Phoenix facility where woman in coma gave birth faced criminal inquiry
Regulators wanted to remove developmentally disabled patients from a Phoenix long-term care facility years before a woman in a vegetative state gave birth there, Arizona’s largest newspaper reported on Sunday.
The Arizona Republic reported that Hacienda HealthCare faced a 2016 criminal investigation for allegedly billing the state more than $4m for bogus 2014 charges for wages, transportation, housekeeping, maintenance and supplies.
The criminal case was dropped in 2017 and no charges were filed, the Republic said, but a court battle is continuing in an effort to force Hacienda to turn over records.
Phoenix police have said the 29year-old woman was sexually assaulted and gave birth last month. Investigators are collecting DNA from Hacienda’s male employees and others who may have had contact with the woman. The woman is a member of the San Carlos Apache tribe. Her family have said in a statement through their attorney that they will care for the infant boy. They have also asked for privacy.
The revelation that a woman in a vegetative state was raped inside a care facility has horrified advocates for people with disabilities and the community at large. Hacienda chief executive William Timmons resigned on 31 December as the provider announced new safety measures, including more than one staff member being present during patient interactions and more scrutiny of visitors.
Arizona governor Doug Ducey said his office was considering bringing in a third party to assume the management of Hacienda. The nonprofit facility gets more than $20m annually in taxpayer funds for taking care of extremely ill people, many of whom are incapacitated and on ventilators, the Republic reported.
Hacienda’s annual average cost of care was $386,000 per client in 2012
compared with $134,000 per client in similar US facilities, Arizona Department of Economic Security (DES) auditors said.
The Republic said former DES director Timothy Jeffries and former DES chief law enforcement officer Charles Loftus have filed lawsuits against the state, claiming they were forced out of their jobs over their investigation of Hacienda.
Jeffries was forced to resign in 2016 after a series of controversies, including a finding by the Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) that the DES kept shoddy records, had insecure storage of guns and ammunition and violated state procurement policies in buying some 60,000 rounds of ammunition.
The Republic quoted Jeffries as saying Timmons was obstinate during the investigation of Hacienda and bragged of close ties to Ducey. Ducey spokeswoman Elizabeth Berry said the governor was horrified by accounts of the rape and denied that the state failed to act on concerns raised by the DES.
She also said Hacienda played no part in the forced resignations of Jeffries and Loftus after their two-year tenure.