Truth Falls Victim in Nursing Home Tragedy

An elderly woman’s tragic death has resulted in a lawsuit and sensational headlines, both of which only hide the real story.

“Granny taken up to roof?” “Insider Says Understaffing Killed Grandmother.” So blared the newspaper headlines in the Daily News and The Wave, respectively, in reporting on the tragic death of nursing home patient Lillie Gardner in Queens, New York.

Lillie Gardner was born in Richmond, Virginia, and came north to New York as a teenager, where she married Lloyd Gardner. While living in Corona, Queens, the devout Christian gave birth to and raised five sons and one daughter, worked 20 years as a teacher’s aide, caring for other people’s children, and had 14 or 15 grandchildren, depending on who is reporting. She led a quiet, private life. In death, however, she has achieved fame, based on her usefulness for the living.

Nine months ago, Gardner’s children placed her in the Bishop Charles Waldo MacLean Nursing Home in Far Rockaway, Queens. She was suffering from the early stages of Alzheimer’s Disease, and walked with a cane.

Lillie Gardner died at 1 a.m., on Wednesday, February 4. After her Tuesday dinner, Mrs. Gardner either wandered up the stairs, or in a defective elevator, to the building’s roof where, disoriented, she succumbed over the course of six hours to the cold, the wind, and deep puddles of freezing water. She wasn’t found until 12:30 A.M., at which point, she was beyond saving.

Negligence may have been a factor in Gardner’s death, since an alarm apparently sounded at 6:30 p.m., when she opened the door to the roof. A staffer went upstairs to see whether anyone was up there, saw no one, called out and got no answer, and not wanting to get wet feet in the deep, frigid puddles, went back downstairs.

Normally, my heart would go out to the victim’s grieving family. Only in this case, it seems that the moment Gardner’s 50-year-old son Sidney, bishop of the House of Israel Worship Temple, discovered she’d died, he strategized with his lawyer, Kenneth Mollins. The day of his mother’s death, rather than pulling the family together and mourning and praying, Bishop Gardner joined hands with attorney Mollins, in unleashing a scorched-earth media campaign, in which the two were interviewed by every major TV and print media outlet in New York. Gardner is suing the nursing home for wrongful death.

Bishop Sidney Gardner insisted that his mother could not have walked the 12 steps from her floor to the roof, and must have been forced to go to the roof. "My mother did not go on the roof on her own strength. I question whether she went up on her own will."

On Wednesday, February 4, lawyer Mollins also contended to the New York Times, that “the family” said that Lillie Gardner had bruises on her arm and wrist, a contention which police denied.

There is no evidence that anyone forced Lillie Gardner to go to the roof, or in any way harmed or abused her.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Gardner’s eldest child, 52-year-old Arthur, insisted to the Daily News that he and his siblings had only placed their mother in a nursing home, while they arranged for a home health aide to care for her. "It was supposed to be a temporary thing. My mother wasn't supposed to die like that." Meanwhile, Arthur told the New York Post, that he and his siblings had placed their mother in the nursing home because she had a problem with “wandering,” thus contradicting both his story to the Daily News, and his brother’s story.

The contention by an anonymous worker at Bishop MacLean’s, which credulous reporter Brian Magoolaghan repeated in the Rockaway newspaper, The Wave, that “understaffing” was at fault, is also nonsense. Three Certified Nurse Aides (CNAs) were on duty at the time, for 45 patients. Considering that the Rockaway peninsula, where Far Rockaway is located, is the world’s nursing home capital, Magoolaghan should have known that a 3:45 CNA-to-patient ratio is perfectly adequate. (The “Rock” has at least 17 nursing homes and over 2,000 patients, out of 100,000 area residents. Some news reports, which claimed that the area has 25 nursing homes caring for 3,200 patients, may have included adult care facilities, which cater exclusively to former mental patients who lead independent, if limited lives.)

Prior to Lillie Gardner’s death, Bishop MacLean’s had a clean record, free of sanctions for abuse or neglect. Although a patient there died, following a fall, in 1996, and the patient’s family cashed in, the home was apparently not cited for negligence in the case. Since Gardner’s death, New York State officials have cited the home for inadequate security for wandering patients. (Most nursing homes keep their hallway doors locked; workers know the code required to open them. If a door on a floor is opened improperly, it sets off an alarm. Some homes also use “wanderguards,” bracelets that patients wear which go off, it their wearer seeks to enter an unauthorized area, or to leave the premises.) Note, however, that nursing homes are not permitted to act as patients’ jailers, and that in recent years many methods traditionally used to protect vulnerable patients have been forbidden by authorities, as improper constraints.

Since it takes less than a month to arrange for a home health aide, in truth, Lillie Gardner’s children had permanently placed her in the nursing home. Had they bothered arranging for a home health aide, their mother would likely be alive today.

My attitude toward Mrs. Gardner’s sons Sidney and Arthur may come across as heartless. But consider that when a family suffers the tragic death of a member, the survivors typically are too broken up initially to talk to any journalists. By contrast, Bishop Sidney Gardner couldn’t shut up.

One thing you can infer from Lillie Gardner’s life, is that she raised her children such that they knew that it was wrong for them to have dumped her in a nursing home. And so, they fibbed about the matter. And now her sons seek to exorcise, transfer, or project their own guilt onto the nursing home.

