North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, North Carolina Medical Board, North Carolina Pharmacy Board, and North Carolina Board of Nursing. All of these agencies claim to protect the average citizens of North Carolina by enforcing their respective regulations.
I have found out that when someone governed by one of these agencies does something wrong, there seems to be no regulation against what they did. All of these agencies listed, are responsible for issues that involve life and death matters. You would hope that they would actually respond to complaints with some degree of concern. They do not. I have dealt with all of the agencies listed and the response from all was basically the same.
The response always thanks you for your time and ensures you that whatever your concern is, it was thoroughly investigated and careful consideration was given to all of the issues you complained about. Then it goes on to tell you that whatever you complained about was not regulated or could not be substantiated. In other words they are actually there to make sure the people they "regulate" are not held accountable for their actions.
I will give an example. I filed a complaint with the North  Carolina Board of Nursing against a nurse ( Lara Mooney), concerning an incident that occurred while my Mother was under her "care" at Hendersonville Health and Rehab. I  provided them with a notarized statement by my Mothers roomate at Hendersonville Health and Rehab. The statement gave a detailed account of an event that occurred late at night on Lara Mooney's shift. It was signed and sworn to in front of a licensed North Carolina Notary. The statement directly contradicted Lara Mooneys account of the same incident. Lara Mooneys statement was in the form of nurses notes in Moms records. The two accounts of what happened that night are not even close.
I waited at least six weeks or more for a response from the board of nursing. Yesterday I received an envelope from the board of nursing. It was empty! I called them, and the woman I spoke to was very nice.She apoligized for the empty envelope, then said she would email me the response.
The email stated that Lara Mooney was strongly cautioned in regards to this matter. It was confusing to me. What was she cautioned against? Did she make up the story or not?
In the real world either you did something or not. I guess in the nursing world, you can be strongly cautioned not to do something that you may or may not have done in the past. Dont worry, if you seem a little confused at this point. I have no idea what the North Carolina Board of Nursing is saying either. I know that at the bottom of the page it states " Serving the Public Through Regulatory Excellence"
" Really ? "

                                         "I voted"
Ever get one of those stickers and wear it around proudly on election day, I sure have. Now as I sit here typing I wonder what difference it really makes. Since my Mothers death, I have had to deal with lots of people who were" elected", or appointed by someone who was elected. What I have come to know, is that these people as a group are not in their positions for any other reason than helping them selves. I have always known that there was corruption in government, however I never really knew how it affected me other than from a financial standpoint.
What I have come to realize is that it basically affects how we live, and how we die. I have attemped to follow through, and change something that I believe is a terrible wrong. I'm talking about the care our elderley and sickly receive in nursing homes and rehab centers. The owners of a majority of these facilities are extremely wealthy, politically connected people. They probably dont even have to vote in order to obtain the assistance of politicians. They just have to be able to afford to make a large enough contribution to someone that will support their cause.
I have contacted more than one elected official to ask for help with finding out what is going on in local nursing homes. I received one phone call from a representitive of a "Democratic" congressman. According to his website, he was my representitive. He is also on some sort of healthcare committee. The person who called me seemed extremely concerned at the information that I shared with her. She told me she would pass the information on to my " representitive". I gave her the link to my blog, and told her they could get more information on my concerns by reading it. I never heard from them again. I sent an email to the office, and never received a response. So much for representation!
I watched the news this morning, and see all the people celebrating the fourth of July. Independence Day. Are we really independent.
I will proudly shake the hand and salute all of the people who served in the different branches of the military. I have no doubt that they are serving their country at all cost. Then I see the politicians who decide where, when, and why these dedicated servicemen and women risk their lives. I wonder how much my vote is worth. I am sure it has no effect on the decision of any of these factors. The almighty dollar, on the other hand, would surely have an effect on these same decisions.
"God Bless America". It sure needs all the blessing it can get. I now understand the reason that God is kept out of politics. I am sad for our country and what a corrupt selfish place we live. I am not so proud to be an American right now. I do however plan to continue to get the representation that is promised to me. I intend to make my vote count for something, more than dollars in some politicians pocket.I refuse to stop looking for a reason to say that I'm proud to be an American
I know this will probably upset some Americans. This is not my intention. I am only trying to make people think about what has become of our government. Are you "Proud to be an American" ? What does that mean to you.
God, please bless America!

