I have recently found myself visiting a fellow church member in Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation. I have not been inside the building since Mom died.
It turns out that the person I have been visiting, is in the same room and same bed that my Mother died in. Walking down that hallway again was the most difficult thing I've done in a while. Not much has changed in the last two and a half years. Everything looks the same as it did in 2011. As I entered the room for the first time since then, I was shocked at how small it was. There are two beds, two chairs, and two small night stands. If you are sitting in one of the chairs, you are no more than a foot away from the other chair. There is the same little 13 inch tv at the foot of the bed.
I have been visiting my friend for three weeks now, and it is apparent that there are many decent people working there. The problem is the same as when Mom was there, they just don't have enough help to take care of the residents. On two separate occasions, I've heard them tell patients that they were not going to get their shower till the next day. The reason given is that they ran out of time.
For the most part the staff seems friendly, and compassionate There are times when the nurses just don't have time to do much of anything. There is one CNA, that seems to never stop running. I visited on the weekend, and there were hardly any staff on the hallway. If an emergency would happen on the weekend, it would be catastrophic.
The problem in nursing and rehabilitation centers, is the owners taking all the money out at the cost of quality of care. They own airplanes, yachts and belong to the local country clubs. They want for nothing, while the residents of their homes simply want a shower, a haircut or a decent meal served hot. The owners are living in expensive lake houses , and in gated communities while the people paying the bills are living in tiny rooms with particle board furniture.
It is obvious that these places make lots of money for the owners. At the sacrifice of a small percentage of the profits , they could easily provide better care for the residents. That seems to be the least of their concerns. They are to busy spending any extra money on purchasing more properties. If they are not making money, why are they so eager to buy more nursing homes?
On one of my recent visits, the NCDHSR was doing a complaint investigation. There was a sign on the front door announcing the investigation dates. This means that each employee knows that they are being inspected when they walk in the door. Does the NCDHSR think that telling them they are being inspected , will not affect their performance that day? Would you violate the regulations if you were being watched? That would be like running a stop sign with a police car on each corner of the street!
I did notice some things were different on the day of the inspection. I saw the nurses use a lift to get a patient out of bed. During Mom's stay I never even saw a lift. I also noticed that the dining room had been full of residents every day I had been there, on the day of the inspection it was empty. I'm guessing that they would leave the residents in the dining room till they had cleaned the rooms.
Make no mistake about it, the nursing home business is big money. The owners are very wealthy and could care less about the quality of care their homes provide. There is a shortage of beds, Medicare.gov ratings are inaccurate, and it is almost impossible to determine the care you can expect from any particular home. The system is not working and needs to be fixed. All it takes is people willing to stand up for those who cant. If you are willing to join the cause, please contact me at jaemark7@bellsouth.net
Friday, March 28, 2014
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Fraud or just good old fashioned corruption?
When I started writing this blog, it was about corruption in the NCDHHS . Sadly corruption is so prevalent in our society today that we just tolerate it. Politicians are taking money from large corporations to get elected. If anyone believes these people aren't influenced by those campaign contributions, wake up!
In our political system, it would be hard to find anyone who is not influenced by corporate money. Politicians don't even try to act like they care about what the people want.
I have written several politicians and requested specific actions. The responses I've received were simply form letters that are generated by a computer. The letters always applaud concerned citizens who get involved. Then they go on to tell you all the great things the politicians have done, and all the committees they are on. Then they go on to say if you have any more concerns please feel free to contact them. All of this without ever addressing the reason that you wrote them in the first place.
I have been lucky enough to receive some assistance from two Congressmen. The problem is that there are so many agencies and government contractors involved, none of them seem to know who does what. There is a company called NCI Advancemed, they are the " zone program integrity contractor " for Medicare in this region. I received a letter from them last year stating that they had reviewed my complaint and taken appropriate action. Not knowing who they were at the time, I called them and asked what actions had been taken. I spoke to a Shannon Stinedurf, in Ohio, who told me they had not taken any action against anyone mentioned in my complaint!
If that isn't bad enough, my brother and I both filed through the freedom of information act for the results of their investigation. We both received a response stating that there are no records matching what we asked for. That means that they didn't actually do an investigation! That also means that our taxes are going to pay NCI Advancemed to investigate. All they apparently do is to write letters saying they have done so, and collect a paycheck. The new face of welfare recipients seems to be government contractors.
We have gotten the same runaround from the CMS, nobody seems to be able to say what they did in response to our complaints. They also seem to have a problem locating any records from any investigations they supposedly conducted.
Then you have the NCDHHS, the worst of all. They will take your complaint willingly enough, but don't count on them actually finding anything. The common reply from them is " no discrepancies found " . They seem to find plenty of issues when they do their recertification, but never when it's a complaint. I have a copy of their investigation of my complaint, and it is a joke. There are important statements made by the investigators, with no supporting documents. I have written Beverley Speroff, the survey section chief for the State, asking for a meeting to discuss the facts, and was denied.
