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.