Report stays in the dark

Astate agency may technically be allowed to withhold the results of an investigation into the treatment of residents of the Lawton/Fort Sill Veterans Center, but it is the sort of choice that ultimately hurts the public's confidence in such entities.

The advocate general's office of the Department of Human Services looked into numerous complaints of neglect and abuse at the Lawton center and failed to substantiate the allegations. That's all we know, because the findings will not be released publicly.

A DHS spokeswoman said that under the statute dealing with adult protective services for vulnerable adults, “we believe that there is enough confidential information regarding the individuals who were investigated and the allegations that this is a statutorily protected report.”

Only a court order would result in the report's release, she said. “I can share with you that we did not substantiate any of the allegations,” she said.

Those allegations, made last month by family members to The Oklahoman's Randy Ellis, were troubling.

One woman, Sue Forbis, said her 83-year-old husband was hospitalized in late July for treatment of blood clots that ran from his feet to near his waist. He was left in a wheelchair for 36 hours without being put to bed or having his diaper changed, Forbis said.

One man said staff at the veterans' center took more than six hours to call an ambulance after discovering the man's father, 82, was showing signs of a stroke. At the hospital, the man found that his dad's diaper “was completely saturated with urine and feces” and that he had “puscrusted” injuries on his scalp.

One woman sent The Oklahoman photos showing large, open sores on the toes and feet of her father, 85. Another woman said her husband, 83, had fallen at least seven times since early March, breaking his hip in the latest fall.

Family members cited inadequate staffing, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, as a major problem.

The executive director of the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs thanked DHS for its work, and said veterans' care is the agency's “highest priority.” He had previously said some of those who complained “had a history” of doing so.

State Sen. Paul Rosino, R-Oklahoma City, who heads the Legislative Veterans Caucus, said the advocate general's staff had provided “a clear picture regarding the operations of the Lawton center.” Unfortunately, just what that picture shows is unknown.

Forbis said keeping the findings private was “awful,” and that she would continue her fight. “I figured they were going to try to sweep it under the rug,” she said.

That may not be what is happening, but it is easy to understand why she and others might feel that way.