7 On Your Side Investigation: State of Care

When we first met David Sexton he was spending alot of time making sure his mother, Dorothy Sexton, was well cared for at Magnolia Manor in Inman. A few weeks after we interviewed Sexton and his family, Dorothy passed away.

During our interview Sexton told us for more than a year he lodged complaints about Magnolia Manor with the administrator, Dale Lyles, but Sexton claimed nothing changed.

"All Dale will ever tell you is he's looking into it," said Sexton.

Sexton and his sisters, Jo-Ann Richardson and Frieda Westbrooks, talked about the kind of care their mother received while living there.

"I felt like she was being neglected," Richardson said.

"Sitting there for two hours in a diaper of feces," Sexton said.

Westbrooks added, "One time they almost tried to give her the wrong medicine and she knew that wasn't the right medication."

We asked Magnolia Manor's administrator, Dale Lyles, to speak with us on camera but he declined.

In an email statement Lyles said, "While patient privacy regulations prevent us from providing details about this individual's care, it is our policy to conduct a comprehensive internal review immediately upon learning of concerns from a resident or family member. That review is ongoing and my staff and I will work directly with the resident and her family to address their issues and concerns."

We also contacted South Carolina's long-term care Ombudsman's office. The agency wouldn't comment but the family told us an Ombudsman investigator arrived at Magnolia Manor the day after we notified the Ombudsman's office about the complaint.

The family said the investigator met with them, their mother and the facility staff. Ten days later, the family said they received a letter, also addressed to the administrator of Magnolia Manor. It outlined a plan of correction to improve the quality of life and quality of care for Ms. Sexton.

"She wasn't for us and she wasn't for the nursing home but she was for Mom," said David Sexton.

That plan included several steps including reevaluating Ms. Sexton's medications and educating the staff on answering call lights in a timely manner.

We also lodged her complaint with the South Carolina Department of Health and Control. Pam Dukes is DHEC's Deputy Commissioner of Health Regulation. Dukes wouldn't comment on the Sexton's complaint due to privacy issues, but she did confirm that due to complaints DHEC has inspected Magnolia Manor in Inman three times this year.

This isn't the first time we've taken complaints about assisted living facilities to DHEC. Last year we questioned Dukes when we uncovered documents showing a convicted murderer was working with residents in another facility. We went back for more answers.

When we asked Dukes how much DHEC has pressured lawmakers to make sure that people that work in these facilities are not convicts Dukes replied,"Last year there was a bill introduced to require owners of nursing homes and assisted living facilities to have background checks...we had suggested an amendment to that bill at the time, to expand it to put more parameters and to prevent someone with specific convictions from working as a direct caregiver for that facility."

The bill passed but the amendment didn't make it. 7 On Your Side found out why. Randy Lee of the South Carolina Health Care Association said the amendment was added last minute by DHEC. He said he asked Senator Ronnie Cromer to take it out because he felt it was more important that the legislation be passed to prohibit licensure for owners with certain criminal backgrounds.

Still, Cromer said he is willing to propose an amendment for the next legislative session that would keep employees with certain with criminal backgrounds from directly working with residents in facilities.

"After you and I started talking then I instructed my staff to go do a separate bill so now the bill itself can be vetted in the proper manner through the medical affairs committee and debated," Cromer said. "And if there are some changes that need to be debated then we can do it in committee and we'll have a better chance of getting it through."

In the meantime, Dukes said she was working on goals she told us would improve care at facilities across the state. Dukes claimed DHEC would be making at least four mandatory unannounced visits each year, instead of once every two years to more than 480 facilities statewide. She said that was completed. And Dukes said DHEC would narrow the focus of inspections to issues only involving quality of care like medication administration instead of housekeeping or finances. Dukes said that also was completed. She also said they planned to update their website so anyone looking into a facility could easily find out if it's been cited. That still hasn't happened because of budget cuts.

Dukes told us there still is a way to check out many facilities online. (Click here to check out a facility) Dukes said DHEC directly reports to Medicare about inspections done at Medicare facilities. Medicare rates facilities with five stars being the best. The ratings are based on health inspections for topics like proper management of medications or protecting residents from abuse, staffing, and quality measures like how well the nursing home prevents and treats skin ulcers.

Magnolia Manor in Inman received 1 out of 5 stars on it's overall rating from Medicare (click here to see Magnolia Manor in Inman's rating). The Medicare website says the total number of health deficiencies for this facility is 15. In South Carolina the average is six, the U.S. average is eight.

When we asked Dukes if she would put her family member in a facility like Magnolia Manor in Inman Dukes replied, "I think if I had a family member I was going to place somewhere, I would use every possible resource to look at that facility."

Resources like Medicare's website, making a Freedom of Information request with DHEC on the facility for violations (click here to make a FOIA request), and making unannounced visits to the facility on your own.

They are steps the Sexton family hopes others consider before placing their loved ones in someone else's care.

"My mother shouldn't have to go through that, nobody should have to go through that," Sexton said.

Medicare suggests you follow these steps when finding a nursing home that's best for you or a loved one:

• Step 1: Find Nursing Homes in your area. Search by name, city, county, state, or ZIP code.

• Step 2: Compare the quality of the nursing Homes you're considering using the Five-Star Quality Ratings, health inspection results, nursing home staff data, quality measures, and fire safety inspection results.

• Step 3: Visit the nursing homes you're considering or have someone visit for you. Use the Nursing Home Checklist and other resources under “ Additional information ” below.

• Step 4: Choose the nursing home that best meets your needs. Talk to your doctor or other healthcare practitioner, your family, friends, or others about your nursing home choices. Contact the Long-Term Ombudsman or State Survey Agency before you make a decision.

Medicare has a checklist of items you should consider before placing your loved one in an assisted living facility. For example, you will want to check if residents look clean, that staff members appear to have a positive relationship with residents, and residents have access to a personal telephone. Click here to download a copy of the complete checklist and print it out for your use.

To file a complaint against a nursing home or assisted living facility contact your local Long Term Care Ombudsman's office. Click here to locate one in your area. You can also file a complaint with SC DHEC by clicking here.