They are willing to let Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation get away with anything. They have no intention of actually doing an investigation.
Is there corruption here, or just a lack of concern for how our elderly are treated. Either way, these people have to be stopped. I could use any help I can get, whether from employees, patients or family members. Lots of people have told me stories, I need them to tell their stories to others. If it takes me the rest of my life, I will not stop trying to help. Both of my parents are gone, but others are still suffering at the hands of these thieves.
In our political system, it would be hard to find anyone who is not influenced by corporate money. Politicians don't even try to act like they care about what the people want.
I have written several politicians and requested specific actions. The responses I've received were simply form letters that are generated by a computer. The letters always applaud concerned citizens who get involved. Then they go on to tell you all the great things the politicians have done, and all the committees they are on. Then they go on to say if you have any more concerns please feel free to contact them. All of this without ever addressing the reason that you wrote them in the first place.
I have been lucky enough to receive some assistance from two Congressmen. The problem is that there are so many agencies and government contractors involved, none of them seem to know who does what. There is a company called NCI Advancemed, they are the " zone program integrity contractor " for Medicare in this region. I received a letter from them last year stating that they had reviewed my complaint and taken appropriate action. Not knowing who they were at the time, I called them and asked what actions had been taken. I spoke to a Shannon Stinedurf, in Ohio, who told me they had not taken any action against anyone mentioned in my complaint!
If that isn't bad enough, my brother and I both filed through the freedom of information act for the results of their investigation. We both received a response stating that there are no records matching what we asked for. That means that they didn't actually do an investigation! That also means that our taxes are going to pay NCI Advancemed to investigate. All they apparently do is to write letters saying they have done so, and collect a paycheck. The new face of welfare recipients seems to be government contractors.
We have gotten the same runaround from the CMS, nobody seems to be able to say what they did in response to our complaints. They also seem to have a problem locating any records from any investigations they supposedly conducted.
Then you have the NCDHHS, the worst of all. They will take your complaint willingly enough, but don't count on them actually finding anything. The common reply from them is " no discrepancies found " . They seem to find plenty of issues when they do their recertification, but never when it's a complaint. I have a copy of their investigation of my complaint, and it is a joke. There are important statements made by the investigators, with no supporting documents. I have written Beverley Speroff, the survey section chief for the State, asking for a meeting to discuss the facts, and was denied.
They are willing to let Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation get away with anything. They have no intention of actually doing an investigation.
Is there corruption here, or just a lack of concern for how our elderly are treated. Either way, these people have to be stopped. I could use any help I can get, whether from employees, patients or family members. Lots of people have told me stories, I need them to tell their stories to others. If it takes me the rest of my life, I will not stop trying to help. Both of my parents are gone, but others are still suffering at the hands of these thieves.
Saturday, March 8, 2014
Local doctors to buy care center!!! Somebodys pants are on fire!
Dr. Larry Joe Russell, in a newspaper article from the Hendersonville Times News " What we've got is a group of doc's who basically have a local interest in Henderson County. "
The article ran in the Hendersonville Times News on November 30, 2007. Written by Scott Parrott, it was titled " Doctors bid $8.45 million for center. "
According to the article, Hendersonville Physicians and Associates LLC had the highest of fourteen bids. The article names, Dr. Larry Loe Russell, Dr. Amal Das, Dr. David Mackel, Dr. Stuart Glassman, Dr. Stephen Lackey, Linda Brooks FNP, Ed Baber a physicans assistant and his father Larry Baber, owner of Whitly Drugs. All owners of Hendersonville physicians and Associates.
Then it goes on, "The local connection gives the group a better understanding of the needs of the employees, clients, and families at the care center he said. " Another section states something about having an ownership that literally shops at Wal-Mart and Ingles, right alongside employees and families that have loved ones at the facility. "We're more accessible, we're right here, and I think that gives us a better feel for the concerns of the community. " Sounds great for those of us that shop at Ingles and Wal-Mart, now we get to shop along side this group. Makes it sound wonderful for Henderson County, a local connection!
The second part of the story gets interesting, they plan on leasing the building to Ardent Health and Rehabilitation. Chris Sprenger and Mike DeLoach of Ardent , would operate the facility. Turns out they are also owners of Hendersonville Physicians and Associates. The article keeps on going back to the "local connection", and keeping it in the community.
Ardent also operates Beystone Health and Rehabilitation in Fletcher, and Sanford Health and Rehabilitation southwest of Raleigh. Upon further research, it appears they are also owners of Beystone. Chris Sprenger and Mike DeLoach are also managing partners of Beystone, Sanford, and Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation. These guys arent happy getting just one piece of the pie, they want the whole thing.
