When officials at Genesis Rehabilitation suspected Dellarma’s credentials were at fault, they immediately suspended him. Then they contacted the Department of Health, local authorities and the Attorney General’s office. Dellarma was later terminated by his employer.

Dellarma was arrested Friday and charged with aggravated forgery, a Class B felony, for allegedly filing a public document with a public office with the intent to defraud or deceive. Dellarma also was indicted on two counts of felony theft by deception and one count for unlicensed practice of physical therapy, a misdemeanor.

The Morning Sentinel quoted a statement released by Genesis Rehabilitation: “We take issues like this very seriously and are cooperating fully with the authorities as they handle this situation. This is an isolated incident and is not a reflection of the overall quality of care provided to our patients every day. We remain committed to providing a safe, nurturing environment for the patients in our care.”

There was no evidence that any patients were harmed or endangered. No other information about the case was released, and the case remains under investigation by the state’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, Health Care Crimes Unit.

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › Physical therapist charged with unlicensed practice, forgery

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For one resident and her family, it was downright stressful.

Last June, a resident in the facility to receive physical therapy after having surgery on both knees, needed to get to her regular orthopedic doctor appointment. She was not ambulatory, needing a mechanical lift to be moved from the bed to the bathroom, and wheelchair to get around. She had to get to her doctor’s appointment in her hometown 32 miles away. The nursing home said its van was unavailable to transport her, leaving the resident and her family in a bind.

When administrator Pamm Dickey got word of the situation, she demanded the family pick up the resident by 5 p.m. that Thursday. The family scrambled, calling around and finally locating another nursing home. But that facility couldn’t accept her until Friday. Dickey was unwilling to budge. Using lewd language, Dickey demanded the family remove the resident from Pleasant Manor by the 5 p.m. Thursday deadline. Never mind that the other nursing home wasn’t ready for the resident. The woman’s family could just move her into their home in the interim, she was reported as saying.

However, moving the resident to the family’s home simply wasn’t an option. They were not equipped to lift and move her when she needed to use the bathroom, much less provide the skilled nursing care she needed. Even if it were for one night, the family just wasn’t able to do it.

Still, Dickey wouldn’t bend, becoming combative with the other nursing facility’s administrator over the phone. That administrator, who said she was “shocked” by Dickey’s unethical conduct, told Dickey she had no choice but to call Adult Protective Services. Dickey’s response, according to the administrator who reported her: “She proceeded to tell me to tell APS to bring a car to pick [the resident] up then because I will set her a– on the g—— curb!”

A 151-page report on the investigation into Pleasant Manor cited several incidents of emotional and verbal abuse by Dickey, including the incident mentioned above as well as berating residents for pushing their call buttons too often at night and arguing with one resident over a remote control. Dickey resigned Aug. 13, but dismissed the claims, saying “What is written (in the report) is not the truth by any means.”

Meanwhile, Pleasant Manor was found by surveyors as subjecting residents to immediate jeopardy and was fined, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has denied payment for all new residents admitted there who require coverage by Medicare or Medicaid effective Oct. 14 until the home achieves compliance with federal and state regulators.

Dickey’s case will be heard before the Oklahoma State Board of Examiners for Nursing Home Administrators, who will then determine the status of her license.

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › Nursing home administrator cited for verbal, emotional abuse

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