Which nursing homes have COVID-19 deaths? Ohio Department of Health says it doesn't know

More than half of Ohio's COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes

By: Ron Regan

COLUMBUS — A stunning admission from state health officials: those in charge of tracking the coronavirus in Ohio claim they have no idea which nursing homes have had COVID-19 deaths.

Deaths in nursing homes account for more than half of Ohio's 7,187 COVID-19 deaths. More than 3,800 nursing home residents have died from COVID-19 and we do not know where, according to the Ohio Department of Health. 

The revelation follows a joint investigation with our partner Scripps station, WCPO-TV in Cincinnati, that first began last August and resulted in a lawsuit filed in the Ohio Court of Claims seeking health department records identifying how many have died in the more than 900 individual nursing homes across the state.

Ohio only released total nursing home deaths by county, unlike other states including Michigan, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Indiana that make pubic the total number of COVID-19 death by individual facilities.

In court documents seeking to dismiss the case, the Ohio Department of Health argues "the records do not exist".

Jack Greiner is a Scripps attorney who has filed a motion opposing the health department's efforts to dismiss the case, arguing that failure to produce the records "suggests rank incompetence at ODH" adding that "the statement does not appear to be true" based on additional information in the form of an affidavit obtained by Scripps.

By failing to report COVID-19 deaths by individual nursing homes, the public has no idea how safe a facility may be.

Paula Mueller heads up Elderly Advocates, a group that seeks to help families with loved ones in nursing homes; she says these records should be released.

"The most important reason that families need this information to make informed decisions on where they might place a loved one," Mueller said.

Meanwhile, the lawsuit seeking records in the public interest continues and it could be at least a month before a judge rules on our request for information. 

 

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Which nursing homes have COVID-19 deaths? Ohio Department of Health says it doesn't know

Minnesota Eases Visits To Long-Term Care Facility Residents

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota health officials rolled back rules Monday that prevented many families from visiting their loved ones in nursing homes and assisted-living facilities because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The new guidelines from the Minnesota Department of Health allow indoor visitations at most senior homes that have not had new infections in the preceding two weeks and when the infection rate in the surrounding county is no more than 10%. The state still recommends that long-term care facilities limit how many visitors a resident can have at once and the duration of indoor visits.

The new guidance significantly eased the restrictions that had been in place since March, when nursing homes and assisted-living complexes locked down and barred family visits in an attempt to protect vulnerable residents, the Star Tribune reported. Advocates for residents and their families have been clamoring for relief, noting that many elderly residents have suffered anxiety, depression and physical decline because of the social isolation.

“We are really looking to make sure that we do everything that we can to have the residents and families be able to connect with one another,” said Lindsey Krueger, director of the department’s Office of Health Facility Complaints.

But officials cautioned that rising community spread of the virus could still prevent many senior homes from opening their doors. Nearly 250 long-term care facilities have had at least one positive case of COVID-19 in the last two weeks, meaning they generally will remain barred to indoor visits. Two counties, Martin and Redwood, have infection rates of greater than 10%, so visitations in those counties will remain restricted under the new guidelines.

The department reported nearly 1,200 newly confirmed infections Monday after a weekend where confirmed case counts rose by nearly 3,000. Hospitalizations in the state are approaching record levels for the pandemic.

The department on Monday also reported 14 new cases among people who attended recent political rallies in Minnesota.

Kris Ehresmann, the department’s infectious disease director, said the number of confirmed cases linked with President Donald Trump’s outdoor rally in Bemidji on Sept. 18 had risen to 16, up from nine as of Friday, including four people who attended a protest. Three cases have been reported among people who attended Trump’s outdoor rally in Duluth on Sept. 30. Three people tested positive after attending a rally Sept. 24 with Vice President Mike Pence in a Minneapolis-St. Paul International airport hotel ballroom, including one who was among the Duluth rally cases. Two individual cases have been reported among people who attended Joe Biden campaign events in Duluth on Sept. 16 and Brooklyn Park on Sept. 22.

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Minnesota Eases Visits To Long-Term Care Facility Residents

State investigates death at Harris Hill nursing home

by Mike McAndrew

Harry Scull Jr.

The State Department of Health is investigating a death at Harris Hill Nursing Facility in Lancaster, a spokesman said Wednesday.

The death of the resident was reported by the nursing home staff to the Health Department.

