry " nurses note was created simply to avoid the State Medical Examiners requiring an autopsy. The one thing that could have proved my suspicions was the facility incident report. This is considered an internal document and was not included in Mom's records. The administrator of Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation , Paul Shogren refused to share them with me when asked.
Imagine my surprise that according to the investigation, the original entry didn't match the nurses late entry. Not only did it not match but according to NCI Advancemed there was more added to the incident report in different hand handwriting! None of the entries were dated or signed. It specifically states that Mom fell while trying to ambulate to the restroom, contradicting the "late entry where the fall was witnessed by Lara Mooney. In Lara Mooney's "late entry" she states that mom was sitting on the side of her bed and slid to the floor before she could get to her.
Is it a coincidence that this "late entry " was created after I asked the NC State Medical Examiners office to consider an autopsy based on the fall, and two days before I received their refusal? Is it also a coincidence that the "late entry" was faxed from Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation to somewhere only two days before that refusal? I think it is obvious that the folks at Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation falsify documents to protect themselves. It is also obvious that the NCDHSR who investigates them is so used to seeing this kind of thing that they just ignore it.
NCI advancemeds' investigation found several deficiencies, and they are not even trained to look at those kind of things, they basically work with numbers. It has always been obvious to me that the NCDHSR was covering for Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation, Now after reading the reports from NCI Advancemed my suspicions are confirmed.
You may ask, is there any real harm done if the NCDHSR looks the other way during their inspections. I would venture to say that the 189 people who died at Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation in 2011 might say yes. Along with the ones who died at Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation but were sent to Pardee to be pronounced. That is what happened to Mom, she had not had a heartbeat or breath for over twenty minutes and was still sent to the ER and billed for their services as well as the ambulance. Looks like fraud to me.
Is it normal for a health and rehabilitation to lose a patient every other day? I cant answer that I only have figures from Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation. I am assuming that most of them had the same doctor, Larry Joe Russell. He and his staff of PA's and FNP's are the ones who see most patients there. I personally wouldn't let Dr. Russell treat me for anything, statistics would prove my chances better with no treatment at all!
I have lots more information to share from the recent FOIA documents, keep watching it gets better.
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
Shame on Dr. Larry J. Russell and Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation
As the the school year comes to an end, I have one son finishing his freshman year in high school, and one graduating from college on the 8th. Their Grandmother would have been very proud of both of them. I feel sorry for them that Mom wont be there to share in their joy. She wasn't at my niece's wedding last May, or any other special events that she would have loved to attend.
I know she is looking down from above with pride as she watches all her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren and all their accomplishments. I know they all know how proud she is of each of them as well.
I think a lot about what happened with Mom at Hendersonville Health and Rehabliltation. I think about the lack of care that was provided by Dr. Larry J. Russell. I feel sorry for the others that this has and will continue to happen to. If these people are allowed to provide substandard care and get protected by the government agencies that are supposed to regulate them. There are going to be a lot of empty seats at graduations, weddings and Holiday meals!
Death of a parent is a major event in life. I lost my father in 2008, and it was life changing to say the least. However over the years it has changed me but I am at peace with his passing. Mom's death is another story. I cant even begin to explain how it feels to suspect that Mom didn't have to die. If they had taken proper care of her she would be going to my son's graduation. Of course, Dr. Russell would say that sudden death is common in that age group ( Mom was 76 ). And the NCDHSR would say they found no deficiencies at Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation. Although we have found several deficiencies that can be proven simply by the records. The NCDHSR wont even consider anything we could provide because of the time that has lapsed. The records are the records weather they are from today or five years ago.
If nothing is wrong with the inspection done by the NCDHSR, why did all the key players get transferred or disappear. Gail Maloney, the Western Regional Director of the NCDHSR , retired right after I met with the FBI. Susan Habel, the director of nursing at Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation, and Lara Mooney , the nurse that wrote the fictitious report of the fall, both gone. The medical examiner in Asheville who examined Mom at the mortuary, retired. Even the original FBI agent I spoke with transferred to another office.
Why did the NCDHSR review team write two different versions of their findings? Did they actually even look at the information? Neither of the versions they sent were accurate it was like they mixed the whole thing up.
I'm sure none of this really matters to the average reader, but trust me one day it will. We are all getting older , and this is a serious matter. No one is looking out for the elderly in these homes. There is no safe place for Mom or Dad when you can no longer take care of them. All these homes spend all their money on landscaping and fancy china. The nurses and cna's are overworked and underpaid. The doctors like Dr. Russell take money from Medicare and do little more than stick their head in the door on the initial visit. The nurses and cna's are the ones who take care of the patients, and they are always understaffed. In other words, the patient is left to fend for themselves however they are able. Most I've seen are barely to get out of bed, let alone fight for a meal or shower.
I know she is looking down from above with pride as she watches all her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren and all their accomplishments. I know they all know how proud she is of each of them as well.
I think a lot about what happened with Mom at Hendersonville Health and Rehabliltation. I think about the lack of care that was provided by Dr. Larry J. Russell. I feel sorry for the others that this has and will continue to happen to. If these people are allowed to provide substandard care and get protected by the government agencies that are supposed to regulate them. There are going to be a lot of empty seats at graduations, weddings and Holiday meals!
Death of a parent is a major event in life. I lost my father in 2008, and it was life changing to say the least. However over the years it has changed me but I am at peace with his passing. Mom's death is another story. I cant even begin to explain how it feels to suspect that Mom didn't have to die. If they had taken proper care of her she would be going to my son's graduation. Of course, Dr. Russell would say that sudden death is common in that age group ( Mom was 76 ). And the NCDHSR would say they found no deficiencies at Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation. Although we have found several deficiencies that can be proven simply by the records. The NCDHSR wont even consider anything we could provide because of the time that has lapsed. The records are the records weather they are from today or five years ago.
If nothing is wrong with the inspection done by the NCDHSR, why did all the key players get transferred or disappear. Gail Maloney, the Western Regional Director of the NCDHSR , retired right after I met with the FBI. Susan Habel, the director of nursing at Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation, and Lara Mooney , the nurse that wrote the fictitious report of the fall, both gone. The medical examiner in Asheville who examined Mom at the mortuary, retired. Even the original FBI agent I spoke with transferred to another office.
Why did the NCDHSR review team write two different versions of their findings? Did they actually even look at the information? Neither of the versions they sent were accurate it was like they mixed the whole thing up.
I'm sure none of this really matters to the average reader, but trust me one day it will. We are all getting older , and this is a serious matter. No one is looking out for the elderly in these homes. There is no safe place for Mom or Dad when you can no longer take care of them. All these homes spend all their money on landscaping and fancy china. The nurses and cna's are overworked and underpaid. The doctors like Dr. Russell take money from Medicare and do little more than stick their head in the door on the initial visit. The nurses and cna's are the ones who take care of the patients, and they are always understaffed. In other words, the patient is left to fend for themselves however they are able. Most I've seen are barely to get out of bed, let alone fight for a meal or shower.
