Whistleblower is fired for reporting mold problems at nursing home
NBC.com had an article about the repeated problems at Englewood Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center that puts the well-being of residents at risk. The inspectors paid an unannounced visit to the after getting a complaint from a worker. The courageous whistle-blower is a former employee at the center for years who tried to get the mold problems there addressed. The former employee says her concerns about mold and structural issues at Englewood Health Care fell on deaf ears. She says management was not doing enough to permanently fix the problem. That's when she called AHCA. "I actually took the surveyor through and they saw what I was talking about and they substantiated my complaints," she said.
She recently took her complaints to the Agency for Health Care Administration, or AHCA. Now, the agency says it has cited the nursing home for failing to keep the building sanitary for its patients. Following that inspection, the agency has cited the nursing home for:
Mold and water intrusion. Finding peeling paint, soft walls, and deteriorating windowsills in two residents' rooms. AHCA says Englewood Health Care's "failure to repair water damage, prevent mold, and repair and maintain the building" equates to a substandard level of care.
She says she believes it was a call that cost her that job. "AHCA came in on Friday, they terminated me on Tuesday," she said. But, she says, it was a small price to pay for the dignity and the well being of the patients who call the building home.
