Maggots found in resident’s eye

This story really upset me.  I can’t imagine the excuses the nursing home will use to explain this neglect away.  Florida police began investigating why an 82-year-old man from the University Center West nursing home was so severely neglected, he ended up in the hospital.

The man was taken to the hospital suffering chest pains and difficulty breathing.  What doctors found was so alarming, they had to call DeLand police.

Doctors told police the hospice patient had bed sores, his breathing tube was infected, and they found maggots in his left eye.

JoAnn Grasso, the administrator of the nursing home, declined to comment specifically on the case.

Former University Center West employee Monique Miller said she was not surprised.

“I haven’t seen maggots — but bed sores, yes,” Miller said. “That doesn’t surprise me at University Center West. No, it does not, because I’ve seen it several times.”

Miller said supervisors at the home are lax and allow unhealthy conditions to continue until its too late.

“You have to be half dead for them to send you out to the hospital, because they’re afraid to lose money, or their beds will be empty,” Miller said. “That’s scary. It’s very scary. You have to watch it. You have to be very careful when you put a family member in a nursing home — all nursing homes.”