Police, State Probe Complaints Against Atlanta Nursing Home

There are new concerns about the quality of care at a Metro Atlanta nursing home. As police investigate the injury of one patient, 11Alive News has found other families who have complaints about the care of their loved ones.

11Alive's Duffie Dixon broke this story a few weeks ago. Now, a tragic development: the patient at the center of the investigation has died. As investigators wait for the official autopsy reports, police are looking into whether the nursing home contributed to her death.

Seventy-seven-year-old Carol Sheppard was bedridden and a full-time resident at the New London Healthcare Center. In April, she was rushed to the hospital where she was treated for a three-inch gash on the side of her head and bleeding on the brain.

"In my 15 years I've never seen anything like that," Snellville Detective O.J. Concepcion said after they were asked to investigate.

Doctors also found a bedsore that went to the bone, severely ingrown toenails, and overall poor hygiene. The poor care included an open wound on the back of her hand where a bandage hadn't been changed for days.

"It's gruesome," Carol Sheppard's grandson, Ryan Sheppard said. He moved her to another care facility in hopes she would recover. It was too late. She died three weeks later.
"The doctors said she suffered some sort of traumatic event," he said.

The staff at New London Healthcare Center has not explained how a woman unable to speak or move on her own was so badly injured and was found in such poor condition.

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Investigation:  Police, State Probe Nursing Home Complaints