Resident Eats Mouse

WCNC and Fox8 reported on the disturbing complaint investigation at Accordius Health at Salisbury. North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services found workers witness a resident with dementia grab a mouse out of the trash and then swallow the rodent. They did nothing to intervene and failed to immediately tell a doctor or his family. They noted it three days later and then called Poison Control. Disgusting.

The inspection report reveals the facility knew the resident suffered from dementia and psychosis with a history of rummaging through the trash. Inspectors documented an interview with a nurse aide who said the man spit out a “greyish-brown ball of fur with a piece of grizzle in it.”

Inspectors detailed multiple incidents of “substandard quality of care” during the investigation including caregivers failing to tell another man’s family he tested positive for COVID-19. In fact, the inspection report reveals the facility failed to inform his family until more than seven months after the positive test.

Records show the federal government penalized Accordius Health at Salisbury $48,525.

The latest North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services data show Accordius Health at Salisbury received $10 million in Medicaid payments during the 2021 fiscal year.