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
Are animals worth more than humans to the NCDHHS ? Aldona Wos, wont even speak to the issue of elder care!
I have repeatedly implied that annimals are more protected than the elderly in nursing homes. This morning I looked up cruelty to annimal ststutes in NC.
14-360 Cruelty to animals; construction of section. (a) If any person shall intentionally overdrive, overload, wound, injure, torment, kill, or deprive of necessary sustenance, or cause or procure to be overdriven, overloaded, wounded, injured, tormented, killed, or deprived of necessary sustenance, any animal, every such offender shall for every such offense be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.
(b) If any person shall maliciously torture, mutilate, maim, cruelly beat, disfigure, poison, or kill, or cause or procure to be tortured, mutilated, maimed, cruelly beaten, disfigured, poisoned, or killed, any animal, every such offender shall for every such offense be guilty of a Class I felony. However, nothing in this section shall be construed to increase the penalty for cockfighting provided for in G.S. 14-362.
(c) As used in this section, the words "torture", "torment", and "cruelly" include or refer to any act, omission, or neglect causing or permitting unjustifiable pain, suffering, or death. As used in this section, the word "intentionally" refers to an act committed knowingly and without justifiable excuse, while the word "maliciously" means an act committed intentionally and with malice or bad motive. As used in this section, the term "animal" includes every living vertebrate in the classes Amphibia, Reptilia, Aves, and Mammalia except human beings.
Thats right it specifically excludes human beings. Does this not seem a little strange, that they would exclude "people" from the laws that protect something like chickens, frogs and lizzards?
Trust me we would be better protected as human beings under this law than any "regulations" enforced by the NCDHHS. The animal control laws provide for serious penalties such as felony convictions . The NCDHHS will simply take away a star if they even do that.
I have read many pages of defficiencies in nursing homes that would fall under the felony provisions of the annimal cruelty law. I would consider it cruel to put a meal in front of someone who cant see their tray to eat, or to leave them sitting in their own waste. What about personal hygene, feloney or misdemeanor.
I have seen incidences of elderley being beaten, dropped, verbally abused , sexually abused, just about anything you could imagine including death at the hands of the providers. Yet these places are not even fined, they simply have to write a ststement saying that they neither acknowledge or admit to the allegations, but they are now in compliance. How would that work for a pet store , WLOS Channel 13 would be all over them and they would be shut down by the sheriffs office. The difference is the pet shop doesn't have the political influence or the money to escape justice.
When I get old I'm asking my family to put me in the annimal shelter where I can feel protected. The NCDHHS system that supervises the care or lack of care for the elderley cries for reform. Contact your Senators and Congressmen and tell them to give that money back to the PAC's and do their job! I can vouch for the integrity of one Congressman and could not continue my battle without his support.
14-360 Cruelty to animals; construction of section. (a) If any person shall intentionally overdrive, overload, wound, injure, torment, kill, or deprive of necessary sustenance, or cause or procure to be overdriven, overloaded, wounded, injured, tormented, killed, or deprived of necessary sustenance, any animal, every such offender shall for every such offense be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.
(b) If any person shall maliciously torture, mutilate, maim, cruelly beat, disfigure, poison, or kill, or cause or procure to be tortured, mutilated, maimed, cruelly beaten, disfigured, poisoned, or killed, any animal, every such offender shall for every such offense be guilty of a Class I felony. However, nothing in this section shall be construed to increase the penalty for cockfighting provided for in G.S. 14-362.
(c) As used in this section, the words "torture", "torment", and "cruelly" include or refer to any act, omission, or neglect causing or permitting unjustifiable pain, suffering, or death. As used in this section, the word "intentionally" refers to an act committed knowingly and without justifiable excuse, while the word "maliciously" means an act committed intentionally and with malice or bad motive. As used in this section, the term "animal" includes every living vertebrate in the classes Amphibia, Reptilia, Aves, and Mammalia except human beings.
Thats right it specifically excludes human beings. Does this not seem a little strange, that they would exclude "people" from the laws that protect something like chickens, frogs and lizzards?
Trust me we would be better protected as human beings under this law than any "regulations" enforced by the NCDHHS. The animal control laws provide for serious penalties such as felony convictions . The NCDHHS will simply take away a star if they even do that.
I have read many pages of defficiencies in nursing homes that would fall under the felony provisions of the annimal cruelty law. I would consider it cruel to put a meal in front of someone who cant see their tray to eat, or to leave them sitting in their own waste. What about personal hygene, feloney or misdemeanor.
I have seen incidences of elderley being beaten, dropped, verbally abused , sexually abused, just about anything you could imagine including death at the hands of the providers. Yet these places are not even fined, they simply have to write a ststement saying that they neither acknowledge or admit to the allegations, but they are now in compliance. How would that work for a pet store , WLOS Channel 13 would be all over them and they would be shut down by the sheriffs office. The difference is the pet shop doesn't have the political influence or the money to escape justice.
When I get old I'm asking my family to put me in the annimal shelter where I can feel protected. The NCDHHS system that supervises the care or lack of care for the elderley cries for reform. Contact your Senators and Congressmen and tell them to give that money back to the PAC's and do their job! I can vouch for the integrity of one Congressman and could not continue my battle without his support.
Monday, April 20, 2015
Who's watching over the healthcare providers?
When it comes to health care, who is looking out for the citizens of North Carolina?
Lets start with the NCDHHS, they are the ones that oversee the licensure of health care facilities. If you have ever dealt with them, you have obviously experienced the dysfunction first hand. The problem is that they don"t want to open the floodgates by admitting any flaws in the current system. If you file a complaint with them they will go to extremes to maintain the integrity of their certification and recertification processes.
In dealing with the NCDHSR, I was told by Gail Maloney, the Western Regional director at the time, that there was no one above her, she had the final say! In other words Ms. Maloney ignored her duty to provide me with any means to dispute her opinion. Is this what you would call representation, or is it a violation of the Color of Law Statute? Did Ms. Maloney truly consider herself the director of DHSR for the entire State of NC ? Was it not her responsibility as a "public servant " to direct me to a higher authority. I find it hard to believe the final say in a DHSR matter comes from a small office in Black Mountain NC, rather than the Capitol city of Raleigh.
Next the NC Medical Board, doctors watching over doctors! Have you ever heard a doctor say anything bad about another doctor. These people have the power of life or death at their hands. Trust me no allegation made by a "normal" person is taken seriously. What non doctor would possibly have the nerve to question the actions of a person who could control if you live or die?
Now the NC Board of Nursing, nurses watching over nurses. Again the odds that a nurse will speak openly against another nurse are slim to none. In my dealing with the NCBON, I was told that the nurse that I filed a complaint against had done nothing wrong. However according to the NCBON, she was "strongly warned" against the alleged behavior in the future. Why would you warn a nurse not to do something if that something was not wrong in the first place? I wrote them and asked specific questions about that warning and was referred to their attorney.
How about the QIO or Quality Improvement Organization. I spoke to one representative who said one of the issues was a big deal, but when it came back, there were no issues found?
