RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia’s top advocate for people living in nursing homes and assisted living is speaking out after several CBS 6 investigations alleging abuse, neglect, and a lack of basic care in some skilled nursing facilities in the area.

“It’s a conversation long overdue, and it’s a problem too long kept under wraps,” said Joani Latimer, Virginia’s Long Term Care Ombudsman at the Department of Aging and Rehabilitation (DARS). “We need to do better, we have some serious issues.”

Latimer oversees 33 long-term care ombudsmen located all over the state.

Half of them work part-time.

Residents and their families can reach out to the ombudsmen for help overcoming problems and concerns.

The ombudsmen visit the facilities and try to talk through solutions, but they do not have any enforcement powers, as in, they cannot force a facility to make a change.

Latimer estimated that the ombudsmen respond to about 1,000 facilities overall.

“It’s a really tall task,” Latimer said. “In an ideal world we could be at everyone’s bedside offering assistance as needed. Our ability to do that is limited.”

Latimer said the largest portion of the complaints the ombudsmen receive relate to basic care: things like having a diaper changed promptly, or being turned every two hours if they have a bed sore.

“So, residents in these facilities, they are entitled to that care?” CBS 6 investigative reporter Melissa Hipolit asked Latimer.

“They are entitled to being turned every two hours if that is in their plan of care,” Latimer replied.

“They are entitled to having their diaper changed whenever they use the restroom?” Hipolit responded.

“Right, right, and these are all things that are reasonable expectations within the realm of clinical practice,” Latimer responded.

“Do you have to accept that you are going to have to wait two hours for your diaper to be changed or longer?” Hipolit asked.

“No absolutely not. I’ll say that, and I think sometimes folks in these situations, in LTC facilities, particularly in those that are just not doing what they need to be doing, which is not all of them, when that is the culture, I think people become convinced that their expectations are unreasonable,” Latimer responded.

At Colonial Heights Rehabilitation and Nursing Center, prosecutors allege a woman was left in her bed for days in her urine and feces and was not turned to the point that her wounds caused sepsis, which killed her.

“Are there facilities that are providing this basic level of care so folks are not getting bed wounds, or if they do get bed wounds, they’re not worsening to a stage four? Can that be done? Is it possible?” Hipolit asked Latimer.

“I think it is possible,” Latimer replied. “Yes, there may be a person who is more inclined because of their clinical condition to develop these skin integrity problems, but the main thing is there are some things that can be done to prevent that from occurring and so one of them, of course, is not letting someone lie in their own waste.”

Latimer said there are several options available to people to request help to improve a situation, and an investigation into concerns.

• She advises people to initially reach out to her office at elderrights.virginia.gov if they are not exactly sure where to go first.
• However, if someone feels abuse or neglect may be going on, such as in a case of diapers not being changed or ulcers being developed, she recommends using the DARS Adult Protective Services portal to submit allegations of maltreatment.
• Residents and families can also submit a complaint with the Virginia Department of Health’s Office of Licensure if they have concerns about the quality of care being provided at a particular facility.
• If a resident or family member believes a facility or providers may be charging Medicaid for services that are not being provided, they can submit a report to the state Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit here.
• Likewise, if they feel a facility or providers may be charging Medicare for services that are not being provided, they can submit a report here.
• And, finally, when a resident or their family is concerned that a licensed provider, like a doctor or a nurse, may not be providing safe and competent care, they can file a complaint with the Virginia Department of Health Professions here.

A CBS 6 investigation found nursing homes are required by law to have a Medical Director to oversee the care being provided, but those doctors are not required to see patients.

We uncovered one Medical Director who oversees care at 31 different facilities.

Watch: Daughters concerned about amount of time doctors spend in nursing homes

Daughters concerned about amount of time doctors spend in nursing homes

“It just seems kind of humanly impossible to be there, present to those care needs in an effective way if you have that many folks you are overseeing, so to speak,” Latimer said.

CBS 6 also previously reported that search warrants in Colonial Heights allege two nurses talked about stealing drugs from patients, and one of them described a resident using foul language.

Latimer said the public needs to band together to demand change.

“We have facilities that are doing it, can do it, and are showing that it can be done, that there can be a culture of caring that permeates all aspects of that operation, but I think we have seen a troubling trend in something other than that in many facilities, whether it has to do with ownership patterns, the changes in the workforce, whatever it is it is really disheartening,” Latimer said.

CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.

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