Then the real truth starts coming out further down the page. " Not being bound to a hospital, we're able to run ( the center ) like all the other facilities are run in the nation, " Russell said. Wait a minute Dr. Russell, I thought the whole thing was the " local " connection. Why do you want to run the place like all the other facilities in the Country. In the ads for Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation, they say their passion makes the difference. Is that the passion, that all the other facilities in the nation have, or is that the "local" passion?
The board of directors at Pardee, and the Henderson County Board of Commissioners had to sign off on the deal. What a grand show they were all putting on. Obviously the residents of Henderson County were not being told the whole truth. The well being of the residents, and the quality of care were the least important factors in determining the buyer. Money as usual was the root of the evil in this case.
I spoke personally to one of the other bidders, they said that being owned by a hospital would require a definate number of nurses and cna's. Being a private entity would not require any certain number of staff. The hospital would have to put the money back into providing quality care. A private owner just takes the money, and puts it in their pocket. The other bidder I spoke to stated that he felt that Pardee Hospital had already decided who would get the bid before the bids were placed. I'm pretty sure that the County Commissioners and the Hospital Board benefitted in some way.
The point is that Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation is run by a company that intends to take as much profit as possible. The care of the residents is secondary to the profits. The patient will always get the short end of the stick. Shame on Pardee Hospital and the Henderson County Commissioners!
Here is a link to the company that actually took this place over from Pardee. If I was able to get this information, I'm sure the Pardee Hospital Board and the County Commissioners could have found it. The problem is all they saw was the money, the residents of Henderson County got hustled by the Commissioners and Pardee Hospital Board.
http://www.sprengerhealthcare.com/communities/map/
Notice they dont list any properties in North Carolina, but there was an article in the Lorraine County News that says that Sprenger Healthcare was proud to announce the aquisition of two new properties, Hendersonville Health and rehabilitation, and Stonecreek Health and Rehabilitation in Asheville. So much for the local connection, do they have Ingles in Ohio?
The article ran in the Hendersonville Times News on November 30, 2007. Written by Scott Parrott, it was titled " Doctors bid $8.45 million for center. "
According to the article, Hendersonville Physicians and Associates LLC had the highest of fourteen bids. The article names, Dr. Larry Loe Russell, Dr. Amal Das, Dr. David Mackel, Dr. Stuart Glassman, Dr. Stephen Lackey, Linda Brooks FNP, Ed Baber a physicans assistant and his father Larry Baber, owner of Whitly Drugs. All owners of Hendersonville physicians and Associates.
Then it goes on, "The local connection gives the group a better understanding of the needs of the employees, clients, and families at the care center he said. " Another section states something about having an ownership that literally shops at Wal-Mart and Ingles, right alongside employees and families that have loved ones at the facility. "We're more accessible, we're right here, and I think that gives us a better feel for the concerns of the community. " Sounds great for those of us that shop at Ingles and Wal-Mart, now we get to shop along side this group. Makes it sound wonderful for Henderson County, a local connection!
The second part of the story gets interesting, they plan on leasing the building to Ardent Health and Rehabilitation. Chris Sprenger and Mike DeLoach of Ardent , would operate the facility. Turns out they are also owners of Hendersonville Physicians and Associates. The article keeps on going back to the "local connection", and keeping it in the community.
Ardent also operates Beystone Health and Rehabilitation in Fletcher, and Sanford Health and Rehabilitation southwest of Raleigh. Upon further research, it appears they are also owners of Beystone. Chris Sprenger and Mike DeLoach are also managing partners of Beystone, Sanford, and Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation. These guys arent happy getting just one piece of the pie, they want the whole thing.
Then the real truth starts coming out further down the page. " Not being bound to a hospital, we're able to run ( the center ) like all the other facilities are run in the nation, " Russell said. Wait a minute Dr. Russell, I thought the whole thing was the " local " connection. Why do you want to run the place like all the other facilities in the Country. In the ads for Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation, they say their passion makes the difference. Is that the passion, that all the other facilities in the nation have, or is that the "local" passion?
The board of directors at Pardee, and the Henderson County Board of Commissioners had to sign off on the deal. What a grand show they were all putting on. Obviously the residents of Henderson County were not being told the whole truth. The well being of the residents, and the quality of care were the least important factors in determining the buyer. Money as usual was the root of the evil in this case.
I spoke personally to one of the other bidders, they said that being owned by a hospital would require a definate number of nurses and cna's. Being a private entity would not require any certain number of staff. The hospital would have to put the money back into providing quality care. A private owner just takes the money, and puts it in their pocket. The other bidder I spoke to stated that he felt that Pardee Hospital had already decided who would get the bid before the bids were placed. I'm pretty sure that the County Commissioners and the Hospital Board benefitted in some way.
The point is that Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation is run by a company that intends to take as much profit as possible. The care of the residents is secondary to the profits. The patient will always get the short end of the stick. Shame on Pardee Hospital and the Henderson County Commissioners!