“Protecting people in nursing homes is a top priority of the Department of Health. Immediately upon learning of this incident at Harris Hill, the Department opened an investigation. As this is an ongoing investigation we cannot comment further," said Jeffrey Hammond, the Health Department spokesman.

A spokeswoman for the McGuire Group, which operates Harris Hill, declined to provide any details about the resident's death.

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State investigates death at Harris Hill nursing home

Crime Insider: State investigating deadly stabbing at Richmond nursing home

By: Mike Bergazzi , Jon Burkett

RICHMOND, Va. -- The Virginia Department of Health has launched an investigation into the brutal death of a patient at a Richmond nursing home and rehabilitation center.

Kim Beazley, deputy director of VDH’s Office of Licensure and Certification, said that her office is handling the probe.

The on-site investigation began January 21, six days after the fatal stabbing of Robert Massie Willoughby, who was found dead inside his room at ManorCare Health Services-Imperial on Bellevue Avenue.

Richmond police have arrested Lynwood Lee Main, 65, and charged him with the murder of the 86-year-old.

Main was Willoughby’s roommate.

“Reportedly, the residents were arguing and one resident fatally stabbed the other with a pocketknife,” a spokesperson for the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services in Philadelphia said. CMS officials are monitoring the situation and have been in contact with Virginia officials, they wrote in an email

A timeline for the state investigation is unknown. Within 10 days of its completion, VDH must submit a report to CMS, according to Washington

Willoughby’s death sent shock waves from Richmond to western Virginia, where he was born and raised.

“It’s been tough, that’s the best I can say,” said Randy Harris, Willoughby’s nephew. “It shouldn’t have happened the way it did.”

Family members say Willoughby – a veteran of the Korean War – was a man who always put his family first.

“Robert was there for me, supported me,” Harris said. “I’ll never forget him for it.”

Sources tell CBS 6 that Willoughby’s throat was slashed.

“No one ever wants to lose a loved one, but this was a particularly bad way to go,” he said.

According to court records, Main has a long history of criminal activity and mental illness. In the past, he has been hospitalized at Central State Hospital, which houses some of Virginia’s most violent psychiatric patients.

So how did he end up sharing a room with the elderly Willoughby?

“I’ve been taught all my life that you don’t make decisions until you have all the information, but I will say that it’s concerning,” Harris said.

When CBS 6 reached out to the company that runs ManorCare, a spokesperson wouldn't go into details, but said that they monitor patients for behavior issues, and address those with a "care plan."

But a nurse who works at the Imperial location tells CBS 6 that staff knew that there had been confrontations between Main and Willoughby, and that they should been moved to separate rooms. But the nurse claims that did not happen because the facility is "short staffed."

In mid-January, the official Medicare website showed that ManorCare Health Services-Imperial had just a one out of five stars overall rating, which is described as "much below average."

Last week, that rating was upgraded to two stars, or "below average."

Specifically regarding staffing, the facility currently has a "below average" rating. Per the Medicare site, the total number of licensed nurse staff hours per resident per day at ManorCare Imperial is 1 hour and 31 minutes, which is below the state and national average.

During the most recent health inspection, the facility received 24 citations, double the statewide average, and triple the national number.

Willoughby's family said they are glad that the state is investigating his death because they want to know how this tragedy occurred, and if it could have been prevented.

In the meantime, their thoughts are not just with their lost loved one, but also his accused killer.

"We’re gonna pray for him, and we hope that God will forgive him," Harris said.

"Hopefully one day we’ll find the strength to do the same."

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Crime Insider: State investigating deadly stabbing at Richmond nursing home

86-year-old woman assaulted at nursing home, son says

LIVINGSTON, New Jersey -- State officials and police are trying to figure out how an 86-year-old nursing home patient in New Jersey ended up with severe injuries to her face.

The patient's son, Benny Gomez, says his mom was assaulted and posted a picture of his bruised and injured mother on social media, which has been shared nearly 9,000 times.

"What does she mean to me? Everything, " Gomez said.

Eyewitness News met the heartbroken, shaken and angry son with his attorneys, days after his mother was rushed to the hospital from the Westfield Center Nursing Care facility in Westfield.

"She has double fractures in her face," he said. "Her nose is broken. She has stitches."

Westfield Center released a statement saying in part that it has a zero tolerance policy on abuse, and that it contacted the Department of Health and the authorities. It says Mrs. Gross fell and that the information being circulated is grossly inaccurate.

