An 84-year-old man reportedly died at a Florida nursing home early last year after contracting gangrene in his genitals due to staff’s failure to bathe him.
Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) inspection records obtained by the Naples Daily News stated that York Spratling, 84, was at housed at Consulate Health Care of Jacksonville and died shortly after undergoing surgery to remove dead tissue from his infected genitals. A state death review found nursing home staff could smell Spratling’s rotting flesh—yet waited five days to inform a doctor of his wounds and infection.
While staff claimed Spratling refused showers, state regulators found the home was cited three times in the year before Spratling’s death for not having enough nurses to adequately care and treat staff, according to the news outlet.
Spratling was admitted to the facility in December 2016, and his family says his declining health didn’t occur “overnight.” The state death review appears to support this, as it was determined the Army veteran’s February 2017 death was caused by inadequate supervision and medical neglect.
Despite the Daily News’ report uncovering an apparent pattern of neglect, there’s no indication that the AHCA investigated Spratling’s death nor cited the home for any violations associated with his death.
Alarmingly, the regulatory agency cited the home eight months after Spratling’s death for understaffing. In their report, they noted how one patient told state inspectors, “I wallow around in this bed in my own piss.”
Spratling’s sister told the newspaper, “His private area, nobody washed that. Who was taking care of this man?”
[Featured Image: York Spratling/Facebook]