Here is a link to the company that actually took this place over from Pardee. If I was able to get this information, I'm sure the Pardee Hospital Board and the County Commissioners could have found it. The problem is all they saw was the money, the residents of Henderson County got hustled by the Commissioners and Pardee Hospital Board.
http://www.sprengerhealthcare.com/communities/map/
Notice they dont list any properties in North Carolina, but there was an article in the Lorraine County News that says that Sprenger Healthcare was proud to announce the aquisition of two new properties, Hendersonville Health and rehabilitation, and Stonecreek Health and Rehabilitation in Asheville. So much for the local connection, do they have Ingles in Ohio?
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Who's watching Dr. Larry Joe Russell and SanStone ?
According to the NC Secretary of State, SanStone Management LLC, was created on February 24, 2014. Does that mean that SanStone Health and Rehabilitation, is now managed by SanStone Management? How many ways can you take money from a business ? Christopher Sprenger and Mike Deloach seem to be experts, both are managing employees at all the SanStone properties. Now they are being managed by themselves, and I'm sure they are getting paid a management fee. I wonder if that will affect their pay as managing employees? Does SanStone need both managing employees, being managed by themselves?
It looks like they have been to the Larry Joe Russell school of taking all the money you can from your business without actually having to do anything for it. Dr. Russell is a master at getting paid for doing nothing. He bills patients for visits that he doesn't make. He diagnoses patients with illnesses, and then provides them with rental equipment to treat the fake illness. All this under the watchful eye of the ever competent NC Medical Board.
The NC Medical Board, NCDHHS, NC Board of Nursing and the CMS are supposed to be "regulating" the medical community. I know that I have been focused on nursing homes, that's where it all started for me. It is obviously a problem across the medical community. Nurses are the ones that really know what's going on in the hospitals and doctors offices. They are not necessarily bad people, they just know if they tell what actually happens, they don't work.
If you have to go to the doctor, you better pray that the nurse keeps the doctor from killing you. I've seen jokes on Facebook about this, people think it's funny. Next time you have to go to the doctor, are you going to know if you are getting the right treatment for your illness? Do you trust the doctor, just because he has a piece of paper on the wall and a white coat? Is there anything in the office that shows the doctors integrity? Does the doctor own the pharmacy, that you will get that $35.00 prescription from? Unless you have time to research who owns what, you will never know.
I was in the hospital two times last year, both times, I had to call the doctors attention to something, that could have been harmful. One of the times, I was on a medication, that should have been discontinued two weeks before. The list of current medications was in the file, the doctor just didn't take the time to look. The person calling from the hospital the day before the procedure, noticed what the doctor should have. The second time I was going for a test, the test involved injection of iodine into my spine. The doctor was on the ball, he saw the allergy and prescribed a preventive drug, good job! The morning of the test, I showed up at Mission Hospital, and as the nurse went over my chart, she discovered that I was on a medication, that should have been held for at least two days. They sent me home and rescheduled the test for another day. They were nice enough to give me a $20.00 gas card for my trouble.
This is an issue that should scare almost everyone who goes to the doctor. It is important to point out that none of these involved my regular doctor, actually an FNP. I have never had a problem with the care I receive form my provider. What happens when you go to a specialist, does your doctor go with you to make sure they don't make a mistake?
The system is so flawed, that you are literally at the mercy of the doctors. If they make a mistake, no one is going to come forward and admit it. How many people are taking medications they should not be taking, simply because the doctor is playing golf with the pharmacy rep? How many unnecessary procedures are being done, just so the doctor can pay for that little cabin he bought in Gatlinburg?
Anyone who is reading this, I would guess, has had similar experiences. We are among the lucky ones, their mistakes didn't kill us. What about the ones who weren't so lucky, did anyone ask why they died? Did the Medical Board ask the doctor what happened? This is a reality, that we have to face in todays society. Good luck!
It looks like they have been to the Larry Joe Russell school of taking all the money you can from your business without actually having to do anything for it. Dr. Russell is a master at getting paid for doing nothing. He bills patients for visits that he doesn't make. He diagnoses patients with illnesses, and then provides them with rental equipment to treat the fake illness. All this under the watchful eye of the ever competent NC Medical Board.
The NC Medical Board, NCDHHS, NC Board of Nursing and the CMS are supposed to be "regulating" the medical community. I know that I have been focused on nursing homes, that's where it all started for me. It is obviously a problem across the medical community. Nurses are the ones that really know what's going on in the hospitals and doctors offices. They are not necessarily bad people, they just know if they tell what actually happens, they don't work.
If you have to go to the doctor, you better pray that the nurse keeps the doctor from killing you. I've seen jokes on Facebook about this, people think it's funny. Next time you have to go to the doctor, are you going to know if you are getting the right treatment for your illness? Do you trust the doctor, just because he has a piece of paper on the wall and a white coat? Is there anything in the office that shows the doctors integrity? Does the doctor own the pharmacy, that you will get that $35.00 prescription from? Unless you have time to research who owns what, you will never know.