One of the SanStone managed properties, BeyStone has gotten approval to build a new nursing home in Mills River. The approval staes that they have no substantiated complaints or something like that. Well if you follow the link below, look and see if you would let these people open another home. They left some poor woman in the same clothes, for two full days The survey states that the red shirt was solied with food. She slept in them and wore them for two full days! She also states that she was waiting for a shower, and her fingernails were long, cracked, and had debris under the nails.
The director of nursing stated that residents are to have nail care when they are showered. Even after she was finally given a shower, her nails were not trimmed or cleaned. this is just one of the horrors that is listed on the survey form. There are a total of FIFTY TWO  pages of problems that were cited. All this happened while the staff was aware of the fact that there were people on site doing an inspection.
I wonder what kind of stuff happens when there are no inspectors on site. These people should not be allowed to build a new facility, they cant even handle the one they have. It is up to the NCDHHS to monitor these facilities, to ensure that these kind of things don't happen. Is it ok just because someone didn't complain about this poor woman. Does that mean there were no incidents.
 It looks like an incident to me. It looks like the NCDHHS, goes in and surveys these facilities, and finds all kinds of problems. It seems suspicious that they don't find them when they recieve a complaint. That would probably stop them from building another facility, that provides infereior care to the elderly. Come on NCDHHS, do your job, and protect the elderly and helpless from these bottom feeders. All they care about is how much money they can make.
See for yourself!
http://www.ncdhhs.gov/dhsr/facilities/nh/20120403-943389.pdf

I have stated in the past that this blog is here to provide useful information for those who have experienced problems with nursing homes or adult care facilities. I am going to post some useful links for that purpose. The first one is the adult care bill of rights. In itself it is not very specific, but it gives you an idea of what they are supposed to do. My advice is if you complain to the NCDHHS, you be as specific as possible. When I called them I spoke to the intake person for over half an hour, and when my letter came it listed only two specific items. I could do a lot better now if I knew exactly how to phrase the complaint. I would quote the exact statute that was violated and then provide how it was violated. Here's the link for the bill of rights.Lisa, if you are reading this look at item 15 under the nursing home bill of rights
http://www.ncdhhs.gov/aging/rights.htm#r2

If you file a complaint, I would advise doing so in writing if possible. That way they have to answer to a specific incident. I would not expect a great deal of response to the initial complaint, but be persistent. If you don't get results from the initial report, call Gail Maloney in Black Mountain Office and complain again. Keep notes on all conversations you have with them, so you will know who tells you what.Note that it will probably take a couple of months to hear from NCDHHS. The following link tells you how to complain, and where.
http://www.ncdhhs.gov/dhsr/ciu/filecomplaint.html

The next link will tell you other avenues to complain. The NCDHHS people are slow to respond, and they usually side with the facility. I'm sure it has nothing to do with who is on certain comittees, or who contributes to who ploitically. But you never know. Keep trying, and be persistent. Good luck.

http://www.ncdhhs.gov/aging/complain.htm

I have been checking the obituaries daily since November of last year. This is probably the most time that has passed between deaths at Hendersonville Health and Rehab.
I wonder what they are doing different. Maybe they have added staff, or actually started following proper procedures. Whatever they are doing, it is making a difference on the mortality rate of their residents.
I still see obituaries, that I would be willing to bet were patients of Larry Joe. It appears that they are coming from other nursing homes and hospitals.
I am quite certain that the NCDHHS has nothing to do with this at all. I've seen no evidence that they are increasing their rate of inspections or that they are finding more defficiencies. Just imagine how many more lives would be spared if they stepped up and actually did their job.
It seems to me that a few simple changes in the laws regulating these facilities, would change the whole system. I'm not quite sure what elected officials would be willing to give up the contributions that they receive from the big money owners of these places. I have been in contact with more than one, and am not sure yet. I am willing to bet there is at least one politician that would be willing to help change the laws. I will continue to contact people till I find one that actually cares more about right and wrong, than about where their money comes from.
I would welcome input from any political source. All they need to do is contact me, and I would be willing to share all the information I have. Any comments?

