The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) is responsible for overseeing nursing homes in this state, for conducting annual inspections, and for investigation complaints of neglect and abuse. The division of the MDH that conducts the investigations is called the “Office of Health Facility Complaints” (or OHFC). The MDH prepares reports on its investigations, identifying the facility, the allegation investigated, and the department’s findings and conclusions.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune, however, reports that “Family members frequently have not been informed that a loved one’s death triggered an investigation, a policy that only recently changed.” In addition, the report reveals that “More recently, the department stopped including the date of the incident in its reports. The director of the Office of Health Facility Complaints said it dropped the dates to protect vulnerable subjects and their families.”
The OHFC director, Stella French, offered a questionable explanation to the Star Tribune for this new policy: “We discovered that the public would use the incident date and back into a police report.” Recognizing Mark Kosieradzki as “a leader in litigation involving nursing homes in the state,” the Star Tribune quotes Mark: “You’ve got state investigators who are doing lukewarm investigations.”
The Kosieradzki • Smith Law Firm represents clients in cases involving catastrophic injury caused by nursing homes and other care facilities that fail to provide proper care. Many of these injuries are never reported to the Minnesota Department of Health because the nursing homes want to cover up their wrongdoing. Many of the cases that are reported to the MDH result in a finding by the MDH that is favorable to the nursing home because the investigator did not review all the evidence. Citizens cannot always rely on the government to protect them. If you believe your loved one has been harmed due neglect or abuse, take action today and contact the Kosieradzki • Smith Law Firm online or call us toll-free at (877) 552-2873 to set up a no-cost, no-obligation consultation.
