SOUTH HILL, Va — A resident of a Southside Virginia nursing home is raising concerns over quality of care, staffing levels, and on-site leadership of the facility after it changed hands.

Ronalds Rawlings said each day at Twin Lakes Rehabilitation and Nursing brings an unexpected challenge. He describes his experience living at the South Hill long-term care facility as inconsistent, ever since new ownership took over.

“I wake up in the morning, like, what’s next?” he said. “At least at first, it was consistent at first, but now it’s like, I’m at the point where it’s time to go.”

VCU Health’s Community Memorial Hospital used to operate what was called The Hundley Center but sold the facility to the New Jersey-based Eastern Healthcare Group on April 1, according to VCU Health. With it, came the name change to Twin Lakes and a shift in ownership type from non-profit to for-profit.

Rawlings, who’s lived at the nursing home since 2023, said one of the biggest differences he’s observed over the past several months is a decrease in the number of employees, as he alleged in a complaint to the Virginia Department of Health (VDH), the state agency that oversees nursing homes.

“The nurses that are charged with my care are doing a very good job. Now, those nurses are working to the max. They are short-staffed,” Rawlings said.

He claimed in his complaint those issues have led to medications not arriving on time and showers not occurring as frequently.

When asked whether the facility was short-staffed when it was run by VCU Health, Rawlings answered, “No.”

Rawlings said he has not yet received VDH’s findings pertaining to his complaint, and Eastern has not returned CBS 6’s request for a response to his allegations.

Drop in reported staffing levels

However, data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which regulates nursing homes at the federal level, confirms a considerable drop in staffing levels following the acquisition.

It shows the facility went from a 5-out-of-5 star “well above average” staffing rating from January through March to a 2-star “below average” staffing rating from April through June. CMS determines those ratings in part based off quarterly staffing reports that providers are required to submit. Higher staffing levels “may mean higher quality of care for residents,” according to CMS.

During the same time period, CMS data shows that under VCU Health, there was nearly one whole extra hour of reported total nurse staffing hours per resident per day on average. The facility reported an average of 3.96 total nurse staffing hours per resident per day from January through March but reported 2.98 hours of the same from March through June.

According to the most recent data before the sale, CMS gave the Hundley Center a 5-out-of-5 star overall quality rating, which indicated it also performed well during health inspections.

VDH has not yet conducted a health inspection of Twin Lakes since the ownership change, but Eastern Healthcare Group as a chain has an overall quality rating from CMS of 1.4-out-of-5 stars, as of July 2025, which indicates the group’s 17 facilities have performed poorly on inspections and staffing measures.

Only 22 of the country’s 600+ nursing home chains had a lower overall quality rating, according to CMS data.

CBS 6 has asked Eastern for a response to the company’s ratings, and we have not yet heard back.

Disciplinary action against on-site leadership

Rawlings said he was also troubled by past findings against the leadership put in place at the facility after the ownership change, as both the administrator Shondel Samuels and director of nursing Latarsha Brown have been recently disciplined by the state.

“I think that probably sparked a concern for everybody’s safety,” Rawlings said.

According to licensing board reports, Samuels and Brown were formerly the administrator and director of nursing at Henrico Health and Rehabilitation Center at the time of a 2023 inspection that resulted in serious findings. Henrico was identified by CMS in January 2025 as Virginia’s poorest performing nursing home based off results of its last three years and cycles of inspections.

Citing the results of the 2023 inspection, the Board of Long-Term Care Administrators in July 2025 placed Samuels’ license on probation, in part because it found she failed to protect residents from multiple instances of abuse and retaliated against a resident who complained to an ombudsman by issuing them a discharge notice.

The board said Samuels “accepted little responsibility” in her role as administrator and instead claimed issues cited by the board were caused by factors outside of her control.

Then earlier this month, the Board of Nursing placed Brown’s license on probation, in part finding she engaged in abuse of residents and failed to properly address neglect at Henrico Health and Rehab. CBS 6 was there for a public hearing in November when an attorney for the state made that case to the board.

“She at the very least allowed negligence or abusive behavior to go on at this facility on her watch, potentially that she even participated in it,” Aaron Timberlake, an adjudication specialist for the Virginia Department of Health Professions, said during the hearing.

Brown denied wrongdoing and argued she was a new director of nursing at the time with limited knowledge. She told the board that she and Samuels were given direction by their previous leadership that she believes they would not have followed themselves.

“I have very much taken responsibility for the actions that I played. However, I do know that in certain situations from these allegations, I know I was named, but I did not take part in them,” Brown told the board.

The board did not find the testimony from Brown or Samuels, who testified as a witness in Brown’s case, credible, according to the case findings.

The probation mean that Samuels and Brown can continue practicing but will be subject to additional training, reporting requirements, and state monitoring for at least two years.

Board documents show both women were terminated from the Henrico facility after the 2023 inspection. Public records show the Commonwealth initiated licensing proceedings against them in 2024, and VDH licensing records show the pair was working at Twin Lakes as of September 2025.