The statement also said that "while the photos are difficult to see, no resident was struck, hit or abused."

"No matter what the cause, no resident of a nursing facility should ever be made to suffer," Gomez' attorney Marilyn Barbosa said.

Gomez said that this wasn't the first time his mother ended up with bruises.

"She tells me that the aids were rough with her and that they hit her," he said.

Gomez said he placed his mother in the facility after breaking her hip and becoming totally disabled. She also has slight dementia.

"You go to the hospital and you see your mother in this condition is just unexplainable," he said.

The Department of Health and Westfield police are investigating, so no charges have been filed. Gomez's mother has not been returned to the facility.

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86-year-old woman assaulted at nursing home, son says

Senior Minnesota health regulator is fired, triggering calls for greater scrutiny of senior abuse probes

The Minnesota Department of Health has fired one of its top administrators, triggering fresh concerns about the agency’s handling of allegations of criminal abuse in senior homes.

Nancy A. Omondi was terminated last month as director of the department’s health regulation division, which oversees state investigations of abuse in senior care facilities. Omondi alleges she was fired in retaliation for filing a complaint about “misconduct and bullying” in her division, as well as high staff turnover, her attorney said Tuesday.

After her termination, Omondi approached Sen. Karin Housley, chairwoman of the state Senate Committee on Aging and Long-term Care, who on Tuesday joined two other senators in calling for an investigation into management practices at the division that handles elder complaints.

“[Omondi] desperately tried to get the attention of her superiors ... but it fell on deaf ears,” Housley, a Republican from St. Marys Point near Afton, said at a news conference Tuesday. “What this whistleblower uncovered was a toxic culture of bullying, intimidation, harassment and complete disregard for outside input.”

The call for a fresh investigation comes a month after the Star Tribune published a five-part series chronicling breakdowns in the state’s handling of elder abuse investigations. The series found that ­hundreds of vulnerable residents at senior care centers across Minnesota are beaten, sexually assaulted or robbed each year. Yet the vast majority of these incidents are never resolved, and perpetrators often go unpunished, in part because the Health Department lacks the staff and expertise to investigate the crimes.

A Health Department spokesman said the agency is coordinating with the Minnesota Management and Budget office to investigate Omondi’s complaint.

“The core values of our department include integrity, respect and accountability,” spokesman Michael Schommer said in an e-mail. “We take all complaints raised by or against our employees at any level of the organization very seriously.”

Philip Villaume, an attorney for Omondi, called the timing of her termination “highly suspect.”

Omondi filed a formal complaint on Nov. 13, alleging a “pattern of bullying and harassment and dysfunction” within the health regulation division, he said. She had planned to raise these same concerns with Minnesota’s legislative auditor, who is also evaluating the Health Department’s process for investigating maltreatment complaints. Omondi was fired a day before she was scheduled to meet with a representative with the Legislative Auditor’s office, Villaume said. The firing also occurred a day before Omondi had a scheduled meeting with Health Commissioner Dr. Ed Ehlinger, where she had also planned to raise her concerns about misconduct, the attorney said.

“It’s clear they were trying to silence her by terminating her,” said Villaume, who said he is preparing a lawsuit against the Health Department. “It’s a classic whistleblower case.”

Agency officials declined to discuss the terms of Omondi’s departure.

Omondi, 43, is a health research scientist who was born in Kenya and graduated from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota. She worked at the Health Department from Sept. 19, 2016, to Nov. 29, 2017.

As the population of seniors seeking care has increased, the Health Department has been overwhelmed by a dramatic surge in maltreatment complaints. Last year, the agency received 25,226 allegations of abuse and neglect in senior care facilities, a sevenfold increase since 2010. The agency has failed to keep pace with this increase, and last year investigated only 3 percent of maltreatment complaints on site. Even when the state does investigate, the cases can drag on for months, frustrating families and making criminal prosecutions difficult or impossible, the Star Tribune found.

Agency officials early this year admitted they were falling behind, and persuaded lawmakers to allocate $11.4 million in new funding to investigate health facility complaints.

With the new funding, the agency has embarked on a plan to double its investigative staff over the next four years, including more investigators with a criminal justice background. The agency is also modernizing its computer systems so that it can share more information about abuse investigations electronically; currently, the agency is hampered by a paper-based system that slows investigations.

