Since my youth my father taught me to fight when I knew I was right. I have been fighting for over four years now, and I am tired. I have spoken to agents from the FBI , OIG , CMS, DHHS, DHSR and two congressmen. I have been told that I have enough to warrant an investigation. Yet not one single agency has acted. I refuse to let this stop me. I definitely feel discouraged at times and even slow down
I have spoken to countless people who have experienced similar wrongs. I have heard stories from people whose parents have been dropped, poisoned, beaten and raped in nursing homes. Of all of these, none would stand up for those who couldn't. They will email or call to tell their horror stories, but that's as far as they will go. I am not sure what they are afraid of, other than the fact that Dr.'s can kill people and get away with it!
I probably sound a little crazy to most people, but think about the last time you went to your doctor. Did they seem like they knew your medical history, or did you even see a doctor or was it a PA. In North Carolina almost all doctors are now part of a " system " that is associated with a university, or private hospital. It is virtually impossible to find an independant provider. It benefits them to have lots of tests and write lots of prescriptions. It is basically a monopoly that at one point not long ago would have been illegal.
The agency that regulates nursing homes is the NCDHSR which is part of the NCDHHS. Most of us have heard the horror stories of what happens to children that are supposed to be protected by the DSS which is also part of this family. How many times have you seen the news where one of the protected children is killed or seriously injured while being " protected "? Even worse how many times have you heard a story of something terrible happening to a child that the DSS didn't feel was at risk?
When it comes to the elderly, you never hear any of these stories. Do you suppose it is because the nursing homes don't make mistakes? Is it possible that there are never any accidents, medication errors or abuse? The bottom line is that the NCDHSR is negligent in their inspection process. In almost every case that someone files a complaint, the NCDHSR cant seem to find that the nursing home violated any regulations. Just as an example, from 2011 till 2016, there were a total of seventeen complaints filed against Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation. Of the seventeen the NCDHSR was only able to find two substantiated complaints, thats two out of seventeen.
The process of filing a complaint is complicated. First they try to get you to go to the ombudsman in order to solve the complaint. All the ombudsman can do is provide training, they have no legal authority. Next if you are persistent the NCDHSR will take your " anonymous "complaint. In my case the nursing was told that it was I who complained. Then an inspection team made up of nurses and other industry " professionals " will show up at the home. They go to the administrator's office and announce themselves. The administrator then announces to the staff that the inspectors are on site. This is standard practice and is allowed according to NCDHSR rules. If you ever happen to be in a nursing home during an " inspection ", you will see the entire staff running from room to room fixing things. The last time I was at Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation there was actually a sign on the front door informing everyone that there was an inspection going on.
This is an example of why the system doesn't work. If you have ever been in a nursing home I'm sure that you noticed at least one thing that made you wonder. Did I really just see or hear what I thought I did. Think about it!
