Did nursing homes do enough during Harvey?
Two investigations reopened as families await answers
Two nursing homes are once again under investigation by the state after they refused to evacuate during Hurricane Harvey and left frail residents wallowing in stinking, murky floodwaters.
The state said it had initially closed its investigation in April when officials couldn’t reach staff members at the Port Arthur nursing homes because they haven’t reopened since the storm. But the Texas Health & Human Services Commission took a renewed interest in the facilities, owned by a Dallas company, after inquiries from The Dallas Morning News.
A commission spokeswoman declined to say why 28 complaints into the nursing homes are getting another look. And she wouldn’t comment on their status. A local criminal investigation remains open.
Families of the 184 residents of Cypress Glen and Lake Arthur Place have waited for answers for months. While some were baffled the state closed the investigation in the first place, they hope a fresh probe will lead the state to hold the facilities accountable — even though the commission has barely laid a glove on other nursing homes that received complaints during Harvey.
The News reviewed inspection reports for closed investigations into 44 nursing homes that received complaints after Harvey. Records show only two nursing homes were fined $1,000 or less for violations. None were sanctioned. Some had to submit a plan to correct problems found during inspections.
The commission didn’t reopen Harvey-related complaints for other nursing homes.
Peggy Bailey, whose husband James died two months after the storm, is convinced that the hurricane and Lake Arthur Place nursing home’s refusal to evacuate contributed to his death and made his last days more agonizing than they needed to be.
Bailey said the corporate office was negligent in its care of nursing residents during Harvey. More than 35 inches of rain fell on Port Arthur, 90 miles east of Houston, in 27 hours. The rain began on Aug. 29 and the residents were evacuated the next day.
“They are responsible,” Bailey said. “Because of the people sitting in that water and the backing up of the commodes, they should have gotten the people out of there. All that was just in the water and they were just sitting in it.”
Dallas-based Senior Care Centers, which owns Lake Arthur Place and Cypress Glen, said in a statement that the company is dedicated to the safety of its patients and employees. A spokeswoman said all its facilities have disaster plans.
But the company did not respond to a list of written questions, including whether the company made any changes to its emergency plans after Harvey. The company also declined to comment about families saying Senior Care was neglectful during Harvey.
“The procedures for safely evacuating patients and residents are matters of medical judgment and must include balancing the well-documented risks of evacuating skilled nursing and long-term care residents versus sheltering in place,” the company said in the statement. “The population we serve is fragile, and providing care during any emergent situation is of utmost importance at all times not just during a natural disaster. We remain tirelessly committed to the patients and residents we serve.”
James Bailey, who had dementia and used a wheelchair, sat in up to 12 inches of putrid water when Harvey began its assault on Lake Arthur Place. The stench of urine and feces filled the air.
And overnight, Bailey couldn’t leave. The nursing home’s administrator, Jeff Rosetta, refused to evacuate. Police had to handcuff him before volunteers could load the frail residents onto boats.
Rosetta repeatedly called officers “fake cops” and told them, “you cannot take anyone out of this facility,” according to a search warrant affidavit.
Bailey survived, but not for long. Two months later, he died of pneumonia. He was 76.
Peggy Bailey said she isn’t angry at Rosetta. She said he was only following orders not to evacuate until the government ordered it. But Senior Care Centers shouldn’t have given that order, she said.
Rosetta’s attorney, Ryan Gertz, did not return calls seeking comment. But Gertz previously told the Los Angeles Times that Rosetta was “punch drunk and rationally questioning the authority of the officers.”
“While it’s easy to rush to judgment, ultimately Jeff Rosetta and the excellent staff of the Lake Arthur Place nursing home will be vindicated,” he said.
In October, Senior Care Centers’ chief executive, Andrew Kerr, told The News that its facilities “could not initiate an evacuation” because “it has to be mandated by the authorities.”
State officials and Senior Care’s ambulance contractor have said that’s not true.
Bailey said she called during the storm and spoke to the staff and corporate headquarters to ensure her husband was getting the care he needed.
“Sure, they had water,” she said. “They were sitting in it. And they didn’t have enough food.”
Residents had to choose between diapers or not flushing the toilets because of the flooding, Senior Care has confirmed.
Before the storm, Bailey said that before Harvey, she had no problems with the facility But, Bailey said, she was frequently there to ensure that the employees took care of her husband of 53 years.
“I want justice for James,” she said. “They should have gotten them out sooner.”
Gay Domingue’s 95-year-old mother, Laura, fared better than James Bailey after she was evacuated from Cypress Glen. But Gay Domingue also said the nursing home took too long to evacuate.
Laura Domingue was taken to a San Augustine nursing home, about 200 miles southeast of Dallas, without her glasses, walker, dentures, medication and medical records, her daughter said.
Since the hurricane, Laura has stayed at the new facility. Gay Domingue gets calls from Senior Care offering to find her mother a nursing home closer to where she lives in Beaumont, and she has the same answer every time: “I will not place her in any facility that is owned by your corporation.”
Today, metal chain link fences and bright green grass surround both facilities. An orange search and rescue “X” marks Cypress Glen’s front door, which announces visiting hours last from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Lake Arthur Place’s parking lot is vacant except for gray storage containers.
Federal inspectors had previously found the nursing homes to be problematic. Both facilities rated just one out of five stars — “much below average” — on their last federal inspections before the storm.