CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga.,None — A Channel 2 investigation into a mysterious death of a resident from a local personal care home led to stunning revelations about the qualifications the state requires for caregivers at such facilities.
Investigative reporter Mark Winne learned no license or certification is required to be the sole caregiver in these facilities and the only requirement is a CPR course and instruction from management on each resident's needs.
Fifty-six-year-old Robert Rosenthal died in April, the exact reason is still unknown.
Beth Rosenthal told Winne her brother Robert was still walking and talking when he entered Guiding Hand Personal Care Home in Jonesboro on Jan. 6.
Robert Rosenthal IM Robert Rosenthal on his 50th birthday in July, 2004 in front of his house in Florida. Robert Rosenthal
Beth said Robert was admitted to Guiding Hand because he had dementia and his condition required more attention than he or his family could provide on their own.
5 p.m. Ch. 2 Investigates Standards For Personal Care Workers 6 p.m. Ch. 2 Investigates Standards For Personal Care Workers
Less than a month later, Robert was checked into the emergency room at Southern Regional Hospital with respiratory failure.
Esther Edukuye, the owner of Guiding Hand and a registered nurse, immediately took Robert to the hospital when she arrived at the facility to take him to a doctor's appointment and found him having trouble breathing.
Edukuye told Martin, she "believed that if she did not show up that day that Robert may have died at her house."
Records indicate a doctor found "extensive bruising and welts over most of body and that abuse was probable."
Beth Rosenthal told Winne she was devastated when she arrived at the hospital and saw her brother hooked up to the ventilator and unconscious.
"He was bruised and abused from head to toe. He wasn't taken care of; he had a rash all over him," said Beth Rosenthal, "It was just pathetic."
The hospital contacted the Clayton County Police Department, which sparked their investigation as well as a state investigation by the Department of Community Health, the agency responsible for regulating personal care homes, into what happened to Robert Rosenthal at Guiding Hand.
Clayton County Police Detective Tom Martin said that despite weeks of investigating he could not prove who was responsible for the worst injuries of its kind he's seen in 19 years of law enforcement work.
"He never told anyone who attacked him, he didn't have a chance to tell me," said Martin. "I believe somebody in the house may have put injuries onto Mr. Rosenthal but I can't prove that."
Martin interviewed the sole caregiver to four mentally or physically disabled residents at Guiding Hands. Jerry Richardson, 26, told Martin his only training was a $50 CPR class and hands-on training. Richardson said he was paid $30 a day in cash and suggested that he did not have a home of his own.
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Det. Tom Martin interviewed Jerry Richardson, the caregiver at Guiding Hand, regarding Robert Rosenthal's injuries.
Martin said, "I believe there was not enough training to handle the patients in that house." But Martin said it was training that met the legal requirement, according to the Department of Community Health's regulations.
Detective Martin told Winne he was shocked to learn through the course of his investigation what minimum training the state required of caregivers in personal care homes.
"I'm a law enforcement officer and my dad's been in a nursing home before and I had no idea," said Martin.
Winne went to Guiding Hand and interviewed the new caregiver. She said her only training was a CPR course and even admitted that is not enough training for people who work at these facilities. She indicated she has registered for more training to become a Certified Nursing Assistant.
Winne tried repeatedly to interview the owner, Esther Edukuye, both at the facility and at an address listed for her in records. Someone at the house in the gated community listed for her told Winne she was not there and then said she was sleeping.
Beth Rosenthal hired attorney Kwame Townes to investigate the possible abuse and represent her in a civil suit.
"It's very frustrating that somebody would be allowed to get in that condition in less than a month," she said.
Townes indicated that Robert's medical condition could not have occurred if he had been receiving the minimal amount of care or oversight at the facility.
"That individual, quite frankly, did not have the skills necessary to be caring for the individuals who were in the home," said Townes. "The reality behind it, we believe that he was abused."
Beth Rosenthal said she needs answers and justice. She said she still doesn't know the facts about what happened to her brother at Guiding Hand that led to his hospitalization and subsequent death.
"I just hope that how this was allowed to happen to my brother that justice will be done. I'm trying to prevent it from happening to other people," said Beth.
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The victim's sister Beth Rosenthal and her attorney Kwame Townes.
An official with the Department of Community Health said the agency oversees approximately 2,200 personal care homes in Georgia and counting.
Leslee Pool, deputy director of HealthCare Facility Regulation at DCH, said Georgia has seen very rapid growth of personal care homes registered with the state in the last few years. Pool indicated the population of the residents in these facilities is changing, and therefore their needs are evolving.
"Because the needs of the residents are getting more complex, they [caregivers] probably should have more training and that's something that we're attempting to do as we update our regulations," said Pool.
Pool said DCH drafted proposed changes to the regulations last fall that would have increased training requirements for caregivers, but that draft was tabled pending Senate Bill 178's passage.
Among other things, SB 178 will establish a new type of facility called an "assisted living community" for residents that would require an intermediate level of care between that provided by personal care homes and nursing homes.
DCH will re-release the draft for public comment and adoption in the upcoming months, according to Pool.
Clayton County Fire and Emergency Services Assistant Chief Landry Merkison indicated a Clayton County government task force investigated numerous complaints against personal care homes last year, more so than any other type of health care facilities.
Merkison said about three quarters of the personal care homes the county investigated last year didn't have county licenses.
Most of those facilities have since complied and obtained their county licenses, according to Merkison.
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Clayton County Fire and Emergency Services Assistant Chief Landry Merkison describes how Clayton County agencies monitor personal care homes.
Merkison said one of three personal care homes shut down by Clayton County authorities in 2010 did not even have electric power when authorities arrived. He said the bill had not been paid and power was eventually restored but authorities shut down the facility anyway.
Pool said routine DCH inspections have generally shown Guiding Hand is in compliance with existing rules.
Edukuye released the following statement to Channel 2 on behalf of Guiding Hand Personal Care Home: "We are saddened by the death of Mr. Rosenthal and share our sympathies with his family. Since 2009, Guiding Hand Personal Care Home has provided excellent care to its patients. In regard to Mr. Rosenthal's care and throughout our history, we have met the state's requirements for training and background checks. I observed Mr. Richardson's care of patients on a daily basis, and he always provided good care."
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