Gordon Oaks responds to allegations

Mobile, Ala. (WALA) - A 191 page report shows the results of a series of surveys the Alabama Department of Public Health did over at the Gordon Oaks Healthcare Center.

Some of the situations they found there were serious.

And Gordon Oaks has finally responded to our request for comment.

The Alabama Department of Public Health says the Federal Government revoked its Medicaid and Medicare contract with the Gordon Oaks Healthcare Center.

That means that nursing home residents who are using the federal aid have to move out by Monday.

Over the course of 2011, the Alabama Department of Public Health made a series of surveys at the nursing home, and they found nine serious deficiencies.

For example, in one survey, an unruly resident was found tied with a sheet to a Geri Chair and the sheet was wrapped around the resident's neck. The employee said she removed the sheet, but it had been reapplied.

In the report, another employee said tying the resident to the Geri Chair was "like putting a child in time out."

The report also found many other problems in the facility, including issues with the call system, improper procedures for securing residents in wheelchairs, and calls not being answered promptly.

One resident complained that it once took the staff two and a half hours to assist him with changing his diaper.

The report also said another resident said they had to yell for help to get staff attention when the call light did not work, and had to wait for an hour for staff to respond to the call light.

Dr. Walter Geary with the Alabama Department of Public Health said, "There was potential there for serious harm and injury to residents, and that's why the deficiencies were cited at a high level."

A spokesperson for Gordon Oaks said in a statement: "We have at this point in time been given absolutely no opportunity to present our evidence and our arguments to a neutral administrative law judge that we believe will show that the…[survey findings]…were unfounded and misleading.

The Department of Health official said Gordon Oaks had an opportunity to fight these claims in an informal hearing, but the nursing home canceled.

The Gordon Oaks spokesman writes that none of the residents have been harmed by these alleged practices, and he goes on to write that the Department of Public Health has been "overzealous and imprudent in this process to the detriment of the residents and employees of the Gordon Oaks Healthcare community. ”

Dr. Geary said, "We are not restricted or confined to waiting until something really bad happens."

Gordon Oaks says they will fight these charges in a legal hearing scheduled for April.

Gordon Oaks has multiple levels of care, from a nursing home to independent living.

These allegations only impact the nursing home, and residents who have Medicare or Medicaid.

Gordon Oaks continues to have a license to run a nursing home, however, the state will hold a hearing next month to discuss possibly revoking the center's nursing home license.