CBS 6 asked Eastern if and when it was made aware of the licensing actions against Samuels and Brown and if both are still employed at Twin Lakes, and we have not heard back. CBS 6 also reached out to Samuels and Brown directly regarding their cases, and they have not provided comment.

“The state got to have more oversight,” Rawlings said about the facility. “They got to be held accountable. You got to hold them accountable.”

Rawlings said while there are some bright spots at Twin Lakes, such as the availability of activities and dedication of staff, he’s worried about where the facility is headed under new owners.

“Your way of business is failing,” he said. “The things that are going on at Twin Lakes, it just needs to get better.”

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This article was reprinted with permission from Virginia Mercury. 

Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger on Tuesday announced two additional cabinet appointments, tapping longtime Del. Mark Sickles, D-Fairfax, to serve as Virginia’s next secretary of finance and public administrator Traci Deshazor as her secretary of administration, rounding out key leadership roles as she prepares to take office.

Sickles’ departure from the state legislature will also trigger a special election in the strongly Democratic House District 17, a seat that includes parts of Fairfax County, before the General Assembly is set to convene for its 2026 session next month.

Spanberger said Sickles, a senior budget writer in the House of Delegates, will bring deep fiscal expertise and a bipartisan approach to managing the state’s finances. Deshazor, a Danville native with experience across local, state and federal government, will oversee core administrative functions ranging from elections to workforce support.

“The secretary of finance plays an essential role in guaranteeing Virginia’s long-term economic strength, safeguarding taxpayer dollars, and addressing the challenges facing Virginia communities,” Spanberger said in a statement.

She pointed to Sickles’ role as vice chair of the House Appropriations Committee and said he has worked with lawmakers of both parties to pass budgets that offered tax relief for families while supporting economic growth.

Spanberger said Sickles shares her commitment to fiscal responsibility and to ensuring taxpayer dollars are used effectively, adding that she expects him to be a key partner in her administration’s efforts to lower costs for families and secure Virginia’s long-term financial footing.

Sickles, who is completing his 22nd year representing parts of South Fairfax County, said he is looking forward to assisting Spanberger as she works to make life in Virginia more affordable.

He said the administration must deliver results for families, young people and seniors by building budgets that reflect shared values and reduce the cost of living.

“We need to make sure every tax dollar is employed to its greatest effect for hard-working Virginians,” Sickles said, citing priorities such as keeping tuition low, expanding affordable housing, ensuring teachers are properly compensated and making quality health care accessible and affordable.

Sickles is widely known in Richmond for his influence over health and human services spending. Since 2004, he has served on — and chaired — the House Health and Human Services Committee. He joined the Appropriations Committee in 2014 and currently chairs its Health and Human Resources Subcommittee.

He has also played a central role in budget negotiations, having been appointed to the House-Senate budget conference committee in 2018 and reappointed each year since by successive House speakers.

Sickles currently chairs the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission and serves on several other influential panels, including the Major Employment Investment Commission, the Joint Commission on Health Care and the Governor’s Advisory Committee on Revenue Estimates.

Over his legislative career, Sickles has helped shepherd major policy changes through the General Assembly, including the transition from the federal health insurance marketplace to the Virginia Health Insurance Exchange, election administration reforms, legalization of sports betting and the creation of the Virginia Innovation Partnership Authority.

He has also championed investments in libraries, endangered species protection and bioscience initiatives, and is the patron of a pending constitutional amendment to protect marriage equality for LGBTQ Virginians.

Alongside Sickles’ appointment, Spanberger named Deshazor as her secretary of administration, a role responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations that underpin state government.

She described Deshazor as a knowledgeable leader focused on making government work better for people at both the state and local levels.

Deshazor said her career has been centered on ensuring public institutions are effective and results-driven, and she emphasized the importance of administration as the foundation of good governance.

“I will bring a people-first, outcomes-driven approach to strengthening Virginia’s operations, promoting transparency, and strengthening trust in government,” Deshazor said.

Deshazor brings experience from multiple levels of government.

Most recently, as the deputy chief administrative officer for human services in Richmond, she oversaw a six-agency portfolio with more than 1,000 employees. During that time, she helped create a new Department of Neighborhood and Community Services, launched offices focused on homelessness and community services, and established a community resource and training center.

She also served concurrently as the city’s first chief equity officer.

At the state level, Deshazor previously served as deputy secretary of the commonwealth under Govs. Ralph Northam and Terry McAuliffe, supervising teams responsible for core constitutional and administrative functions.

In that role, she supported clemency efforts and contributed to actions restoring civil and voting rights to more than 300,000 Virginians and to the granting of thousands of pardons and sentence computations.

Earlier in her career, she represented Virginia as deputy director of intergovernmental affairs, working with Congress, the White House and federal agencies.

A graduate of programs at the University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, Yale University, Virginia Tech and Hollins University, Deshazor lives in Richmond with her husband and said she remains committed to serving the commonwealth she has always called home.