I was in the hospital two times last year, both times, I had to call the doctors attention to something, that could have been harmful. One of the times, I was on a medication, that should have been discontinued two weeks before. The list of current medications was in the file, the doctor just didn't take the time to look. The person calling from the hospital the day before the procedure, noticed what the doctor should have. The second time I was going for a test, the test involved injection of iodine into my spine. The doctor was on the ball, he saw the allergy and prescribed a preventive drug, good job! The morning of the test, I showed up at Mission Hospital, and as the nurse went over my chart, she discovered that I was on a medication, that should have been held for at least two days. They sent me home and rescheduled the test for another day. They were nice enough to give me a $20.00 gas card for my trouble.
This is an issue that should scare almost everyone who goes to the doctor. It is important to point out that none of these involved my regular doctor, actually an FNP. I have never had a problem with the care I receive form my provider. What happens when you go to a specialist, does your doctor go with you to make sure they don't make a mistake?
The system is so flawed, that you are literally at the mercy of the doctors. If they make a mistake, no one is going to come forward and admit it. How many people are taking medications they should not be taking, simply because the doctor is playing golf with the pharmacy rep? How many unnecessary procedures are being done, just so the doctor can pay for that little cabin he bought in Gatlinburg?
Anyone who is reading this, I would guess, has had similar experiences. We are among the lucky ones, their mistakes didn't kill us. What about the ones who weren't so lucky, did anyone ask why they died? Did the Medical Board ask the doctor what happened? This is a reality, that we have to face in todays society. Good luck!
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Beverly Speroff, Todd Davis and the NCDHHS. Lies and corruption run rampant !!!!
I have been going through the records of the investigation of Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation, regarding the complaint I filed against them with NCDHHS. I have been finding so many conflicts in their own records, that I called them. I spoke to Todd Davis, the current Western Regional Director of Department of Health Service Regulations. I called him to ask if he would meet with me to discuss the discrepancies in their report.
He immediately took a defensive position, and even chuckled at the fact that I would call and question their investigation. Then I realized that he was the lead investigator. It was his report that I was calling about! He said that since the investigation was done so long ago, that he would have to consult with his supervisor. I told him that I only wanted clarification on some of the key points of the report.
Today I received a letter from Beverly Speroff, the Nursing Home Licensing and Certification Section Chief. Her letter stated that since the investigation was done on January 18 - 19 2012, and Physician Advisor reviews were done in March 2012, They would not be able to honor my request.
Ms. Speroff goes on to say that since that time, they have completed two recertification reviews on Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation. After a recertification survey has been completed, they are not able to cite deficiencies prior to the date of the survey.
It took almost an act of Congress to get the survey from the Freedom of Information Act. I did not receive them till late in the year 2013. How convenient is it that it takes so long to get the information, that after you get it, it is to late to do anything. the system is definitely on the side of the wealthy nursing home owners. What a surprise!
All this may not seem very important, till you realize that the other agencies I contacted, relied on the NCDHHS report to decide whether anything went wrong or not. The NCDHHS report kept the NC State Medical Examiners office from doing an autopsy. It also kept all the other agencies from looking any further.
The most important document is a late entry nurses note filed by Lara Mooney LPN. It concerns the night Mom fell. I have a sworn statement from Moms roommate at the time that tells a different story than nurse Money. I have been going through these papers for over two years. The other night I noticed that nurse Mooneys, report was faxed somewhere on December 2, 2011. The date of the late entry was Dec. 1, 2011. The investigation states that the date is wrong, because they would not wait a month to do a late entry. There is nothing to prove when the late entry was actually done, except the date on the actual form. December 1, 2011.
Being suspicious of the NCDHHS, I looked through my hand written notes. I had contacted the NC State Medical examiners office several times with no satisfaction. Then I mentioned the fall, to a Hillary Sheaves with the NC State Medical Examiners Office, she stopped me and asked if I said fall. Ms. Sheaves then proceed to tell me that they would get the report of the fall, and consider an autopsy. The date of that call was November 30, 2011, I remember where I was when I made that call, and it was late in the afternoon.
Is it a coincidence, that the nurses late entry was dated December 1. Is it also a coincidence, that the same report says that Mom, pulled her alarm off and slid to the floor, before nurse Mooney could get to her. I can assure you, that if nurse Mooney had been in the doorway as she stated, all she would have had to do was speak to Mom, and she wouldn't have gotten out of bed.
This bogus nurses note, fraudulently written by nurse Mooney, was what kept the State Medical Examiner from doing an autopsy. The same late entry nurses note, was simply dismissed by the NCDHHS, simply because " they wouldn't wait a month to do a late entry ". Nothing to prove when the note was written, just an opinion. The opinion of one Todd Davis, now the Western Regional Director of the NCDHHS. I guess if you look the other way, you get a nice promotion, like Todd Davis did.
The NCDHHS is no stranger to corruption, and this case is no exception. It sure looks like corruption to me, if not, why would they not explain their investigation? That is what I asked them to do.
