An official with the State Health Department also said Thursday that the State Attorney General's office has taken an interest in the cited deficiencies and has been in contact with the health department to review the department's 331-page report, which details the deficiencies.
Dorya Huser, chief of long-term care for the health department, said Thursday, "The attorney general's Medicaid/Medicare fraud unit has been in touch with us."
Huser said her department does not handle possible criminal charges. The health department does turn over reports to other state investigation agencies, and can impose fines which, in the Hominy Nursing Home case, may add up to thousands of dollars, Huser said.
Haskins, a past Sallisaw city manager who serves as the secretary and treasurer of Oklahoma Nursing Homes Ltd., did not return telephone calls from Your TIMES.
Huser said the deficiencies at the Hominy nursing home were uncovered during the annual survey conducted of state nursing homes. The report also indicates that employees may have been threatened with reprisals if they talked to investigators.
As a result of the deficiencies, the state has taken over the nursing home and appointed a temporary manager, Fred Gipson, a Norman attorney. Huser said her department will seek to revoke the license of Flora Brown Williams, the removed administrator.
Huser said the state inspection revealed 50 deficiencies at the Hominy Nursing Home, and a recent inspection of Oklahoma Nursing Homes' Drumright facility uncovered 11 deficiencies there.
Oklahoma Nursing Homes owns 12 nursing homes in the state, none of which are in Sequoyah County.
At Hominy, the inspection revealed lapses in care for the mentally retarded, mentally ill and the elderly patients. Huser said the deficiencies "were pretty overwhelming for the survey team."
The report, reviewed in the Tulsa World last week, indicates patients were allowed to sexually and physically assault one another and staff members were allowed to punish patients by awaking them at 4:30 a.m.
One sexual predator at the home has been removed, Huser said. The 63-bed Hominy home had fewer than 30 residents last week, she added.
Other deficiencies included reports that caretakers did not receive appropriate training; some residents were not bathed as punishment; alleged sexual assaults were not investigated; residents were medicated as a means of restraint; no counseling or mental health services were offered; some residents were allowed to engage in sexually aggressive behavior; residents were allowed to leave unescorted; amenities were withheld if residents did not sign checks over to the nursing home; some residents were observed to be unkempt, including one who scooted around on the floor because he could not walk and was found to have food on his face; another resident with contracted muscles did not receive pain medication when undergoing physical therapy; and one was injured when a catheter was improperly inserted.
Huser said the survey at the Drumright home also revealed some residents were in "immediate jeopardy," which allows the health department to take immediate action.
Huser said inspectors found the door alarms had been turned off, allowing an Alzheimer's patient to wander away from the home.
The inspection is expected to also lead to further investigation into a patient's death. Huser said, "There may be an actual harm (incident) at the Drumright home. A resident was complaining of chest pains. He was given Maalox and the resident died."
Huser said the state has not taken over the Drumright Nursing Home, but the operator has been given six months "to make sure they come back in compliance" with state regulations.
"There were 11 deficiencies in that survey," Huser said. "They have presented a plan of removal (of the deficiencies)...and are making sure the door alarms are on."
Haskins was appointed to the Long Term Advisory Board of the Oklahoma State Department of Health in December upon the recommendation of State Sen. Kenneth Corn (D-Poteau) and the Oklahoma Association of Health Care Providers.
The 27-member board advises the state health department on regulation of nursing homes and other issues.
Haskins' letter offering to resign from the board was released Thursday by the governor's office. It reads: "Due to the publicity and the issues which have appeared since my appointment...I would offer to step aside from this position in order that the board may address recommendations and review of other issues which need consideration for the improvement of the services to the elderly in Oklahoma and progress can go forward without distraction and publicity of my membership on the committee.
"If I may provide you with any additional information regarding this notification do not hesitate to contact me at your convenience," Haskins writes to Gov. Henry.
In a prepared statement released with Haskin's letter, Gov. Henry says: "Given the serious nature of the allegations, Mr. Haskins without question made the right decision.
"As I have said many times before, I will do whatever it takes to protect elderly and infirm Oklahomans. My administration will not tolerate any form of abuse or neglect in Oklahoma nursing homes."
Oklahoma Congressman Brad Carson (D-Claremore) said Wednesday that he is taking action to address the problem of sex offenders in nursing homes.
Carson, who is running for the U.S. Senate to replace retiring Sen. Don Nickles, said he requested an in-depth federal investigation by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) into the housing of sex offenders and other convicted criminals in nursing homes.
"The placement of convicted sexual predators and other violent offenders in nursing homes is a very serious concern to me," Carson said. "As soon as this disturbing problem was brought to my attention, I began working with other congressional leaders to find answers and potential solutions."
Lt. Gov. Mary Fallin also issued a press release Thursday.
"Gov. Brad Henry should re-examine how he appoints those who oversee Oklahoma's nursing homes in light of an emerging scandal surrounding one Henry appointee," Fallin said.
"I hope we're not headed back to the days of ghost employees and stonewalled nursing home inspections," Fallin said, "but these newest revelations are definitely cause for concern. The governor needs to take a closer look at the people he's appointing to these boards and not just take the word of the nursing home industry or the local Democratic legislator."
Fallin said she was concerned by revelations surrounding Haskins.
"I thought we learned the lesson about patronage appointments to key jobs in regulating nursing homes after the terrible scandals at the health department. These are sensitive appointments that have a direct bearing on the safety and welfare of some of our most vulnerable citizens. They need to be made with a lot more care and deliberation, and not just be based on politics."
Fallin said she has faith in most Oklahoma nursing home operators.
"I know most of these operators work hard to do the right thing and to offer the best possible care to our older citizens," she said. "Unfortunately, when the watchdogs are themselves implicated in questionable practices it makes all of us with relatives in nursing homes suspicious about who is being appointed, and how."
Oklahoma Nursing Homes Ltd. owns 12 nursing homes in Oklahoma. They are Osage Nursing Home in Nowata; Hominy Nursing Home; Skiatook Nursing Home; Fairfax Manor, Drumright Nursing Home; Yale Nursing Home; Pawhuska Nursing Home; Hays House in Nowata; Oakridge Home in Wewoka; Okmulgee Terrace; Eastwood Manor in Commerce; and Miami Nursing Center.
