Director of Nursing Orders Disruptive Patients Drugged for Convenience: Three Die as a Result
Kern Hospital
Resident Opal Towery argued with the nursing director and was subsequently injected with anti-psychotic drugs and spent the ensuing week in a stupor.
Resident Louise Zimmerman was biting, hitting, and kicking others. She was pinned down by four staff members and injected with anti-psychotic drugs. She never regained full consciousness.
Other residents suffered serious side effects from anti-psychotic drug injections such as severe lethargy, weight loss, inability to eat or drink, drooling, and incoherence.
In a complaint filed by the California Attorney General's Office, it is alleged that a nursing director, pharmacist, and physician drugged at least 22 elderly nursing home residents with anti-psychotic drugs in an effort to control them between August 2006 and January 2007 at the skilled nursing facility contained within the Kern Valley Healthcare District. The drugging lead to the unfortunate deaths of three residents:
Fannie May Brinkley died on December 23, 2006 after being given Depakote, a mood disorder drug. She did not eat for six days and died after being rushed to the Emergency Room. Ms. Brinkley's family was never told she was being drugged.
Eddie Dolenc was given anti-psychotic medication that severely sedated him. He was unable to eat or drink and died one month after being admitted to the facility from dehydration or pneumonia.
Joseph Shepter went to the Emergency Room on January 14, 2007 for dehydration and died five hours later. He had been given three anti-psychotic drugs.
The situtation only came to light in January 2007 when an ombudsman filed a complaint after seeing Louise Zimmerman held down and forcibly injected.
The Department of Public Health immediately commenced an investigation and determined that residents were being given high doses of psychotropic drugs to control them for convenience. Hughes was immediately dismissed.
Three top level nursing home officials were arrested for their participation in "forcibly administering" psychotropic drugs for convenience rather than for medical use. Arrested were:
Debbi Hayes, 51, a former pharmacist at Valley Healthcare District;
Gwen Hughes, 55, a former Director of Nursing at Valley Healthcare District; and
Dr. Hoshang Pormir, 48, staff physician at Kern Valley Healthcare District, who was serving as the medical director of the skilled nursing facility.
Hughes and Hayes face eight felony charges of causing harm or death of an elder or dependent adult and two felony charges of assault with a deadly weapon through overmedication. Pormir faces eight felony charges of causing harm of death to an elder or dependent adult. If convicted, they face up to eleven years in prison.
HISTORY
Gwen Hughes assumed her position as Director of Nursing in September 2006 and allegedly ordered that all dementia and Alzheimer's patients be forcibly given high doses of psychotropic medications to make them docile and easier to handle. These medications were also given to any patients who argued with her, were noisy, or were disruptive. Two resisting residents were held down and forcibly injected. A third resident had the drugs sprinkled on her food.
Hughes allegedly directed Debbi Hayes to fill prescriptions for these medications. Hayes wrote and filled these prescriptions without doctor's orders.
Nurses objected and raised concerns about the drugging and Hughes threatened to fire them and have their licenses revoked. Several nurses left the facility and one nurse told investigators that she was so distraught over the situation that she was on the verge of a "nervous breakdown".
Dr. Hoshang Pormir approved the medications after they had been administered and did not examine his patients to determine if the medications were medically necessary.
Pharmacist Samuel Obair, II assisted with the investigation said the situation was "beyond appalling"... it was "the first time I have ever run into this severity where it affected so many individuals and was being done so blatantly".