I guess if I had quit my job, and spent every waking hour, trying to get this information, things would be different. Fortunately for Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation, and the NCDHHS, I could not afford to do so. I will continue to pursue the truth, regardless of being shot down at every turn by the NCDHHS.
He immediately took a defensive position, and even chuckled at the fact that I would call and question their investigation. Then I realized that he was the lead investigator. It was his report that I was calling about! He said that since the investigation was done so long ago, that he would have to consult with his supervisor. I told him that I only wanted clarification on some of the key points of the report.
Today I received a letter from Beverly Speroff, the Nursing Home Licensing and Certification Section Chief. Her letter stated that since the investigation was done on January 18 - 19 2012, and Physician Advisor reviews were done in March 2012, They would not be able to honor my request.
Ms. Speroff goes on to say that since that time, they have completed two recertification reviews on Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation. After a recertification survey has been completed, they are not able to cite deficiencies prior to the date of the survey.
It took almost an act of Congress to get the survey from the Freedom of Information Act. I did not receive them till late in the year 2013. How convenient is it that it takes so long to get the information, that after you get it, it is to late to do anything. the system is definitely on the side of the wealthy nursing home owners. What a surprise!
All this may not seem very important, till you realize that the other agencies I contacted, relied on the NCDHHS report to decide whether anything went wrong or not. The NCDHHS report kept the NC State Medical Examiners office from doing an autopsy. It also kept all the other agencies from looking any further.
The most important document is a late entry nurses note filed by Lara Mooney LPN. It concerns the night Mom fell. I have a sworn statement from Moms roommate at the time that tells a different story than nurse Money. I have been going through these papers for over two years. The other night I noticed that nurse Mooneys, report was faxed somewhere on December 2, 2011. The date of the late entry was Dec. 1, 2011. The investigation states that the date is wrong, because they would not wait a month to do a late entry. There is nothing to prove when the late entry was actually done, except the date on the actual form. December 1, 2011.
Being suspicious of the NCDHHS, I looked through my hand written notes. I had contacted the NC State Medical examiners office several times with no satisfaction. Then I mentioned the fall, to a Hillary Sheaves with the NC State Medical Examiners Office, she stopped me and asked if I said fall. Ms. Sheaves then proceed to tell me that they would get the report of the fall, and consider an autopsy. The date of that call was November 30, 2011, I remember where I was when I made that call, and it was late in the afternoon.
Is it a coincidence, that the nurses late entry was dated December 1. Is it also a coincidence, that the same report says that Mom, pulled her alarm off and slid to the floor, before nurse Mooney could get to her. I can assure you, that if nurse Mooney had been in the doorway as she stated, all she would have had to do was speak to Mom, and she wouldn't have gotten out of bed.
This bogus nurses note, fraudulently written by nurse Mooney, was what kept the State Medical Examiner from doing an autopsy. The same late entry nurses note, was simply dismissed by the NCDHHS, simply because " they wouldn't wait a month to do a late entry ". Nothing to prove when the note was written, just an opinion. The opinion of one Todd Davis, now the Western Regional Director of the NCDHHS. I guess if you look the other way, you get a nice promotion, like Todd Davis did.
The NCDHHS is no stranger to corruption, and this case is no exception. It sure looks like corruption to me, if not, why would they not explain their investigation? That is what I asked them to do.
I guess if I had quit my job, and spent every waking hour, trying to get this information, things would be different. Fortunately for Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation, and the NCDHHS, I could not afford to do so. I will continue to pursue the truth, regardless of being shot down at every turn by the NCDHHS.
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Everything I have screams corruption, am I crazy?
I have been writing this blog for almost two years. I have not always been nice in what I have said about some of the people involved. Let me explain what has taken place in that time.
During Mom's brief stay at Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation, there were several issues with the care she was receiving. At the time, she was doing well with her therapy, and eating more than she had been. The benefits seemed to outweigh our concerns. These people are very good at using human emotions to deceive the relatives of their residents.
A large percent of the "patients " in these type places, have no choice. They require much more care than the families can provide. There comes a time, when there is no choice but to seek "professional" help. This is not something most people are experienced at. How do you decide which facility to trust with your loved one? There are plenty of websites that post reviews, most of them are " sponsored ", by the homes themselves. Then there is Medicare.gov, the governments nursing home rating site. This site has a star rating system, just like the other ones do. The problem with that, is there stars are given, based on NCDHHS inspections. The NCDHHS is not very aggressive at finding things wrong. I have the results of a NCDHHS "investigation", and there are places where it contradicts itself. The problem is that these places are so profitable, they can make sure they get a favorable rating.
When you have to make the decision to put someone you love into a nursing home, you want to believe that they are getting the care they need. You see the commercials on television, a happy older person telling how great the place is.
Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation, is run by SanStone Health and Rehabilitation The ads for SanStone end with the phrase " SanStone , our passion makes the difference ". Sounds like the kind of place I would want to send my Mom . Well, if you look below the surface, it is hardly that kind of place. Medicare.gov, gives them two stars, out of five, below average. Keep in mind, that is based on those NCDHHS investigations. You can read the results of those investigations at Medicare.gov.
Here is how it works. The facility is inspected by the NCDHHS, and they find violations. To be in compliance, the facility simply has to say they will correct them. The response is written as follows
"Facility name requests to have this plan of correction serve as our written allegation of compliance.
Preparation and/or execution of this plan of correction does not constitute admission to nor agreement with either the existence of, or scope and severity of any of the cited deficiencies, or conclusions set forth in the statement of deficiencies. This plan of correction is prepared and executed to ensure continuing compliance with Federal and State regulatory laws."
So in other words, we don't admit to doing anything wrong, but if we did we would fix it by doing this______. We are only doing this to keep sucking the Medicare and Medicaid dollars. All they have to do is say they will correct something, and that's it!
I am in the restaurant business, when the health inspector comes in, I get a point score based on what they find wrong. Serious violations, have to be corrected immediately. I would like to think that anyone providing healthcare would be more accountable than a restaurant.
This is the reason I began writing this blog. The operators of nursing homes, and the NCDHHS, need to take these issues more seriously. They need to have more control over the care the patients are receiving. My goal is to help make a difference.
I hope that some of the things I mention, will help someone who has to choose a nursing home. Be ware of what you are told and ask questions. If you have a family member in a nursing home, don't make the mistake of thinking they are safe. For example in one month this year, Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation had an average of more than two deaths a week. I am focusing on Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation, simply because I have records from there. I have done considerable research, and they are pretty much all the Same. There are some out there that have one star, yet they are still allowed to participate in Medicare and Medicaid.
There are non profit nursing homes, most are run by some religious organization. They generally have more staff and better training than the for profit homes. For profit homes, make their money, by understaffing. SanStone, list's Christopher Sprenger and Michal Deloach as owners, and managing employees at their facilities. In some industries, that would be called double dipping!
I'm sure there are good nursing homes out there, I'm also sure they are not SanStone properties. If you are looking for a nursing home, good luck. Just don't believe anything they tell you, and make them do their job! More later.
During Mom's brief stay at Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation, there were several issues with the care she was receiving. At the time, she was doing well with her therapy, and eating more than she had been. The benefits seemed to outweigh our concerns. These people are very good at using human emotions to deceive the relatives of their residents.
A large percent of the "patients " in these type places, have no choice. They require much more care than the families can provide. There comes a time, when there is no choice but to seek "professional" help. This is not something most people are experienced at. How do you decide which facility to trust with your loved one? There are plenty of websites that post reviews, most of them are " sponsored ", by the homes themselves. Then there is Medicare.gov, the governments nursing home rating site. This site has a star rating system, just like the other ones do. The problem with that, is there stars are given, based on NCDHHS inspections. The NCDHHS is not very aggressive at finding things wrong. I have the results of a NCDHHS "investigation", and there are places where it contradicts itself. The problem is that these places are so profitable, they can make sure they get a favorable rating.
When you have to make the decision to put someone you love into a nursing home, you want to believe that they are getting the care they need. You see the commercials on television, a happy older person telling how great the place is.
Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation, is run by SanStone Health and Rehabilitation The ads for SanStone end with the phrase " SanStone , our passion makes the difference ". Sounds like the kind of place I would want to send my Mom . Well, if you look below the surface, it is hardly that kind of place. Medicare.gov, gives them two stars, out of five, below average. Keep in mind, that is based on those NCDHHS investigations. You can read the results of those investigations at Medicare.gov.
Here is how it works. The facility is inspected by the NCDHHS, and they find violations. To be in compliance, the facility simply has to say they will correct them. The response is written as follows
"Facility name requests to have this plan of correction serve as our written allegation of compliance.
Preparation and/or execution of this plan of correction does not constitute admission to nor agreement with either the existence of, or scope and severity of any of the cited deficiencies, or conclusions set forth in the statement of deficiencies. This plan of correction is prepared and executed to ensure continuing compliance with Federal and State regulatory laws."
So in other words, we don't admit to doing anything wrong, but if we did we would fix it by doing this______. We are only doing this to keep sucking the Medicare and Medicaid dollars. All they have to do is say they will correct something, and that's it!
I am in the restaurant business, when the health inspector comes in, I get a point score based on what they find wrong. Serious violations, have to be corrected immediately. I would like to think that anyone providing healthcare would be more accountable than a restaurant.
This is the reason I began writing this blog. The operators of nursing homes, and the NCDHHS, need to take these issues more seriously. They need to have more control over the care the patients are receiving. My goal is to help make a difference.