The sad fact is that the system is so broken, it is easier for the overseers to ignore the issues and attack the accuser than to actually address the problems. The true loser is the taxpayer who is being robbed by crooked doctors, nursing home owners, and pharmacies that are basically stealing at will.
Lets start with the NCDHHS, they are the ones that oversee the licensure of health care facilities. If you have ever dealt with them, you have obviously experienced the dysfunction first hand. The problem is that they don"t want to open the floodgates by admitting any flaws in the current system. If you file a complaint with them they will go to extremes to maintain the integrity of their certification and recertification processes.
In dealing with the NCDHSR, I was told by Gail Maloney, the Western Regional director at the time, that there was no one above her, she had the final say! In other words Ms. Maloney ignored her duty to provide me with any means to dispute her opinion. Is this what you would call representation, or is it a violation of the Color of Law Statute? Did Ms. Maloney truly consider herself the director of DHSR for the entire State of NC ? Was it not her responsibility as a "public servant " to direct me to a higher authority. I find it hard to believe the final say in a DHSR matter comes from a small office in Black Mountain NC, rather than the Capitol city of Raleigh.
Next the NC Medical Board, doctors watching over doctors! Have you ever heard a doctor say anything bad about another doctor. These people have the power of life or death at their hands. Trust me no allegation made by a "normal" person is taken seriously. What non doctor would possibly have the nerve to question the actions of a person who could control if you live or die?
Now the NC Board of Nursing, nurses watching over nurses. Again the odds that a nurse will speak openly against another nurse are slim to none. In my dealing with the NCBON, I was told that the nurse that I filed a complaint against had done nothing wrong. However according to the NCBON, she was "strongly warned" against the alleged behavior in the future. Why would you warn a nurse not to do something if that something was not wrong in the first place? I wrote them and asked specific questions about that warning and was referred to their attorney.
How about the QIO or Quality Improvement Organization. I spoke to one representative who said one of the issues was a big deal, but when it came back, there were no issues found?
The sad fact is that the system is so broken, it is easier for the overseers to ignore the issues and attack the accuser than to actually address the problems. The true loser is the taxpayer who is being robbed by crooked doctors, nursing home owners, and pharmacies that are basically stealing at will.
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Is Ardent Health and Rehabilitation part of Ardent Health Services? Who's watching the pharmacies?
SanStone Health and Rehabilitation, if you look them up on Medicare.gov they operated and managed by by Ardent Health and Rehabilitation. The strange thing is Ardent Health and Rehabilitation doesn't seem to own or operate any health and rehabilitation facilities. Why do they need two different names for one company?
The only Ardent on the Securities and Exchange website is Ardent Health Services, located in Nashville Tennessee. Ardent Health Services operates 11 Pharmacies in New Mexico, and fourteen Hospitals including, Baptist St. Anthonies Health Systems in Amarillo Texas, Hillcrest Healthcare systems in Tulsa Oklahoma, and Lovelace Healthcare Systems in Albuquerque N.M..
One would think that the name Ardent would be protected from use by other companies, especially in the health care field. Either Ardent Health and Rehabilitation is part of Ardent Health Services, or the name is not protected. Why does a company in Tennessee own and operate hospitals and pharmacies out West, but nothing locally?
This is an example of why the regulatory agencies are having a hard time keeping up with who is who. Add to that the fact that politicians are constantly cutting the budgets of enforcement agencies to protect their own investments, and you have a perfect example of what is wrong with the system.
Then there are the government contractors that are supposed to insure integrity of the system. How does a company that is competing for the contracts maintain their own integrity? Obviously they are not going to aggressively pursue the very people they work for! Is it a coincidence that Advancemed, the Government contracted Zone Program Integrity Contractor (ZPIC) for Medicare is cant see any fraud?
Next you have on site pharmacy consultants working for one pharmacy, is that not a monopoly. I'm pretty sure the consultants wouldn't be able to keep their jobs filling prescriptions for other pharmacies.
In the case of Hendersonville Health and rehabilitation, the on site pharmacist works for Blue Ridge Pharmacy. The owner of Blue Ridge Pharmacy is part owner of Hendersonville Physicians and Associates, who own Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation. He is also supervised by two physicians, Dr. Larry J. Russell, Mom's doctor at HHR and Donald L. Culver, who wrote a lot of prescriptions at BeyStone. I overheard one of their reps one day pushing a refill program on a patient at HHR, they went so far as to offer gifts.
I have suspected for some time that Blue Ridge Pharmacy was filling all the prescriptions at all the nursing homes in Hendersonville. I had seen them at HHR and BeyStone, yesterday I saw them on the road and followed them to the Laurels. It just so happens that Dr. Russell is the medical director at The Laurels as well as the supervisor of the owner of Blue Ridge Pharmacy. Is this not a violation of some sort of antitrust law, if not it should be. This is where the politicians are helping them out, changing regulations to make it easy for them to get away with it.
The system is not working, you have one group providing every aspect of nursing home care. I am pretty sure they are also providing the DME's, I just cant prove it yet. There is also one mobile Xray company that seems to be doing all the xrays at the homes. Carol Lloyd Inc. also MMDS is likely the sole provider of mobile Xrays and diagnostics for this particular group. I'm sure there is plenty of "gift" giving in this huge circle of "friends". I'm sure they have each spent the night at one of Dr.Russells lake house or cabin in Gatlinburg.
I would be interested if anyone reading this knows where else Blue Ridge Pharmacy delivers to, you could just leave a comment. More to come.
The only Ardent on the Securities and Exchange website is Ardent Health Services, located in Nashville Tennessee. Ardent Health Services operates 11 Pharmacies in New Mexico, and fourteen Hospitals including, Baptist St. Anthonies Health Systems in Amarillo Texas, Hillcrest Healthcare systems in Tulsa Oklahoma, and Lovelace Healthcare Systems in Albuquerque N.M..
One would think that the name Ardent would be protected from use by other companies, especially in the health care field. Either Ardent Health and Rehabilitation is part of Ardent Health Services, or the name is not protected. Why does a company in Tennessee own and operate hospitals and pharmacies out West, but nothing locally?
This is an example of why the regulatory agencies are having a hard time keeping up with who is who. Add to that the fact that politicians are constantly cutting the budgets of enforcement agencies to protect their own investments, and you have a perfect example of what is wrong with the system.
Then there are the government contractors that are supposed to insure integrity of the system. How does a company that is competing for the contracts maintain their own integrity? Obviously they are not going to aggressively pursue the very people they work for! Is it a coincidence that Advancemed, the Government contracted Zone Program Integrity Contractor (ZPIC) for Medicare is cant see any fraud?
Next you have on site pharmacy consultants working for one pharmacy, is that not a monopoly. I'm pretty sure the consultants wouldn't be able to keep their jobs filling prescriptions for other pharmacies.
In the case of Hendersonville Health and rehabilitation, the on site pharmacist works for Blue Ridge Pharmacy. The owner of Blue Ridge Pharmacy is part owner of Hendersonville Physicians and Associates, who own Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation. He is also supervised by two physicians, Dr. Larry J. Russell, Mom's doctor at HHR and Donald L. Culver, who wrote a lot of prescriptions at BeyStone. I overheard one of their reps one day pushing a refill program on a patient at HHR, they went so far as to offer gifts.
