Sexual Assaults, Insect Attacks, and Overall Bad Care Shuts Down North Carolina Nursing Home
Forest View Rehabilitation Center in Durham, North Carolina closed in November 2008 following investigations in August and September 2008 that revealed very serious hygiene, health, and safety violations.
In one instance, fire ants were found in a resident's room and approximately 150 fire ants were crawling on the resident's body, causing eight inch welts from his arm pit to his waist. The fire ants had built a mound outside by a dumpster and an ant trail led from the dumpster, past a smoking area, into the resident's room.
At least two mentally impaired residents were sexually assaulted by other "alert and oriented" residents, one of whom carried a sexually transmitted disease. One of the aggressors in the incident was transferred to another facility. The physician of the other aggressor wrote, "Because he is a danger to an incompetent female resident and other patients we can no longer safely care for him in a safe environment for all of our residents." Yet, the administrator of Forest View, John Walder, blamed the victim in this incident alleging that the victim, who had been diagnosed with psychosis and other mental disabilities and often acted out sexually, initiated the sex.
Many of the deficiencies cited by the State occurred because nursing home staff did not follow designated procedures, but the failure began at the top of the hierarchy. The Director of Nursing stated that she was "unaware" of many of the major violations at the facility. In one instance, she allegedly stated she didn't know there were no doctor's orders for catheters for several residents. In another instance, after investigators discovered that there had been no registered nurse on duty for more than a day (law requires a registered nurse on duty for at least eight consecutive hours daily), the Director of Nursing was quoted as saying "she did not think about registered nurse coverage for the day".
Other serious violations uncovered at the facility were repeated falls by residents, residents with painful pressure sores not given any painkillers to alleviate their discomfort, and urinary tract infections contracted from dirty catheters - in at least one instance, the catheter was washed with the same cloth used to wipe feces from a person's rectum.
Amazingly, there was only one instance of documented disciplinary action - on a van driver. The driver was suspended and formally disciplined after a resident using a power wheelchair tipped over in his wheelchair and was lodged against a window in the moving van after the chair had not been properly strapped down. The facility's transport service was discontinued.
The facility was home to approximately 100 residents with a variety of mental and physical disabilities ranging from Alzheimer's disease to kidney disease to multiple sclerosis. The residents were transferred to other facilities for care.
Forest View was owned by Durham Manor, L.L.C. but managed by Epic Group. The building will be sold.
To view various survey reports on this nursing home, go to:
April 2, 2008 Survey, Part I
April 2, 2008 Survey, Part II
May 8, 2008 Survey
