WRAL reports that Hill Forest Rest Home in Chatham County (Goldston, NC) had its license suspended today after an on-site visit found that conditions presented:

“…an imminent danger to the health, safety and welfare of the residents, and … emergency action is required to protect the residents,” officials [from the Adult Care Licensure Section of the Division of Health Service Regulation] said in a letter to Warren Gold, administrator of Gold Care Inc. in Rocky Mount, which runs the retirement home. [from WRAL.com]

The 24 residents of the facility are being relocated.

According to the news report, Hill Forest has a long tradition of substandard care. In 2008 and 2009, inspections turned up several violations, including lack of food for the residents. In March 2010, its license was revoked, but residents remained because the owner of Hill Forest Rest Home appealed the decision.

WRAL’s article makes it sound as though things went from bad to much, much worse:

An April inspection found moldy showers, roaches and flies in the kitchen, residents using bed sheets to cover windows for privacy and bathroom doors propped open, according to state Department of Health and Human Services records. A follow-up inspection in June found violations of fire and electrical codes and exterior doors that didn’t lock properly, records show.

If the June violations of fire and electrical codes didn’t cause an immediate shut-down of the facility, it makes one wonder what the inspectors found this time around.

People in nursing homes, rest homes, retirement homes, and assisted nursing facilities deserve the best care a society has to offer, not the worst. Residents and their families should never have been subjected to this kind of a nightmare…one that lasted, presumably, for several years. It’s shameful that Warren Gold and Gold Care, Inc., seem to have put playing the system above caring for senior citizens.

Stories like these are exactly why HensonFuerst Attorneys spend every day fighting for the rights of abused and neglected elderly residents. Thousands of other seniors are stuck in homes just like Hill Forest, individuals who are at the mercy of the facilities they live in. People who need someone to stand up for their rights…and their basic human dignity.  The HensonFuerst nursing home abuse team provides a voice for those who cannot always speak up for themselves, and for families who don’t know how to make things better for their loved ones.

If you suspect abuse or neglect at any long-term care facility, please don’t hesitate to contact our office. We’ll walk you through your options, and help you take legal action to get your loved ones to safety. Our phone lines are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, so someone is always here to answer your call (1-800-4LAW-MED). You can also visit our Nursing Home Abuse webpage:  HensonFuerst Nursing Home Abuse page.

Remember, if you have questions, the attorneys of HensonFuerst have answers.

Attorney Carma Henson, partner with North Carolina-based HensonFuerst law firm, told reporters today that the HensonFuerst nursing home abuse team is conducting its own investigation into the the morphine overdose of nine Alzheimer’s patients being treated at Britthaven of Chapel Hill nursing home.

In February, six patients were admitted to the hospital after they tested positive for morphine, even though the pain killer hadn’t been prescribed. One of the patients, 84-year-old Rachel Holliday, died. At the time of her death, she also had high levels of morphine in her blood. On Monday, registered nurse Angela Almore was arrested and indicted on one count of second-degree murder and six counts of felony patient abuse. In a report from WRAL, Orange County District Attorney Jim Woodall said that the state believes Almore acted alone, and that he doesn’t expect any more arrests or charges in the case.

In a news report on WRAL-TV today, Carma Henson said that HensonFuerst is continuing its investigation on behalf of families concerned about how this type of abuse could have happened to their loved ones. The firm is not limiting its research to Almore’s actions; there is also the question of how drugs are administered throughout the facility. According to Carma Henson, a nurse is not supposed to be able to get access to morphine and administer it to patients if it has not been prescribed for those patients.

“This can’t be just a rogue nurse gone bad,” says Ms. Henson. Her hope is that the HensonFuerst investigation gets a look at the bigger picture of how this and other nursing homes are run, so changes can be made to bring about some good. There are still a lot of people in nursing homes who need help… HensonFuerst is determined to make a difference.

(Watch the WRAL video and read their complete story here: HensonFuerst continues investigation.)

WRAL.com reports that registered nurse Angela Almore was indicted on a charge of second-degree murder for the death of an Alzheimer’s patient at Britthaven of Chapel Hill nursing home. Almore is also charged with six counts of felony patient abuse, and is being held in the Orange County jail under a $500,000 bond.

In February, nine Alzheimer’s patients tested positive for powerful opiate medicines, the kind used to control pain. Six of the patients were hospitalized, and one patient–Rachel Holliday–died.  At the time of her death, Ms. Holliday had a blood morphine level of 50,000 ng/ml… even though she had not been prescribed morphine.

HensonFuerst is relieved to know that the investigation into patient abuse at this nursing home will continue, and that an arrest has been made. Our nursing home abuse lawyers are continuing their own investigation of this incident. There are many more questions to be answered….

To read the full WRAL story, click here: Murder Charge at Britthaven of Chapel Hill. And if you have questions about what you can do about suspected cases of nursing home abuse, contact our Nursing Home Abuse team–if you have questions, HensonFuerst has answers.

The Wake Forest Care Center has been rocked by another blow to its reputation.  According to an article on the website for WRAL, a nursing assistant was arrested and charged with sexual assault on a resident who was “physically helpless.”

The accused man, 42-year-old Michael Lee Brodie, was charged with sexual assault, and is being held at Wake County jail on $75,000.00 bond. The victim is getting help from a group of experts, including a physician, a psychiatrist, and a therapist.

This is not the first challenge for this facility. Ever since North Carolina began a star rating program of adult care programs in 2009, Wake Forest Care Center has ranged between 0 stars and 1 star (out of a potential 4 stars). Although the facility is currently rated with 1 star, it received demerit points for “noncompliance with the rules related to resident care and services.”

To read the full story, go to the WRAL website.

At HensonFuerst, we believe in protecting people who are most vulnerable. We fight against poor treatment, abuse, and neglect of residents of nursing home and assisted living facilities. If you believe someone you love has been hurt while in the care of a nursing facility, call us. We’ll fight to help them regain their dignity and their safety.

The State of North Carolina has 106 state inspectors who are expected to properly inspect the state’s 435 nursing homes. That gives each inspector a caseload of roughly four facilities; inspectors review those nursing homes at least once every 15 months.  In Harnett County, leaders said that local inspectors could do reviews every two months and, in the meantime, respond to complaints immediately. But, Federal law permits only state inspectors – not county inspectors – to evaluate the county’s four nursing homes. Yet, some of those nursing homes have repeatedly been cited for violations by federal and state inspectors. For example, Harnett Manor, a one-star facility, has been noted for violations such as “not controlling the fly population,” “showers beds and potty chairs stored dirty” and “feces present.”

Click to read the entire story from www.wral.com.

Peanut butter paste from a Cary, North Carolina, cracker factory owned by the Kellogg Company’s Austin Quality Foods division has been found to contain the same strain of salmonella that has sickened more than 500 people, including North Carolinians. As deaths have been attributed to this salmonella outbreak, blog viewers are encouraged to remain especially vigilant when overseeing the care and nutritional services provided to friends and family in nursing home care.

Read the complete WRAL news story on Cary’s Austin Quality Foods connection to salmonella.