“We’ve been running fast to catch up, but it’s clear we’re not running fast enough,” Ehlinger said in a recent interview.

However, both Housley and Sen. Michelle Benson, R-Ham Lake, chairwoman of the Senate Health and Human Services Finance and Policy Committee, said Tuesday they would oppose any new funding for the division that investigates maltreatment until the concerns raised by Omondi are addressed.

“There should be no more money until we know what they are going to do about this toxic culture,” Housley said. “No one should be fired for speaking up.”

Since the Star Tribune series was published, Gov. Mark Dayton has appointed a working group to review the Health Department’s oversight of state-licensed senior care homes, and Housley announced that she is preparing bills for the 2018 Legislature that would improve the speed and transparency of Health Department investigations.

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Senior Minnesota health regulator is fired, triggering calls for greater scrutiny of senior abuse probes

What are lawmakers going to do to protect seniors and vulnerable adults?

It’s expected to take until the end of the year for the Minnesota Department of Health to tackle the backlog of complaints of maltreatment in the state’s assisted-living facilities.

In the meantime, lawmakers are expected to use recent recommendations from an elder abuse task force as a guide to craft new rules and regulations to help keep Minnesota’s most vulnerable citizens safe.

Gov. Mark Dayton says he’ll work with his new lieutenant governor, Republican Michelle Fischbach, and leaders in the GOP-led House and Senate to implement the task force recommendations.

They include:

• Expanding the rights of seniors, vulnerable adults and their families so they are empowered to report maltreatment and don’t fear retaliation.
• Strengthening criminal and civil penalties for maltreatment so prosecutors can more easily charge perpetrators and victims can seek compensation when their rights are violated.
• Clearer standards for licensing of assisted-living facilities and for training of staff.
• Improving enforcement of existing laws through more frequent inspections and expedited investigations of abuse complaints.

Dayton has already ordered the state Department of Human Services to work with state health officials to improve the Office of Health Facility Complaints.

He also recently appointed Jan Malcolm as health commissioner to replace Dr. Ed Ehlinger, who resigned after the department’s failure to protect vulnerable adults came to light. Malcolm’s top priority is to improve the state’s oversight of assisted-living facilities.

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What are lawmakers going to do to protect seniors and vulnerable adults?

Investigates: MN Health Commissioner abruptly resigns

ST. PAUL, Minn. - Governor Mark Dayton announced Tuesday that the Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Health is resigning – effective immediately.

Dr. Edward Ehlinger had headed the department since 2011.

Ehlinger’s resignation comes in the wake of charges that the department has failed to properly investigate reports of abuse and neglect in senior care facilities.

Since May, KARE 11 has been investigating complaints from families that state investigators left them in the dark about – or failed to investigate – complaints about their loved ones.

“Why are we continuing to hear about the abuse neglect and harm to our senior population?” State Senator Karin Housley (R-St. Mary’s) asked last week during a news conference.

Flanked by other lawmakers, she demanded an investigation of Department of Health leadership after reports the state was mishandling complaints.

In one case, KARE 11 described how workers had been caught on video verbally abusing and threatening a patient with dementia.

In another, an elderly woman was sexually assaulted by an aide who was supposed to help her.

But KARE 11’s investigation discovered that, too often, the state doesn’t even investigate complaints.

Records obtained by KARE 11 showed how care facility workers left Mary Cleary for 19 hours with two broken legs before they sent her to the hospital.

“They laid me there and I didn’t have anything really that I could do except cry and yell,” she told her family in a cell phone video before her death.

The state closed that case without even doing an investigation. Records show it was just one of thousands of reports the state failed to investigate.

In 2016, the state received more than 24,000 reports of abuse and neglect. But records reveal Ihe vast majority of them – more than 23,000 – were never fully investigated.

In a statement released after the resignation announcement, Senator Housley said: "While the resignation of Commissioner Ehlinger is a step forward, there is much work to do to restore the trust of the most vulnerable Minnesotans.”

Governor Dayton named Health Department Deputy Commissioner Dan Pollock acting Commissioner until a permanent replacement is selected.

Several weeks ago, the Governor ordered that the Minnesota Department of Human Services’ Office of the Inspector General provide the Health Department assistance in improving the management of its investigations of elder neglect and abuse.

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Investigates: MN Health Commissioner abruptly resigns