I have suspected for some time that Blue Ridge Pharmacy was filling all the prescriptions at all the nursing homes in Hendersonville. I had seen them at HHR and BeyStone, yesterday I saw them on the road and followed them to the Laurels. It just so happens that Dr. Russell is the medical director at The Laurels as well as the supervisor of the owner of Blue Ridge Pharmacy. Is this not a violation of some sort of antitrust law, if not it should be. This is where the politicians are helping them out, changing regulations to make it easy for them to get away with it.
The system is not working, you have one group providing every aspect of nursing home care. I am pretty sure they are also providing the DME's, I just cant prove it yet. There is also one mobile Xray company that seems to be doing all the xrays at the homes. Carol Lloyd Inc. also MMDS is likely the sole provider of mobile Xrays and diagnostics for this particular group. I'm sure there is plenty of "gift" giving in this huge circle of "friends". I'm sure they have each spent the night at one of Dr.Russells lake house or cabin in Gatlinburg.
I would be interested if anyone reading this knows where else Blue Ridge Pharmacy delivers to, you could just leave a comment. More to come.
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
If Pat McCrory, the Governor of NC doesn't care, where else do you go?
The last several posts were focused on SanStone and their so called "passion that makes us different" campaign. I am still seeing those damn commercials, but it's time to focus a little on the government agencies that oversee the medical industry.
The first complaint I made was to the North Carolina Department of Health Service Regulation. My brother and I made separate complaints with somewhat different issues. The people taking the complaint on the phone seem very concerned , and indicate a willingness to help. They are the only ones in the NCDHSR that show anything other than a sympathetic stand on the side of the nursing home.
After the complaint investigation of Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation found no deficiencies, we were able to meet with the Western Regional Director, Gail Maloney. Sometime in late February of 2011, several family members met with Ms. Maloney at the Black Mountain office. We were armed with a signed statement from Mom's roommate that disputed the nurses account of the fall. Along with that we had gone through Mom's medical records and had so many discrepancies that we were sure to get results. There was missing medication, and medication records, wrong room numbers and outright false records. Surprisingly at the time Ms. Maloney saw nothing in our stack of papers that was wrong. Ms. Maloney went on to say that there was no one else above them and that there decision would be the last word.
In the meantime I had filed a complaint with the N.C Medical Board against Dr. Larry J. Russell. I alleged that he had not done his job, by not examining Mom after the fall. This was a big issue because of the fact that she had undergone brain surgery only six weeks before. Also the fact that although she had "met her goals" and was scheduled to go home, she died from no apparent reason. Dr. Russell found no reason for an autopsy, so none was done. I wonder if this could be attributed to the fact that he was one of the owners of Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation ? Of course the N.C Medical board found on reason to even warn Dr. Russell, and went so far as to tell me they would retain these records in the event that they received any further complaints against Dr. Russell. I know for a fact that at least one other person filed a complaint with the NC Medical Board against Dr. Russell, and still no action. This person contacted me from a number on my blog last year.
Next step was a complaint with the NC Board of Nursing filed against Lara Mooney LPN and Susan Habel RN ( the director of nursing at Hendersonville Health and rehabilitation). I received a letter stating that Lara Mooney LPN was "strongly cautioned" but no explanation of what she was cautioned for. It seemed strange that although they found no wrongdoing, Lara Mooney was "strongly cautioned" for something. Several calls and emails later I was eventually directed to the boards attorney for any further questions I had!
Next step was a two hour meeting with an FBI agent in Asheville. Although he was not familiar with health care regulations, he saw plenty of things wrong with what we showed him. He was very pleasant and we thought we were finally going to get someone to actually look at Mom's case. Our relationship lasted for two years and we met one other time with two agents. The outcome of this is still unknown at this point.
You would think that would be the end of it, but not the case. I also contacted my Congressman (Heath Shuler) and he passed our information on to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in Atlanta. The contact there sent a letter stating that CMS applauded concerned citizens, and they would do a thorough investigation. The letter said they would also be forwarding our concerns to several different places. I never heard from them again, so I contacted the Congressman's office, who contacted CMS. Turns out that somehow our information never made it off the contacts desk.
I think that by now it is obvious that I am persistent. I have also contacted the CCME (Carolina's Center for Medical Excellence), NC State Medical Examiners office, NC Pharmacy Board , ABC News, the Office of Inspector General, three Senators and NCI Advancemed, the Zoze Program Integrity Contractor for Medicare. My brother has requested information from Advancemed two years ago through the Freedom of Information Act, and still has not received a response.
The bottom line is that not one of these contacts led anywhere. The attitude we have gotten could only be described as hostile and uninterested. I have also written to Governor Pat McCrory, and Aldona Wos ( Secretary of the NCDHHS)
The branch of government that actually investigates fraud, and any broken laws, is the Office of Inspector General (OIG). They are actually a division of law enforcement. The OIG has more work than they can handle. there are so many crooked nursing home owners , the OIG cant keep up. The owners keep changing names and hiding behind several shell corporations. It would be a full time job just to know who owns what on which day.
Then you have people in high places that are owners of the homes. It is not surprising that the laws are tilted to the favor of the homes. There have been law suits that were won, and they cant figure out where to collect the settlement. The whole system needs a serious revamping.
With the current level of political contributions not being regulated, the rich owners of nursing homes can buy just about any politician they want. I'm not sure what they contributed to Governor Pat McCrory, but it was definitely enough to get him to turn his head. He went so far as to refuse Medicaid money for some reason. Could it be that Governor McCrory has something going in North Carolina that he doesn't want someone to know about? I am relatively certain that Governor McCrory's parents would never be caught dead ( pun intended ) in one of the local nursing homes.
The first complaint I made was to the North Carolina Department of Health Service Regulation. My brother and I made separate complaints with somewhat different issues. The people taking the complaint on the phone seem very concerned , and indicate a willingness to help. They are the only ones in the NCDHSR that show anything other than a sympathetic stand on the side of the nursing home.
After the complaint investigation of Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation found no deficiencies, we were able to meet with the Western Regional Director, Gail Maloney. Sometime in late February of 2011, several family members met with Ms. Maloney at the Black Mountain office. We were armed with a signed statement from Mom's roommate that disputed the nurses account of the fall. Along with that we had gone through Mom's medical records and had so many discrepancies that we were sure to get results. There was missing medication, and medication records, wrong room numbers and outright false records. Surprisingly at the time Ms. Maloney saw nothing in our stack of papers that was wrong. Ms. Maloney went on to say that there was no one else above them and that there decision would be the last word.
