Writer Appalled at the Treatment of Her Father

To the Editor:
My father, Thomas La Grace, was a resident at Crest Haven Nursing Home since August 2010.
The first major problem that I experienced with Crest Haven occurred in November 2010, when an administrator forged one of my father’s checks to their own facility in the amount of $2,959.76. The check was returned for insufficient funds due to the fact that all of his social security, pension, and veteran’s stipend was already going directly to his care and therefore he had no funds. Crest Haven was, of course, aware of this.
This spring, my father was transported to ICU at Cape Regional due to respiratory distress. Two hours before he was due to be returned to Crest Haven, I received a telephone call from the director, Margaret Gannon, stating that my father would not be allowed to return to his room at Crest Haven, as he owed a balance from the previous August. As I did not wish for my father to be dropped off on the side of the road on Route 9, I spoke with the Department of Aging’s Executive Director Elizabeth Bozzelli. She was compassionate and helpful, and instructed Gannon to allow him his bed.
My father was allowed to keep $35 per month in his ‘Personal Needs Account’ during his time at Crest Haven. He left instructions that these savings were to be turned over to me for his final expenses. (Also, I had Durable Power of Attorney, so it should have been surrendered to me at any time that I requested it). I arrived at Crest Haven on June 24. Prior to my arrival, I requested these funds. They refused to give them to me. I again requested them on the evening of June 24 at the facility. I requested them again on the morning of June 25. They refused. My father died in the afternoon of June 25. He died distraught with worry due to his financial concerns for his burial.
At his death, of course, my Power of Attorney became void. I am a full-time graduate student and had no funds for a burial. My father was to be cremated, with his remains to be buried at the Cape May Veteran’s Cemetery. While a portion of the expenses was covered by Medicaid, there was a balance remaining that I had no way of paying.
My father was a WWII Marine Corps veteran, and thankfully, the Marine Corps League Dramis Detachment paid the balance so that he could have a proper burial. I can never find adequate words to express my gratitude to them. I have never encountered a more honorable and compassionate group of men. Semper Fi.
I spent the next week going to Sen. Jeff Van Drew, Rep. Frank LoBiondo, and many other agencies.
I have explained to all concerned that although my father is dead and buried, I will never cease in my efforts to correct the atrocities that occur at Crest Haven. Clearly, my father was not the only resident to be victimized.
It is nothing less than despicable that the elderly are treated this way. That a man who served his country as part of the ‘Greatest Generation’ died this way is more than simply despicable.
CHRISTINE LaGRACE
North Cape May
Response from the County of Cape May:
An exhaustive investigation was conducted on every allegation Ms. LaGrace presented on both the medical treatment of her father and the handling of his financial affairs at the Crest Haven Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.
It has been effectively determined that her allegations are not factually supported. Both the County Administration and Freeholder Board are fully satisfied that Mr. LaGrace was treated with the highest level of medical care and personalized compassion by the staff of Crest Haven. It is also well documented that the Crest Haven Administration appropriately managed and followed all legal requirements pertaining to the financial transactions of Mr. LaGrace during his stay at Crest Haven as well as after his passing.
STEPHEN O’CONNOR
Cape May County Administrator.