[ad_1]
This is an archived article and the information in the article may be out of date. Please look at the history’s timestamp to see when it was last updated.
THORNTON, Colo .– The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has sent Allegiance Home Care a letter indicating that the state has no plans to renew the license of the Thornton-based agency, which expired on July 24.
The director of health facilities and emergency medical services, Randy Kuykendall, told Problem Solvers it was an unusual step to take against one of the state’s 700 home health care providers.
“It’s rare, maybe it happens once a year,†Kuykendall said. “We believe that the care some patients were receiving was not adequate. “
According to its Facebook page, Allegiance’s home nurses provide “medication reminders, assistance with walking / exercise, personal grooming and hygiene, meal and meal preparation, oral care and dental â€to about 200 of Colorado’s most vulnerable residents.
But according to investigative reports reviewed by problem solvers, state regulators often couldn’t find adequate documentation to support what Allegiance did.
“I think it’s probably fair to say that these claims apply to elder abuse as well as care issues,” said Kuykendall, who acknowledged that the state was concerned that healthcare workers Allegiance’s homes sometimes do not show up for patient appointments and provide no backup plan as required by the state.
The CEO of Allegiance is a man by the name of Richard Crabtree, who, according to numerous media reports, was indicted in 2012 for embezzling $ 3 million from a hospital in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
In 2015, news reports said Crabtree was authorized to pay $ 250,000 in restitution and to serve five-year probation under an agreement with the New Mexico attorney general’s office.
Crabtree did not respond to questions from problem solvers on camera, but off camera insisted he received a letter from the state of Colorado on Saturday rescinding his notice to terminate his license.
However, problem solvers learned that the letter from the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Funding only said that Allegiance could continue to bill Medicaid while its appeal was pending. The Colorado Department of Health and Environment, which provides licenses to home care agencies, confirmed to Problem Solvers that it still intends to seek non-renewal of Allegiance’s license when the appeal will be heard in about six months.
[ad_2]
