KINGSPORT, TN (WJHL) – A 77-page report now reveals why the Tennessee Department of Health suspended new admissions to Brookhaven Manor in Kingsport.
The public documents show the nursing home not only didn’t do enough to prevent the abuse of its residents, it also didn’t always properly report and investigate allegations of abuse.
“The facility failed to prevent mental, physical, and verbal abuse for (nine) residents,” the report said. “The facility’s systematic failure to immediately remove the accused, failure to report allegations to administration, and failure to investigate allegations of abuse, placed (six residents) in an environment that was detrimental (to) their health, safety, and welfare.”
One certified nursing assistant reportedly made a woman scream and cry when he went to change her, telling her, “I wouldn’t have to do this if your filthy lazy a** would get up and go to the bathroom…”
Records show Brookhaven Manor fired that employee and suspended another CNA.
The state also found employees let residents sit unchanged and soiled for hours and that the nursing home failed to properly treat surgical wounds and bed sores, according to the report.
We made repeated attempts to talk to Brookhaven Manor’s administrator. During a visit Friday, when asked if the nursing home intended to say anything about the situation, an employee told us “At this point, no comment.”
Long before the investigation, Amanda Messick’s mother lived at the nursing home.
“When I first read the story I was like, ‘Is this the same nursing home we’re talking about?'” she said. “My jaw hit the floor. I was just like, ‘What? What?’ It is disappointing to hear.”
She says she experienced some difficulty with the amount of time it took to get her mom help at Brookhaven Manor.
“The CNA’s could not get to my mother every time,” she said. “I would remember them saying, ‘We’ll get to you as soon as we can. We’re just a little short-staffed.'”
Even with those delays, Messick feels her mother, overall, was in good hands during her stay.
“They did the best they could with what they had,” she said.
Her sister has a different opinion of the care their mother received leading up to her death earlier this year. Patty Hoover said their mom’s care could have been much better, adding she’s not surprised the state is now taking action.
The suspension follows an annual survey and complaint investigation completed within the last month. Until conditions change, a state monitor will keep watch on the ongoing situation at the nursing home. The state also fined the facility $5,000. The nursing home has a right to a hearing on the matter.
According to Medicare.gov, Brookhaven Manor receives an overall rating of just one out of five stars.Copyright WJHL 2016. All rights reserved.
