FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WNCN) – A Fayetteville woman wants answers about the conditions she saw her mother in at a retirement home. She says she found her mother soaked in urine.
“If you only knew what has gone through my mind every time I walk into that facility,” said Tracey Ervin, who is a patient’s daughter.
Tracey Ervin said almost every day for nearly a week, she walked into Whispering Pines Nursing Home and found her mother sitting in her own urine.
“I’m angry. I’m frustrated,” she said. “All the above, and then more.”
Her mother suffered a stroke, has dementia, is paralyzed, and is in the nursing home for 24-hour care.
“My mother has gone through so much in life — so much in life that people have no clue. My mother deserves to live the best of life .She doesn’t deserve this,” Ervin said.
She took the problem straight to the nursing home and filed a complaint with the state. Her complaint will be added to a list of complaints against Whispering Pines.
The complaints on file with the state that date back to 2011. There are a total of 21 complaints in that time period. In most of the complaints, no deficiencies were found or the issue corrected.
The nursing home said the issues in Ervin’s mother’s case have been corrected too, but Ervin said she’s the one that made corrections.
“I’m the one that changed my mother’s sheets. I’m the one that changed her. I’m the one that washed her face,” Ervin said.
Now she wants more to be done.
“Them people that’s neglected my mother, out. Director of nursing, out. I’m tired of it,” Ervin said.
The director at the nursing home refused an on-camera interview, but the president of Whispering Pines did send the statement listed below, answering CBS 17’s questions:
Question – – When were you made aware of this issue/complaint stating Arlene Martin was left in her own urine?
Answer – HIPPA regulations do not allow specific comments regarding any resident. That said, we received a Resident Grievance Form on 3/22/2019 regarding a single incident.
Question – – What’s being done to address the complaint and/or any others?
Answer – Additional training was performed with 37 nurses and nurse aides who provide care to ensure the individual care needs of the resident are being addressed. Per standard procedure, monitoring of the condition is conducted regularly. We have received no additional complaints since the original grievance on 3/22/2019.
Question – How do you typically handle complaints?
Answer – Every complaint is investigated by management staff and includes resident and employee interviews, review of care provision protocols and practices and review of the medical record. Employee training is conducted if warranted by the investigation. A written response is provided to the resident/family within 10 days of the grievance. The letter includes the Executive Director’s phone number to call if the grievance is not satisfactorily resolved. We have not received any further complaints regarding the grievance issue.
Additionally Resident/ Family Concerns and Grievances are covered in the Resident and Family Handbook which states:
A resident, his or her representative, family member, visitor or advocate may file a verbal, written, or anonymous grievance or complaint concerning treatment, abuse, neglect, harassment, medical care, behavior of other residents or staff members, theft of property, etc., without fear of threat or reprisal in any form. If you have a grievance / complaint, please complete a Grievance / Complaint form, or see any staff member or the Social Services Director for assistance. The facility investigates all concerns and we will provide follow up to the person filing the grievance within 10 working days. The resident has the right to receive a report of the investigation in writing.
The resident also has the right to file a complaint regarding any violation of state or federal regulations, with the State survey and certification agency, (see Appendix D for contact information)