In the meantime I had filed a complaint with the N.C Medical Board against Dr. Larry J. Russell. I alleged that he had not done his job, by not examining Mom after the fall. This was a big issue because of the fact that she had undergone brain surgery only six weeks before. Also the fact that although she had "met her goals" and was scheduled to go home, she died from no apparent reason. Dr. Russell found no reason for an autopsy, so none was done. I wonder if this could be attributed to the fact that he was one of the owners of Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation ? Of course the N.C Medical board found on reason to even warn Dr. Russell, and went so far as to tell me they would retain these records in the event that they received any further complaints against Dr. Russell. I know for a fact that at least one other person filed a complaint with the NC Medical Board against Dr. Russell, and still no action. This person contacted me from a number on my blog last year.
Next step was a complaint with the NC Board of Nursing filed against Lara Mooney LPN and Susan Habel RN ( the director of nursing at Hendersonville Health and rehabilitation). I received a letter stating that Lara Mooney LPN was "strongly cautioned" but no explanation of what she was cautioned for. It seemed strange that although they found no wrongdoing, Lara Mooney was "strongly cautioned" for something. Several calls and emails later I was eventually directed to the boards attorney for any further questions I had!
Next step was a two hour meeting with an FBI agent in Asheville. Although he was not familiar with health care regulations, he saw plenty of things wrong with what we showed him. He was very pleasant and we thought we were finally going to get someone to actually look at Mom's case. Our relationship lasted for two years and we met one other time with two agents. The outcome of this is still unknown at this point.
You would think that would be the end of it, but not the case. I also contacted my Congressman (Heath Shuler) and he passed our information on to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in Atlanta. The contact there sent a letter stating that CMS applauded concerned citizens, and they would do a thorough investigation. The letter said they would also be forwarding our concerns to several different places. I never heard from them again, so I contacted the Congressman's office, who contacted CMS. Turns out that somehow our information never made it off the contacts desk.
I think that by now it is obvious that I am persistent. I have also contacted the CCME (Carolina's Center for Medical Excellence), NC State Medical Examiners office, NC Pharmacy Board , ABC News, the Office of Inspector General, three Senators and NCI Advancemed, the Zoze Program Integrity Contractor for Medicare. My brother has requested information from Advancemed two years ago through the Freedom of Information Act, and still has not received a response.
The bottom line is that not one of these contacts led anywhere. The attitude we have gotten could only be described as hostile and uninterested. I have also written to Governor Pat McCrory, and Aldona Wos ( Secretary of the NCDHHS)
The branch of government that actually investigates fraud, and any broken laws, is the Office of Inspector General (OIG). They are actually a division of law enforcement. The OIG has more work than they can handle. there are so many crooked nursing home owners , the OIG cant keep up. The owners keep changing names and hiding behind several shell corporations. It would be a full time job just to know who owns what on which day.
Then you have people in high places that are owners of the homes. It is not surprising that the laws are tilted to the favor of the homes. There have been law suits that were won, and they cant figure out where to collect the settlement. The whole system needs a serious revamping.
With the current level of political contributions not being regulated, the rich owners of nursing homes can buy just about any politician they want. I'm not sure what they contributed to Governor Pat McCrory, but it was definitely enough to get him to turn his head. He went so far as to refuse Medicaid money for some reason. Could it be that Governor McCrory has something going in North Carolina that he doesn't want someone to know about? I am relatively certain that Governor McCrory's parents would never be caught dead ( pun intended ) in one of the local nursing homes.
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
More on SanStone, and the passion that makes the difference!
In my last post I mentioned South Village Health and rehabilitation in Raleigh. It is a SanStone property. I found where they had been fined almost $300,000.00 by the CMS. The information can be seen on Medicare.gov, nursing home compare website. Although it shows the fines, there is no information as to what they were fined for.
I contacted Beverley Speroff, the Division Chief of the North Carolina Division Health Service Regulation (NCDHSR). I asked Ms. Speroff why I could not find the fines on their "list of facilities with fines" page. Ms Speroff replied that the fines were imposed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and would not show on the NCDHSR page.
What it looks like to me is that the NCDHSR does the investigations, but they dont impose the fines. It appears that the CMS Imposes the fines, based on the NCDHSR Investigations. If thats the case it seems they should both post the information. How can the average citizen looking for a nursing home possibly figure this out? How many Government websites do you have to visit to get the whole picture?
Here is the link for the inspection results from the NCDHSR
http://www.ncdhhs.gov/dhsr/facilities/facility.asp?fid=923549
Here is the Medicare.gov (CMS) link. You can click on the penalties tab and see the fines. But there is no explanation. You can also click on the investigations tab and see the latses inspections, none of which explain the penalties.
http://www.medicare.gov/nursinghomecompare/profile.html#profTab=4&ID=345137&Distn=2.7&loc=ROCKY%20MOUNT%2C%20NC&lat=35.9382103&lng=-77.7905339
This system is definately not working. It is set up to be confusing, and without extensive research makes no sense at all. There is no useful information from the State (NCDHSR) or the Federal (CMS) website. Together, they make a little more sense but still not completely accurate. The information on both sites is not updated frequently enough to make an educated decision on what homes are good or bad.
Not only is all of the above an issue, but they can kill people and still operate. All they have to do is pay the fine, and that is a worst case scenario. In most cases, they are written up by the NCDHSR and the deficiencies are majically corrected. Could this be a result of Governor McCrory's appointed leader of the NCDHSR? Does Governor McCrory personally have money invested in the nursing home industry, or just his friends and contributors? Either way it is obvious that the owners of these places have no fear of any repercussions resulting from their mistakes, even when they result in death.
I have researched many different nursing homes, most are chains run by shell corporations and managed by other shell companies. They change the names of the corporations like I change my socks. It is almost impossible to keep up with them. An example would be Beystone, a SanStone property, there is Beystone and then there is Beystone new company. This is from the NC Secretary of State Corporations page. I drove by their listed address and it is a FedEx office on Airport road in Arden. It all seems so sketchy simply because it is. These people know how to work the system and if they dont, they just pay someone to change it.
I contacted Beverley Speroff, the Division Chief of the North Carolina Division Health Service Regulation (NCDHSR). I asked Ms. Speroff why I could not find the fines on their "list of facilities with fines" page. Ms Speroff replied that the fines were imposed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and would not show on the NCDHSR page.
What it looks like to me is that the NCDHSR does the investigations, but they dont impose the fines. It appears that the CMS Imposes the fines, based on the NCDHSR Investigations. If thats the case it seems they should both post the information. How can the average citizen looking for a nursing home possibly figure this out? How many Government websites do you have to visit to get the whole picture?
Here is the link for the inspection results from the NCDHSR
http://www.ncdhhs.gov/dhsr/facilities/facility.asp?fid=923549
Here is the Medicare.gov (CMS) link. You can click on the penalties tab and see the fines. But there is no explanation. You can also click on the investigations tab and see the latses inspections, none of which explain the penalties.
http://www.medicare.gov/nursinghomecompare/profile.html#profTab=4&ID=345137&Distn=2.7&loc=ROCKY%20MOUNT%2C%20NC&lat=35.9382103&lng=-77.7905339
This system is definately not working. It is set up to be confusing, and without extensive research makes no sense at all. There is no useful information from the State (NCDHSR) or the Federal (CMS) website. Together, they make a little more sense but still not completely accurate. The information on both sites is not updated frequently enough to make an educated decision on what homes are good or bad.
