The Hacienda HealthCare we know is not hellhole
This week, family members of residents of the Hacienda HealthCare Intermediate Care Facility (ICF) spoke out in defense of the unit our loved ones call home.
We could no longer stay quiet while this outstanding facility suffers attacks by disgruntled former employees leaking half-truths and rumors, political opportunists and sensationalizing reporters.
The Hacienda we know in no way resembles the helhole you’ve seen depicted in breathless news broadcasts.
Unfortunately, false portrayals of Hacienda have driven state and federal oversight agencies to the brink of defunding the ICF and revoking its license. Should this unit close, our medically fragile, developmentally disabled loved ones will surely lose their quality of life.
Given their poor health, the movement of these residents to another ICF could also result in one or more deaths.
What is Hacienda HealthCare really like?
Our group of guardians agrees unanimously: Nowhere else have our family members received the high-quality care Hacienda provides.
Still, Hacienda isn’t perfect.
The December story that first made headlines — the sexual assault and impregnation of a resident by her longtime nurse — was absolutely tragic. We don’t mean to diminish the pain experienced by the victim or her family.
Each of us would be destroyed should a family member be similarly victimized. At the same time, that single event, which could not have been predicted based on the nurse’s past, in no way reflects the care our loved ones have received at Hacienda.
In the aftermath of the sexual assault, Hacienda has responded with transparency, self-reporting this incident and cooperating with scores of inspections. Hundreds of thousands of dollars have been spent improving security and employing police officers to guard the residents — including from threats made by an angry public, which have deeply upset our families.
The reality? Hacienda’s interim CEO, Perry Petrilli, and its direct care teams have done excellent work responding to every request to improve the facility. They have spared no expense and it shows.
Recently, Hacienda again made news, after maggots were reportedly found on a resident. This instance, which could have been caused by a family member bringing laundry into the facility, in no way mirrors the care or cleanliness we experience daily at Hacienda.
As concerned guardians, we have asked many questions about this incident. We also have reviewed medical notes that call the news accounts into serious question. Our point: These discrepancies call for further investigation, not the willy-nilly closure of the ICF.
The state Department of Health Services has given notice it intends to revoke Hacienda’s right to operate its ICF. The federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has announced its intention to stop Medicare payments to the ICF.
As guardians who see firsthand Hacienda’s day-to-day quality care-giving and passionate commitment to our loved ones, we oppose these decisions in the strongest possible terms.
We have expressed our concerns and outrage to Gov. Doug Ducey, the oversight agencies and Sens. Kyrsten Sinema and Martha McSally — and we will continue to do so. We cannot allow our loved ones to go silently into the night, to lesser facilities or an early death.
We are Hacienda’s primary stakeholders, the voices of our children and kin. The ICF needs to remain fully funded under its current management, consummate professionals with decades of proven loyalty and the expertise to run this organization successfully under the most difficult circumstances.
We would never put our loved ones in jeopardy. Any effort to shutter the Hacienda ICF will do exactly that.