I hope that some of the things I mention, will help someone who has to choose a nursing home. Be ware of what you are told and ask questions. If you have a family member in a nursing home, don't make the mistake of thinking they are safe. For example in one month this year, Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation had an average of more than two deaths a week. I am focusing on Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation, simply because I have records from there. I have done considerable research, and they are pretty much all the Same. There are some out there that have one star, yet they are still allowed to participate in Medicare and Medicaid.
There are non profit nursing homes, most are run by some religious organization. They generally have more staff and better training than the for profit homes. For profit homes, make their money, by understaffing. SanStone, list's Christopher Sprenger and Michal Deloach as owners, and managing employees at their facilities. In some industries, that would be called double dipping!
I'm sure there are good nursing homes out there, I'm also sure they are not SanStone properties. If you are looking for a nursing home, good luck. Just don't believe anything they tell you, and make them do their job! More later.
Friday, January 17, 2014
Kim Britt, Todd Davis and Paul Yockey, what is your integrity worth ???
I have spent the last week going over the documents from the NCDHHS investigation of Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation, and Dr. Larry Joe Russell. I have come to the conclusion that there was no sincere effort to determine if any regulations were actually broken. The NCDHHS investigators obviously wrote down exactly what they were told to. There are even different accounts of certain events, that are written by the same person. There are three different dates listed for the late entry nurses notes concerning the night Mom fell, in the same paragraph.
The complaint investigation was supposedly conducted on January 18 and 19, 2011. The people doing the investigation were, Kim Britt, Todd Davis, and Paul Yockey.
I spent considerable time in Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation, during Mom's stay there. One thing is for certain, I could do a walkthrough, and find as many violations as I could write down. Amazingly, the team sent by the NCDHHS could not even find one. Even after meeting with Gail Maloney, the Western regional Director of NCDHHS, and presenting her with the proof, still nothing wrong.
It has been over two years since Mom died at Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation, while under the care of Dr. Larry Joe Russell. I am getting tired of getting ignored, lied to, and just plain ignored. I actually have an email from an agent, with the OIG, (office of Inspector General ) that says they have the information we sent, but they don't have time to investigate. They assured me that the information is kept on file, and if more people complain, they may actually investigate.
The law says that they are supposed to investigate any allegations of fraud, no matter what the dollar amount. I guess that only applies, if there is more than one complaint. The same information was given to the FBI, the agent we spoke to said there was more than enough to start an investigation. We met with the same agent, on two separate occasions. That agent has since transferred to another branch of the DOJ ( Department of Justice ).
Since I started asking questions, several people I have spoken with, are no longer where they were when this began. The first was Jennifer Thomas, the medical records clerk that was at Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation, when Mom died. Then there was Gail Maloney, the Western Regional Director of the NCDHHS. Lara Mooney LPN, the nurse on duty the night Mom fell. Susan Habel, the director of nursing at Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation during Mom's stay. Maude " Cookie" Romeo, the administrator at Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation during Mom's Stay. The original FBI agent we met with was the last person that I know of that has changed jobs, since I began this quest. These are just the ones that I know of, are there more? Is this all just a coincidence, or is there somebody with considerable influence making people go away??
I am getting tired of the fight, I may slow down, but I will not stop looking.
The complaint investigation was supposedly conducted on January 18 and 19, 2011. The people doing the investigation were, Kim Britt, Todd Davis, and Paul Yockey.
I spent considerable time in Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation, during Mom's stay there. One thing is for certain, I could do a walkthrough, and find as many violations as I could write down. Amazingly, the team sent by the NCDHHS could not even find one. Even after meeting with Gail Maloney, the Western regional Director of NCDHHS, and presenting her with the proof, still nothing wrong.
It has been over two years since Mom died at Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation, while under the care of Dr. Larry Joe Russell. I am getting tired of getting ignored, lied to, and just plain ignored. I actually have an email from an agent, with the OIG, (office of Inspector General ) that says they have the information we sent, but they don't have time to investigate. They assured me that the information is kept on file, and if more people complain, they may actually investigate.
The law says that they are supposed to investigate any allegations of fraud, no matter what the dollar amount. I guess that only applies, if there is more than one complaint. The same information was given to the FBI, the agent we spoke to said there was more than enough to start an investigation. We met with the same agent, on two separate occasions. That agent has since transferred to another branch of the DOJ ( Department of Justice ).
Since I started asking questions, several people I have spoken with, are no longer where they were when this began. The first was Jennifer Thomas, the medical records clerk that was at Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation, when Mom died. Then there was Gail Maloney, the Western Regional Director of the NCDHHS. Lara Mooney LPN, the nurse on duty the night Mom fell. Susan Habel, the director of nursing at Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation during Mom's stay. Maude " Cookie" Romeo, the administrator at Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation during Mom's Stay. The original FBI agent we met with was the last person that I know of that has changed jobs, since I began this quest. These are just the ones that I know of, are there more? Is this all just a coincidence, or is there somebody with considerable influence making people go away??
I am getting tired of the fight, I may slow down, but I will not stop looking.
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