Not only is all of the above an issue, but they can kill people and still operate. All they have to do is pay the fine, and that is a worst case scenario. In most cases, they are written up by the NCDHSR and the deficiencies are majically corrected. Could this be a result of Governor McCrory's appointed leader of the NCDHSR? Does Governor McCrory personally have money invested in the nursing home industry, or just his friends and contributors? Either way it is obvious that the owners of these places have no fear of any repercussions resulting from their mistakes, even when they result in death.
I have researched many different nursing homes, most are chains run by shell corporations and managed by other shell companies. They change the names of the corporations like I change my socks. It is almost impossible to keep up with them. An example would be Beystone, a SanStone property, there is Beystone and then there is Beystone new company. This is from the NC Secretary of State Corporations page. I drove by their listed address and it is a FedEx office on Airport road in Arden. It all seems so sketchy simply because it is. These people know how to work the system and if they dont, they just pay someone to change it.
Saturday, February 14, 2015
SanStone Health and Rehabilitation , True lack of passion revealed!!
I keep seeing those damn commercials " SanStone It's our passion that makes the difference". Well today I decided to do some research on SanStones supposed passion. I went to Medicare.gov, the site that rates nursing homes. Each home is evaluated and given a star rating, the ratings don't seem to reflect the NCDHSR inspections, so that part is still a mystery. The star rating is, one for the lowest, and five for the highest. Anyway here is a list of SanStone properties and their star ratings as of today.
Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation 3 stars : One inspection in 2014 with five deficiencies .
BeyStone Health and Rehabilitation 3 stars : One inspection with no deficiencies found ?
StoneCreek Health and Rehabilitation 5 stars : One inspection with three deficiencies.
Anson Health and Rehabilitation 2 stars : One inspection with three deficiencies .
Madison Health and Rehabilitation 3 stars : One inspection with four deficiencies .
Oak Forest Health and Rehabilitation 3 stars : One inspection with four deficiencies .
Sanford Health and Rehabilitation 3 stars : One inspection with four deficiencies .
South Village Health and Rehabilitation 1 star : One inspection with no deficiencies . Three complaint investigations with three deficiencies resulting in resident death!
Now here is a list of deficiencies at SanStone properties. Take notice of the violations concerning administration and storage of drugs.
1. Failure to : Conduct initial and periodic assessments of each residents functional capacity.
2. Make sure services provided by the nursing facility meet professional standards of quality.
3. Provide necessary care and services to maintain the highest well being of each resident.(3)
4. Make sure that all resident's drug regimen is free of unnecessary drugs.
5. each residents entire drug regimen is managed and monitored to achieve highest well being.
6. Make sure all residents are safe from serious medication errors.
7. Give each resident a notice of rights, rules, services, and charges.
8. Maintain drug records and properly label drugs according to accepted professional standards.(2)
9. Keep accurate, complete, organized clinical records on each resident that meet professional standards.
10. Store, cook and serve food in a clean way. (3)
11. Immediately tell the resident, doctor, and a family member of any situation affecting resident.(3)
12. Provide housekeeping and maintenance services.
13. Allow the resident the right to participate in the planning or revision of the residents care plan. (2)
14. Try to resolve each residents complaints quickly.
15. Reasonably accommodate the needs and preferences of each resident.
16. Keep medication errors to less than 5%.
17. Give resident proper treatment to prevent new pressure sores or heal existing pressure sores. (2)
18. Safely provide drugs and other similar products available, which are needed every day and in emergencies by a licenced pharmacist.
19. Assist those residents who need total help with eating, drinking, grooming, and personal and oral hygiene.
In one of the cases at South Village , the resident actually died.
Is that what sets SanStone apart from other homes? " Passion, that's what makes the difference." Maybe if the spent their money on staffing their properties instead of advertising and sponsoring events, they could actually provide adequate care.
Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation 3 stars : One inspection in 2014 with five deficiencies .
BeyStone Health and Rehabilitation 3 stars : One inspection with no deficiencies found ?
StoneCreek Health and Rehabilitation 5 stars : One inspection with three deficiencies.
Anson Health and Rehabilitation 2 stars : One inspection with three deficiencies .
Madison Health and Rehabilitation 3 stars : One inspection with four deficiencies .
Oak Forest Health and Rehabilitation 3 stars : One inspection with four deficiencies .
Sanford Health and Rehabilitation 3 stars : One inspection with four deficiencies .
South Village Health and Rehabilitation 1 star : One inspection with no deficiencies . Three complaint investigations with three deficiencies resulting in resident death!
Now here is a list of deficiencies at SanStone properties. Take notice of the violations concerning administration and storage of drugs.
1. Failure to : Conduct initial and periodic assessments of each residents functional capacity.
2. Make sure services provided by the nursing facility meet professional standards of quality.
3. Provide necessary care and services to maintain the highest well being of each resident.(3)
4. Make sure that all resident's drug regimen is free of unnecessary drugs.
5. each residents entire drug regimen is managed and monitored to achieve highest well being.
6. Make sure all residents are safe from serious medication errors.
7. Give each resident a notice of rights, rules, services, and charges.
8. Maintain drug records and properly label drugs according to accepted professional standards.(2)
9. Keep accurate, complete, organized clinical records on each resident that meet professional standards.
10. Store, cook and serve food in a clean way. (3)
11. Immediately tell the resident, doctor, and a family member of any situation affecting resident.(3)
12. Provide housekeeping and maintenance services.
13. Allow the resident the right to participate in the planning or revision of the residents care plan. (2)
14. Try to resolve each residents complaints quickly.
15. Reasonably accommodate the needs and preferences of each resident.
16. Keep medication errors to less than 5%.
17. Give resident proper treatment to prevent new pressure sores or heal existing pressure sores. (2)
18. Safely provide drugs and other similar products available, which are needed every day and in emergencies by a licenced pharmacist.
19. Assist those residents who need total help with eating, drinking, grooming, and personal and oral hygiene.
In one of the cases at South Village , the resident actually died.
Is that what sets SanStone apart from other homes? " Passion, that's what makes the difference." Maybe if the spent their money on staffing their properties instead of advertising and sponsoring events, they could actually provide adequate care.
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
"SanStone It's our passion that makes us different". Go see for yourself their "passion" in action.
I am still having difficulties with hearing the SanStone commercials on WLOS channel 13. "SanStone Health, It's our passion that makes us different." Different from who would be the question. All you have to do is look at the ratings on Medicare.gov, and you will see they are no different from any of the other homes. It is somewhat confusing how they maintain a average rating, with all that passion. I'm sure it has to do with the help they get from their friends at the NCDHSR. It's not like they don't get complaints against SanStone properties, It's just that none of the complaints are substantiated. It's not like they don't get written up occasionally in the yearly surveys either. The answer to complaints and surveys both is the same, "defficiencies corrected."
I just went to Medicare.gov and they don't even show the corrections anymore. They tell you to call the home for plan of correction
I'm not sure how much they pay those elderley folk in their commercials to say how wonderful they are, but they are obviously not residents at Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation. I've been in there and what I saw was certainly not Passion.
