Seven Louisiana nursing home facilities have had their licenses revoked after at least seven residents from the homes died when they were evacuated to a warehouse during Hurricane Ida, officials announced.
The nursing homes, which all appear to be under the same ownership, failed to “execute an evacuation plan that upheld residents’ human dignity,” the Louisiana Department of Health said in a statement on Tuesday.
The facility where the residents were moved ahead of the storm was located in Independence, Louisiana, in Tangipahoa Parish — about 70 miles north of New Orleans — and was described by state inspectors as a “warehouse site.”
Initial inspections found that the facility met a “minimum” standard of safe shelter, but the owner failed to communicate the “dire situation” as conditions deteriorated, the LDH said.
Local health care worker reported residents were placed on mattresses that were sitting in stormwater on the floor and people were left in their own waste, according to NBC affiliate WDSU.
A state surveyor who went to evaluate the situation after hearing that the level of care “plummeted” was forced to leave the site without getting a proper inspection, LDH Secretary Dr. Courtney N. Phillips said in Tuesday’s statement.
“Ultimately, lives were lost — these were grandparents, neighbors and friends, and we know families are hurting,” Phillips said. “We as a Department are taking formal regulatory action.”
LDH has confirmed seven deaths of nursing home residents evacuated to the Independence facility, five of which have been classified as storm-related.
The health department said last week that it was working on finding safe placements for the 843 residents who were taken to the warehouse.
The facilities named Tuesday were River Palms Nursing and Rehab, South Lafourche Nursing and Rehab, Maison Orleans Healthcare Center, Park Place Healthcare Nursing Home, West Jefferson Health Care Center, Maison De Ville Nursing Home, Maison Deville Nursing Home of Harvey.
All seven nursing homes appear to be owned by Bob Dean, according to NursingHomeDatabase.com, which aggregates data from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Dean did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC News on Tuesday.
He defended the evacuations in an interview with Baton Rouge-based television station WAFB last week, telling the station that the state surveyor was kicked off the property to protect resident privacy.
“We only had five deaths within the six days, and normally with 850 people you’ll have a couple a day, so we did really good with taking care of people,” Dean said.
Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry said on Tuesday his office was investigating the “tragedy” and urged the public to provide information “regarding the transfer, conditions, or deaths of nursing home residents.”
The Associated Press contributed.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
