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!