I saw people laying in their own urine and feces. I saw residents wheeled down to therapy an hour early, just so someone would be watching them. I saw residents sitting in the hall and dining room in wheelchairs waiting for someone to take them somewhere. What I did not see was passion.
While visiting a friend one day, he had an accident while in his wheelchair. I pushed the call button and waited, eventually I went to the nurses station and asked the person at the desk if someone could come clean him. My friend was sitting in a wheelchair in a pool of his urine for more than 20 minutes. I know the time because when he was wheeled in they said he needed to sit up for half an hour. On a subsequent visit they were discussing a pressure ulcer. Sitting in urine for twenty minutes definately doesn't help a pressure ulcer.
The staffing levels would make it impossible for the staff to be passionate. A person that is overworked and underpaid is not a model for passion. The people who show passion are the ones trying to sell you on the place. The residents I visited were both Medicare patients, it is possible that they have a hall where they put private pay residents where they are treated different.
The bottom line is that the patients I've seen in Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation need compassion. Maybe they should change their slogan to - " Money, that's our passion". WLOS will let them say whatever they want as long as they pay. It seems a little suspicious that WLOS is in the same complex as the SanStone corporate office. Although the mailing address of SanStone is actually a Fed - X office on Airport Road, I've seen the office in Biltmore Park.
The dictionary defines passion as "an intense desire or enthusiasm for something", I guess if they don't say what they are passionate about, they can't be sued for perjury. Just walk in to Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation and look for passion. There has to be a special kind of place for these profiteers in the afterlife. Maybe then they will learn what passion is.
I just went to Medicare.gov and they don't even show the corrections anymore. They tell you to call the home for plan of correction
I'm not sure how much they pay those elderley folk in their commercials to say how wonderful they are, but they are obviously not residents at Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation. I've been in there and what I saw was certainly not Passion.
I saw people laying in their own urine and feces. I saw residents wheeled down to therapy an hour early, just so someone would be watching them. I saw residents sitting in the hall and dining room in wheelchairs waiting for someone to take them somewhere. What I did not see was passion.
While visiting a friend one day, he had an accident while in his wheelchair. I pushed the call button and waited, eventually I went to the nurses station and asked the person at the desk if someone could come clean him. My friend was sitting in a wheelchair in a pool of his urine for more than 20 minutes. I know the time because when he was wheeled in they said he needed to sit up for half an hour. On a subsequent visit they were discussing a pressure ulcer. Sitting in urine for twenty minutes definately doesn't help a pressure ulcer.
The staffing levels would make it impossible for the staff to be passionate. A person that is overworked and underpaid is not a model for passion. The people who show passion are the ones trying to sell you on the place. The residents I visited were both Medicare patients, it is possible that they have a hall where they put private pay residents where they are treated different.
The bottom line is that the patients I've seen in Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation need compassion. Maybe they should change their slogan to - " Money, that's our passion". WLOS will let them say whatever they want as long as they pay. It seems a little suspicious that WLOS is in the same complex as the SanStone corporate office. Although the mailing address of SanStone is actually a Fed - X office on Airport Road, I've seen the office in Biltmore Park.
The dictionary defines passion as "an intense desire or enthusiasm for something", I guess if they don't say what they are passionate about, they can't be sued for perjury. Just walk in to Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation and look for passion. There has to be a special kind of place for these profiteers in the afterlife. Maybe then they will learn what passion is.
Thursday, January 29, 2015
SanStone, BeyStone, Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation. The NCDHSR has given them a liscense to kill. Corruption????
I have been writing this blog for three years now. In that three years I've had to look at things that are extremely unpleasant. I have spent hours going through Mom's medical records, and reliving the nightmare of the last days of her life. The more I read the more I am convinced that her death was a result of something that happened at Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation. I am also convinced they have fired or promoted anyone who could provide answers. They will never let the truth out. I can prove that Lara Mooney LPN, lied in her nurses report. She is now working at Fleishers Fairview Healthcare, beware of nights if you have a loved one in there.
It has become obvious to me that the NCDHSR, has assisted in the witholding of the key facts surronding the last days. I have been focusing on the reports of the investigation that was supposedly done by the NCDHSR. One thing is for certain, Hendersonville health and Rehabilitation and SanStone, the operator of HHR, have friends in the NCDHSR. While looking at the complaint I filed, and the response to the investigation, it is apparent that they knew just what to write. Even Dr. Larry Joe Russell, he just happens to put a sentence in there about " if she fell and hit her head". Why is he mentioning her falling and hitting her head. The only people who I mentioned her hitting her head to was the NCDHSR. Complaints are confidential, so where did he get that information?
I would be surprised if Governor McCrory isn't on their payroll, I'm sure they contributed to his campaign. I have written to our fair Governor asking for his assistance with the NCDHHS. I wasn't really expecting a reply, due to his relationship with Secretary Aldona Wos, so I wasn't disappointed when I didn't get one!
Is there corruption in the State of NC, DHHS, Is there a special relationship between Governor McCrory and SanStone? Could it be that our Governor turned down the Medicaid money, just to avoid the scrutiny it may bring? All I know for sure is that NCDHSR is protecting Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation. They gave them all the answers to keep anyone else from being suspicious. Then earlier today I was looking at Medicare.gov and saw a complaint investigation done at BeyStone. The patient was signed out on a leave of absence from BeyStone on December 22, 2010. On December 25,while on release from BeyStone, she was involved in a motor vehicle accident. She was treated and released from Park Ridge Hospital back to BeyStone that same day with specific directions on necessary care for the next three days. The directions were not followed, and the patient was readmitted to Park Ridge Hospital on December 27, 2010. The patient died on December 28, 2010. This is a patient that was out on release only two days before.
The complaint investigation basically acknowledges that BeyStone did not follow through with the directions from the hospital. It also basically gives them a get out of jail free card with the customary defficiencies have been corrected line. Does that mean that the patient was brought back to life? There was no penalty assesed, and the patients doctor said it wouldn't have made any difference anyway? I would almost bet my life that the doctor was Larry Joe Russell, a trip to the Henderson County Courthouse and I will know for sure. I will post a copy of her death certificate and the signing doctor my next post. More to come.
Here is the link to the BeyStone complaint. Watch out Mills river, The Lodge is coming in March and itt is going to replace BeyStone.
http://www.ncdhhs.gov/dhsr/facilities/nh/20110718-943389.pdf
It has become obvious to me that the NCDHSR, has assisted in the witholding of the key facts surronding the last days. I have been focusing on the reports of the investigation that was supposedly done by the NCDHSR. One thing is for certain, Hendersonville health and Rehabilitation and SanStone, the operator of HHR, have friends in the NCDHSR. While looking at the complaint I filed, and the response to the investigation, it is apparent that they knew just what to write. Even Dr. Larry Joe Russell, he just happens to put a sentence in there about " if she fell and hit her head". Why is he mentioning her falling and hitting her head. The only people who I mentioned her hitting her head to was the NCDHSR. Complaints are confidential, so where did he get that information?