Corruption, decide for yourself

I was looking at the list of facilities with penalties, the link provided below. I was just curious how many complaints Autumn Care facilities had benn cited for, and how thwy rated in their recertification inspections. It was amazing how few of the complaints against them were found to be substantiated. You can view them by going to each of the links below, they are the Autumn Care Facilities. Follow the link at the bottom of the page to compare how they rate against some of the other places. The reason this is important is that one of the owners, Gerald Cox is also on the commission at NCDHHS that deals with the licensure of these facilities. Take a look for yourself.
http://www.ncdhhs.gov/dhsr/facilities/facility.asp?fid=922957
 http://www.ncdhhs.gov/dhsr/facilities/facility.asp?fid=922950
http://www.ncdhhs.gov/dhsr/facilities/facility.asp?fid=060241
http://www.ncdhhs.gov/dhsr/facilities/facility.asp?fid=922953
http://www.ncdhhs.gov/dhsr/facilities/facility.asp?fid=970325
http://www.ncdhhs.gov/dhsr/facilities/facility.asp?fid=922954
http://www.ncdhhs.gov/dhsr/facilities/facility.asp?fid=970307
http://www.ncdhhs.gov/dhsr/facilities/facility.asp?fid=970307
http://www.ncdhhs.gov/dhsr/facilities/facility.asp?fid=922949
http://www.ncdhhs.gov/dhsr/facilities/facility.asp?fid=970979
http://www.ncdhhs.gov/dhsr/facilities/facility.asp?fid=960602
http://www.ncdhhs.gov/dhsr/facilities/facility.asp?fid=922956
http://www.ncdhhs.gov/dhsr/facilities/facility.asp?fid=922955
http://www.ncdhhs.gov/dhsr/facilities/facility.asp?fid=923147
http://www.ncdhhs.gov/dhsr/facilities/facility.asp?fid=922952

http://www.ncdhhs.gov/dhsr/facilities/results.asp

Here is the comission link Gerald P Cox is the fifth one down the list
http://www.ncdhhs.gov/dhsr/ncmcc/index.html#members

NCDHHS,How it works or fails to work

Let me explain the process when you complain to the NCDHHS about a nursing home. I called in to complain against Hendersonville Health and Rehab for things I knew had happened, and some I learned from looking through Mom's medical records. This is what happened.
I am not or have never been employed in the medical field. However as I looked through the records provided by Hendersonville Health and Rehab, I was outraged at what I saw. The admission form had Mom in room 102, bed A. The same information was on her admission drug regimin and almost every other form in her file.Most of the records were incomplete and some were just plain inaccurate. She was in Room 101 bed A.
From what I can tell by the records, she was only bathed or showered three or four times in fifteen days. Again the records are so sloppy it is hard to tell. As far as the prescription records, it is hard to tell what she was or wasn't given. There was a prescription for ativan, and no record that she was actually given any, wonder where that went? Someone have a party?
These are all things that I brought to the attention of Gail Maloney, Western Regional director of the branch of NCDHHS that deals with complaints. Along with a signed notarized statement from Mom's roomate,that directly contradicts a statement by a nurse regarding a fall.There were yellow sticky notes, and highlited papers all over the table. I was accompanied by my brother and his wife, and my sister. We were told that they would do an "administrative review" and we would receive the results when they completed the review. It took several phone calls and several weeks to be told they could't find anything wrong. Really?
When I went to see Mom on the day of her admission i was told she was in room 102 A. I went to that room and the person in there was not my Mom. I went into the hallway and someone asked me who i was looking for, I told them, and they took me to room 101 A.That should have been a warning of what was to come!
 This is alarming if you consider some of the patients (victims) have memory problems. What if they had the wrong room number on their wristbands? Would they be given the wrong medication, meals or could they even receive the wrong therapy? Based on the recordkeeping or lack of, all of this is possible. It seems more probable than possible.
The NCDHHS finds all of these things happening regularly, but they fail to do anything about it. The typical response to a confirmed defficency is " This plan of correction constitutes my written allegation of compliance for the deficiencies cited. However, submission of this plan of correction is not an admission that a defficiency exists or that one was cited correctly. This plan of correction is submitted to meet requirements established by State and federal laws".
Wow thats serious enforcement of regulations. Kind of like writing "I will do my best not to kill my patients" on the blackboard 100 times. Someone needs to take a look at this process, and come up with a system that actually holds these places accountable for the care they provide or fail to provide!