The Quest Continues - Chapter 3 the OIG

The OIG (Office of Inspector General ) is responsible for enforcement of the DHHS laws including Medicare Fraud. Their mission statement is to " Protect the Integrity of the DHHS ( Department of Health and Human Services ) programs.
In the beginning we were reaching out to everyone we could, trying to get representation. In an odd phone call my brother was speaking to an agent with the DEA ( Drug Enforcement Agencey ) regarding the missing medication and the false records. During the conversation, it was suggested that my brother contact the OIG. The DEA agent had a connection at the OIG and passed the information on to my brother.
During this time I was reaching out to the NC State Medical Examiners Office in regards to having an autopsy done. The Medical Examiners guidelines states that an autopsy is to be preformed if a patient dies in a medical facility, from something other than they are being treated for. Mom's situation fit into that category, and there were no tests done at Pardee Hospital. The cause of death was listed as acute coronary arrhythmia , with no contributing cause. The death certificate was signed by a Dr. Larry Joe Russell. Dr. Russell had never actually seen Mom but he was listed as her doctor. A Dr. Boleman was the ER doctor who saw Mom the morning she passed.
My brother had made contact with the OIG office and he requested we send him all our information and any evidence we had collected. We spent a great deal of time assembling a packet for him to review. My brother put the packet in the mail and notified the agent, David Lange that it was on the way. Agent Lange said he would review the packet and would be in touch.
It seemed that agent Lange was really interested in Dr. Russell and all the stuff he had his hands in. When we started our search Dr. Russell was involved in at least six separate offices, a lab , an oxygen supplier , a sleep clinic and Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation. He was also supervising a Dr. who was in trouble for over prescribing, and another physicians assistant who was reprimanded by the NC Medical Board for operating an office without a license . I guess there is something to be said about the friends you keep.
Agent Lange confirmed that he had received the information, and would begin his review. Again we experienced a sense of relief. The authorities were finally willing to do their job. After some time my brother contacted Agent Lange to pass on some more current information. Much to our surprise the agent said that his office was understaffed and he had spoken to the FBI agent that we had contacted. He stated that he was going to leave this in the hands of the FBI. We later discovered that he had never even contacted the FBI, and had made no effort to do his job.
Every time we start to believe there may be some hope that the Federal and State authorities are going to actually do their job, another disappointment. Still there is no way to get around the influence of the wealthy owners of the nursing homes and pharmacies.
My brother and I have made a promise to never give up. As I said before, there is information that can prove that Mom's life was lost to a lack of care. It is clearly indicated in documentation that is easily accessible to anyone in law enforcement. Anyone with a family member in the supposed care of  a SanStone operated facility, they will lie cheat and steal whatever they can. Maybe through the lack of care they are getting paid for or simply charging for medication that is unnecessarily prescribed, or not even administered. All of this can be verified by simple review of records and a little investigating.
More to come, next post: the NC Board of Nursing , and the NC Medical Board