I would be surprised if Governor McCrory isn't on their payroll, I'm sure they contributed to his campaign. I have written to our fair Governor asking for his assistance with the NCDHHS. I wasn't really expecting a reply, due to his relationship with Secretary Aldona Wos, so I wasn't disappointed when I didn't get one!
Is there corruption in the State of NC, DHHS, Is there a special relationship between Governor McCrory and SanStone? Could it be that our Governor turned down the Medicaid money, just to avoid the scrutiny it may bring? All I know for sure is that NCDHSR is protecting Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation. They gave them all the answers to keep anyone else from being suspicious. Then earlier today I was looking at Medicare.gov and saw a complaint investigation done at BeyStone. The patient was signed out on a leave of absence from BeyStone on December 22, 2010. On December 25,while on release from BeyStone, she was involved in a motor vehicle accident. She was treated and released from Park Ridge Hospital back to BeyStone that same day with specific directions on necessary care for the next three days. The directions were not followed, and the patient was readmitted to Park Ridge Hospital on December 27, 2010. The patient died on December 28, 2010. This is a patient that was out on release only two days before.
The complaint investigation basically acknowledges that BeyStone did not follow through with the directions from the hospital. It also basically gives them a get out of jail free card with the customary defficiencies have been corrected line. Does that mean that the patient was brought back to life? There was no penalty assesed, and the patients doctor said it wouldn't have made any difference anyway? I would almost bet my life that the doctor was Larry Joe Russell, a trip to the Henderson County Courthouse and I will know for sure. I will post a copy of her death certificate and the signing doctor my next post. More to come.
Here is the link to the BeyStone complaint. Watch out Mills river, The Lodge is coming in March and itt is going to replace BeyStone.
http://www.ncdhhs.gov/dhsr/facilities/nh/20110718-943389.pdf
Sunday, January 11, 2015
Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation and NCDHSR corruption? Three long years and no closer to the truth.
Recent events have forced me to reexamine the facts surrounding the death of my Mother. I have been sorting through medical records, letters, articles and my notes.
The first and probably most alarming thing is the poor records kept by Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation. If you think about medical records, what would you think is important? I would like to think that they had my personal information correct on the admission documents.
In Mom's case they had the wrong room number on most of the documents ! How many ways could that be a problem ? Well they could easily administer the wrong medication, give the wrong food ( mom had food allergies), not provide the required assistance in ambulating, the list goes on and on. The bottom line is in a nursing home, if you don't know who you have in what room and bed it could be a catastrophic.
In nursing homes the staff changes on a regular basis, especially the cna's who provide the majority of care. If the records don't match the patient, who is going to notice. With staff levels at the bare minimum or even below in some instances, they wouldn't even have time to check.
Next you would want to know that there were enough staff to provide necessary care. It is alarming to learn that there are no rules dictating number of patients to staff on each shift. There are some industry standards, but at Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation, they have ways to get around those.
Obviously there would be more staff present in the daytime hours. You would have the physical therapists, dietary aides, housekeepers, along with the nurses, doctors and cna's. That said, you would think the level of care would be better during the day. That is not necessarily the case. Consider that during the day they need to change the sheets, bathe the residents and assist with basic hygiene, help them get dressed, get them to therapy and so on. At Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation, they use the physical and occupational therapists to do many of things the nurses would do. They give showers, assist with hygiene, get patients out of their rooms and into therapy rooms, allowing for the changing of bed linens.
The most infuriating thing is the actions or lack of action by the NCDHSR. The NCDHSR is a division of the NCDHHS that licenses and does complaint investigations in nursing homes. The number of complaints that are substantiated by the NCDHSR is minimal. I have a copy of the so called investigation of my complaint and there are mistakes and outright lies throughout the report. It is apparent after three years of research that their findings are where other agencies stop. If the NCDHSR doesn't find any substantiated complaints, no one will look any further.
I'm convinced that the NCDHSR is in the pocket of the wealthy nursing home owners. The evidence is there to substantiate complaints but not if no one looks. Is someone at the NCDHSR benefitting from turning the other way. Is it possible that the Governor of the State of North Carolina is turning a blind eye. After all he is the one who appoints the secretary and big shots at the NCDHHS. Could it be that the reason our Governor turned down the Medicaid money is the fact that it would bring more scrutiny to the investigations?
I don't know any of this for sure, but I believe that anyone looking could find out who is benefitting from the inadequacy of the NCDHSR and the NCDHHS. I contacted the Governor two weeks ago regarding the NCDHHS, and never received a response. Actions speak louder than words
The first and probably most alarming thing is the poor records kept by Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation. If you think about medical records, what would you think is important? I would like to think that they had my personal information correct on the admission documents.
In Mom's case they had the wrong room number on most of the documents ! How many ways could that be a problem ? Well they could easily administer the wrong medication, give the wrong food ( mom had food allergies), not provide the required assistance in ambulating, the list goes on and on. The bottom line is in a nursing home, if you don't know who you have in what room and bed it could be a catastrophic.
In nursing homes the staff changes on a regular basis, especially the cna's who provide the majority of care. If the records don't match the patient, who is going to notice. With staff levels at the bare minimum or even below in some instances, they wouldn't even have time to check.
Next you would want to know that there were enough staff to provide necessary care. It is alarming to learn that there are no rules dictating number of patients to staff on each shift. There are some industry standards, but at Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation, they have ways to get around those.
Obviously there would be more staff present in the daytime hours. You would have the physical therapists, dietary aides, housekeepers, along with the nurses, doctors and cna's. That said, you would think the level of care would be better during the day. That is not necessarily the case. Consider that during the day they need to change the sheets, bathe the residents and assist with basic hygiene, help them get dressed, get them to therapy and so on. At Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation, they use the physical and occupational therapists to do many of things the nurses would do. They give showers, assist with hygiene, get patients out of their rooms and into therapy rooms, allowing for the changing of bed linens.
The most infuriating thing is the actions or lack of action by the NCDHSR. The NCDHSR is a division of the NCDHHS that licenses and does complaint investigations in nursing homes. The number of complaints that are substantiated by the NCDHSR is minimal. I have a copy of the so called investigation of my complaint and there are mistakes and outright lies throughout the report. It is apparent after three years of research that their findings are where other agencies stop. If the NCDHSR doesn't find any substantiated complaints, no one will look any further.
I'm convinced that the NCDHSR is in the pocket of the wealthy nursing home owners. The evidence is there to substantiate complaints but not if no one looks. Is someone at the NCDHSR benefitting from turning the other way. Is it possible that the Governor of the State of North Carolina is turning a blind eye. After all he is the one who appoints the secretary and big shots at the NCDHHS. Could it be that the reason our Governor turned down the Medicaid money is the fact that it would bring more scrutiny to the investigations?
I don't know any of this for sure, but I believe that anyone looking could find out who is benefitting from the inadequacy of the NCDHSR and the NCDHHS. I contacted the Governor two weeks ago regarding the NCDHHS, and never received a response. Actions speak louder than words
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