HHS-OIG Issues Notice of Exclusion to Owner of 7 Louisiana Nursing Homes
Nursing Homes Were Previously Excluded After Squalid Conditions Led to Deaths in Aftermath of Hurricane Ida
Inspector General Christi A. Grimm announced today that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) has excluded Mr. Bob G. Dean, Jr., from participation in Federal health care programs due to his ownership interest in seven Louisiana nursing homes[1] that OIG previously excluded. The Louisiana Department of Health revoked the facilities’ licenses to operate as nursing homes due to multiple violations of state law that left seven residents dead and hundreds of others neglected and vulnerable following Hurricane Ida in August 2021. As a result, OIG has excluded the nursing homes and their owner.
Prior to Hurricane Ida making landfall, the seven nursing homes evacuated over 800 of their residents to a warehouse facility. This was hundreds of residents greater than the facility’s capacity. After receiving reports that the warehouse’s generators and oxygen equipment were failing and the facility had several inches of water on the floor, State health inspectors made multiple onsite visits and observed residents suffering in inhumane and squalid conditions. Inspectors noted residents sleeping on floor mattresses less than a foot apart near standing water, some were partially undressed or completely naked, and others were calling for help or left alone with full diapers. The building smelled of urine while trash and dirty linens were piling up. Inspectors also noted that Mr. Dean attempted to threaten, intimidate, and interfere with their assessment of the site. In the end, seven residents died, and Louisiana revoked their nursing home licenses for multiple documented violations of state law, including cruelty and indifference to the residents’ welfare.
“Improving nursing home performance and the care they provide is my number one priority,” stated Inspector General Grimm. “When those facilities and their owners fail to protect our most vulnerable populations, OIG will not hesitate to implement its powerful exclusion tool to safeguard HHS programs and the people they serve.”
[1] These nursing homes are: Maison De’Ville Nursing Home; Maison De’Ville Nursing Home of Harvey; Maison Orleans Healthcare of New Orleans; Park Place Healthcare, LLC; River Palms Nursing and Rehab, LLC; South Lafourche Nursing and Rehab; and West Jefferson Health Care Center.