Saturday, December 29, 2012

Virginia: Scott Schuett, Operator of 5 ALF's, License Revoked!

Scott Schuett, who currently operates five assisted living facilities in Hampton Roads, had his administrator and preceptor licenses revoked by the Virginia Board of Long-Term Care Administrators on Tuesday.

After two hours of testimony by state inspectors on conditions involving code violations at three of his facilities — Ashwood Assisted Living in Hampton, Madison Retirement Center in Williamsburg, and Oakwood Assisted Living in Suffolk — the Board deliberated for 30 minutes before voting to revoke Schuett's licenses. Schuett has owned assisted living facilities in the region since 2003. The problems cited at the hearing involved conditions observed in 2011 and 2012. The decision does not prevent him from owning or operating homes with licensed administrators on site.

Schuett was a no-show at the hearing. He informed the Board that morning that family illness prevented him from attending the formal public hearing held in  Henrico County. The hearing followed the Sept. 13 suspension of Schuett's licenses,the Board having determined that his practice posed "a substantial danger to the public health and safety."

The Board also levied a $25,000 fine against Schuett. Lisa Hahn, executive director of the Board, deemed the fine "suitable" for the 28 violations presented. Schuett was informed of the vote by phone. He did not return phone calls for comment. In an interview prior, he indicated that he expected to lose his license and talked of returning to his home state, Michigan. The regulations allow him to petition for reinstatement after three years and the payment of the fine.

Five witnesses spoke about conditions at Schuett's homes. Virginia Goodell, licensing inspector for the Department of Social Services, described the ongoing problems at Madison, a home she described as having a "high population of chronically mentally ill adults." Complaints ranged from a lack of food and infestations of cockroaches and bed bugs to fist fights and the delayed report of the death of a diabetic resident who refused medical care.

Ivy Burnham, the inspector for Ashwood, presented a similarly long list of infractions involving insufficient staffing, undocumented medication administration, failure to follow admissions policies and poor record keeping. Burnham estimated that 90 percent of the facility's residents have mental health issues. Both facilities are in jeopardy of losing their licenses.

Trish Meyer, licensing administrator for the Eastern Regional Office of the Department of Social Services, reviewed inspections from Oakwood. She observed that there had been 19 reported assaults of residents within six months, alone evidence of insufficient supervision.

Full Article and Source:
Scheutt Loses Assisted Living License

See Also:
Scott Schuett: Operator of Peninsula Assisted Living Homes Fights for License

Newport News Assisted Living Facility Closes

Woman arrested for malicious wounding in Newport News retirement home incident

Man Charged in Assulting Woman, 92, in Suffolk

Injury Leads to More Scrutiny for Suffolk Home

Assisted Living Concerns: Facility Resident Tried to Enter Home

Board Alleges Improper Care at Adultcare Homes

State Suspends Assisted-Living Facility Administrator's Licenses

Check the License Status of Any Facility Through the Virginia Department of Social Services Website

9 comments:

  1. It's always nicie to start the day with good news.

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  2. Another one bites the dust...keep them falling! This should happen all over this country!!

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  3. He should be run off the planet.

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  4. Does Scott Schuett have licensed Administrators on site at all his ALF's?

    Is anybody checking? I bet not.

    Thanks for posting this, NASGA.

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  5. The problem speaks for itself but is even more disconcerting when we consider that the majority of residents in certain ALF’s and AFC homes are guardianship wards. In fact, some of these places thrive in harmony with corrupt guardians and judges. We have a widespread situation in which some of our most vulnerable citizens, whom our courts vow to protect, are forced to live under dangerously rank, unsupervised conditions – and to pay a physical and material price for the experience.

    I applaud DHS-Virginia for reigning in on this Owner. Unfortunately, he plans to return to Michigan, where DHS licensing agents in certain areas have demonstrated remarkable leniency regarding egregious and violative operations.

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  6. What scares me is the common misconception that ALF's are a big hurdle above nursing homes. The Miami Herald did a big expose about the problems there last year and we are seeing this in VA and MichiganAdvocacyProject is talking about Michigan. There's a pattern that most people don't see because they're under the miconception that ALF's are basically great....

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  7. I worry about those unfortunates still in his facilities.

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  8. Does Scott Schuett have licensed Administrators on site at all his ALF's?

    Nope. He is operating these facilities in violation of the law, while licensing authorities diddle and fiddle and try to reach some "compromise" agreement, because state agencies and guardianship programs put these helpless residents in these awful facilities.

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  9. You know what cracks me up? None of the people that commented know Scott Schuett. He has spent 10 years of his life to better the lives of the residents he serves. Funny how his facilities didn't have a problem until the Licensing Inspectors changed. The real issue here is the subjectivity of Licensing Inspectors in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It's easy to point fingers when you are not in the business everyday. I have worked for many owners and have never seen any other owner know their residents as Mr. Schuett does. Those that commented are hypocrites. Walk a day in his shoes and then see if you could do half of what he has done. Someone should look at VDSS. Keep up the great work Mr. Schuett, I would work for you ANYWHERE.

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