Arizona officials are moving toward revoking the license of a health care facility after maggots were found in a patient last week. The decision comes months after a nurse was charged with raping an incapacitated patient at the same facility, the Hacienda HealthCare De Los Angeles’ Intermediate Care Facility for the Intellectually Disabled (ICF-IID) in Phoenix.
David Leibowitz, a spokesperson for the facility, told CBS News that a 28-year-old patient was found to have “several” maggots beneath his gauze bandage near his stoma incision. The incident was reported to oversight agencies and the patient was taken to a hospital for treatment, he said in a statement issued Friday.
According to Leibowitz, no further issues were identified and no other Hacienda residents were “similarly impacted.”
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Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) spokesperson Chris Minnick told CBS News in a statement that the state issued a notice of intent to revoke Hacienda ICF-IID’s license on Friday.
“Based on findings from a recent survey and an extremely disturbing incident involving inadequate patient care that was reported to and investigated by ADHS this week, the Department has determined strong and immediate action is necessary to further protect the Hacienda ICF-IID residents,” the statement said.
Notice of intent allows ADHS to have increased accountability and oversight of the Hacienda HealthCare, but it does not mean the facility will “immediately shut down,” according to Minnick. The state will continue to work with Hacienda to ensure there is no interruption of services.
Months earlier, authorities alleged Nathan Sutherland, a nurse, raped a disabled 29-year-old woman at the Hacienda HealthCare facility. She had been severely incapacitated since she was 3 years old, and other workers at Hacienda were shocked when she unexpectedly gave birth in December. Sutherland pleaded not guilty to the charges in February.
After the patient gave birth, Hacienda’s CEO resigned, along with a doctor. Another doctor was suspended.
