Lawmakers frustrated by lack of answers to Hopemont incident that resulted in resident’s death

May 21—Deputies on Tuesday tried to learn more about the January incident at Hopemont Hospital that resulted in the death of a resident, expressing frustration at not being able to get answers.

It was the last day of the May interim session, and members of the Legislative Oversight Commission on Health and Human Resources Accountability had before them the Office of Inspector General’s report on this and other incidents that had occurred several years ago.

But Jessica Whitmore, general counsel for the OIG, told lawmakers that Hopemont is certified by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Although the PIG visited the site and compiled the report, it was a federal report and CMS did not allow her to provide details.

She gave that answer several times. After one answer, Republican Delegate Matt Rorbach of Cabell said, “It looks like we’re not going to get an answer to much today.”

After another question, Senator Vince Deeds (R-Greenbrier) said, “We’re talking around this without really getting many answers.”

On Jan. 4, the 94-year-old Hopemont resident – a non-verbal person with dementia and other conditions who required wraparound care – was placed in a hot tub and exposed to 135-degree water, sustaining multiple burns. He was transferred to Preston Memorial, where it was determined he suffered second-degree burns to 35 percent of his body.

He later died. Two nursing assistants, a registered nurse and a maintenance supervisor are no longer employed at Hopemont, according to the OIG’s Feb. 9 report – a so-called complaint survey.

It notes that on January 11, Hopemont implemented a bathing policy that requires water temperature to be measured before each resident bathes to ensure the temperature does not rise above 43 degrees Celsius and that residents are supervised while bathing to prevent harm.

A report on the follow-up visit on March 26 stated: “It was determined that the facility had corrected the previously criticized deficiencies in practice.”

Rep. Bob Fehrenbacher, R-Wood, called the incident a “very telling failure on multiple levels” and wanted more details, but Whitmore said CMS rules prohibited her from saying more than what was on the pages before him.

Another delegate asked whether there is a procedure in place to systematically share lessons learned from complaints received among the Department of Health facilities in order to avoid repetitive errors.

Whitmore said the OIG is independent of the three agencies that made up the former Department of Health and Human Resources and has no responsibility for what they do with the information. (DHF Secretary Michael Caruso said in a later presentation that they share and apply lessons learned.)

Another member asked if there are any penalties that can be imposed in such cases. Whitmore said there are some fines, but these are determined by CMS.

Although the resident’s death was reported, Whitmore was not informed of the patient’s fate when asked because he had been transferred to another facility that was outside of Hopemont’s responsibility and was not within the scope of the report.

Commission co-chair Heather Tully (R-Nicholas) asked a question that alluded to complaints from lawmakers that an April 16 meeting with Caruso was canceled, allegedly due to interference from the executive branch (a charge that Gov. Jim Justice has denied).

Tully asked Whitmore if she had been compelled by an outside person to qualify her testimony. Whitmore said no.

Deeds said more transparency is needed about what is going on in government facilities.

And Delegate Ric Griffith (Democrats, Wayne) commented on the bureaucratic and regulatory inconsistency: “It’s pretty difficult to oversee when you don’t have the overview.”

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