And the media will get its payoff, too. As occurs every couple of years, city and national editors will now dispatch reporters to dig up dirt on nursing homes. The usual boilerplate tells of CNAs from Hell who abuse and assault patients, as opposed to the reality – which my wife and I know from having worked as nursing home CNAs in Far Rockaway and elsewhere on the peninsula -- in which it is the patients who typically abuse, harass, and assault the CNAs. And this tendency is bound to rise, as nursing home operators increasingly fill beds with ever more and younger psychiatric patients, drug addicts, and violent criminals who played the system.

There is nothing romantic or idealistic about nursing home operators, who are barefisted businessmen, who even in union shops, often cheat workers on their pay. And yet, conditions today in American nursing homes, particularly in New York, can hardly be compared to the bad old days of the 1950s through the early 1970s, when most notoriously, Bernard Bergman owned dozens of New York nursing homes in which patients lived in horrific conditions. After Bergman was convicted, among other things, of Medicaid fraud, various states empaneled commissions to investigate and draft reforms for the industry: E.g., the Moreland Act Commission in New York, the “Little Hoover Commission” in California, and the Ohio legislature’s Nursing Home Commission.

Today, the problems with nursing homes tend to be the lack of a stimulating environment for patients, of workers falsely reporting that they have given patients physical or occupational therapy or range-of-motion exercises, and the curious tendency of the condition of patients admitted to a nursing facility for short-term therapy to deteriorate, and the patients ultimately to live out the rest of their days there. Once a nursing home operator has filled a bed with a patient, he does not want that patient, and the latter’s payment, ever to leave. Those are all bad things, but they don’t generate the sort of sensational stories that news editors seek.

At the same time, nursing home owners – not to mention staffers – have to contend with patients who, though they are not paying for their own care, constantly call authorities with false accusations of abuse or negligent care, and who constantly initiate frivolous lawsuits against the facilities, in order to shake them down for lucrative settlements.

And I’m not even talking about the Gardners. According to the letter of the law, they have a legitimate cause for action. And yet, in the face of human fallibility, no nursing home operator could ever satisfy the letter of the law and the demand by family members for a level of care that cannot be provided at current payment levels and under current law (and that family members are unwilling or unable to provide themselves), and perhaps could not be provided at any payment level, and the demand for steep monetary penalties for any and every mishap.

If all the Arthur and Sidney Gardners of the world were successful in their lawsuits against nursing homes, the homes would all be forced to close, and the Gardners and their ilk would have to rely on the tender mercies of their own children, once they became aged and infirm. That would be poetic justice.

Caring for a debilitated family member requires a Herculean effort. For several years, my Toogood Reports editor/publisher, A.J. Toogood, has singlehandedly cared for his wife, Betty. Betty developed a case of early, rapidly deteriorating Alzheimer’s Disease, like that which killed Rita Hayworth. Based on his understanding of what it means to be a Christian, A.J. would never consider dropping off his wife at a nursing home. Eventually, the strain of taking care of Betty and running a full-service web site caused A.J., who was retired and in his mid-60s, to develop pneumonia; he almost died. And so, as he has written, he was forced last month to shut down Toogood Reports.

Time was, folks would routinely sacrifice themselves to care for an invalid family member, whether they liked it or not. Back then, “reactionary” notions such as family, duty, and honor held sway. But why bother with the expense, the exhaustion, and the frustration of caring for a helpless, needful relative, when you can just shuffle your loved one off to strangers at a “free” institution at taxpayer expense, pose as a devoted family member without any of the work or the responsibility, and then get rich suing the strangers, when their care proves less than perfect?

I agree with you totally. Had my grandmother not taken that bad fall and broken both hips she would have been able to stay here. She was a very good patient to me. She and I had a very good relationship and she trusted me very much. One of her major problems was not following orders. She had fallen 2 years prior and broken hip and after rehab came home. She refused to use the walker no matter how hard we fought. We did a lot of rehab in the house but she was very independant. Prior to the 2nd fall she had a major hernia and was getting more and more immobile. I had enough sense to realize I could no longer make the sacrafice. She would have been bedridden in my home if she returned and at the nursing home she was moved and sat in the common area. She was not bedridden in the nursing home. She was visited daily by either me or my father and her care was always checked on by one of us. We were notorious for stopping in at uncommon times to make sure all was well.

BTW my husband works in a Nursing home (MIS director) and we always knew what to look for. In addition my husbands administrator was a friend of the administrator at my grandmothers home so we had some extra fringe benifits. I realize not everyone is as lucky as we were. If we had to do nursing home again with a family member she or he would be at the home my husband works at. Its in NYC which is far from us but the piece of mind that my husband would be there 8 hrs of the day would make it tolerable.

Bless you too for taking care of your parents. I am sure you still felt the guilt as I did. Frankly I was not the same after my grandmother left. I was depressed for a good year. I was so used to being home and in her sight that I forgot what it was like to have the freedoms I had prior. Sometimes I still stay around my house and don't go out. It's weird. At first I was happy that I could go out whenever etc. after a few weeks I missed her incredibly.

She was here when my 2nd child was born. My daughter brought her so much joy that her son gave my daughter her wedding ring. That was very special to all of us.

O FYI she was my great grandmother and had raised my father (her grandson) from infancy as he was abandoned by his mother. My dad called her Mom as she was the only Mom he knew.

"consider that when a family suffers the tragic death of a member, the survivors typically are too broken up initially to talk to any journalists. By contrast, Bishop Sidney Gardner couldn’t shut up."

What an idiot... It is clear this jerk has never had to deal with an elderly loved one who suffers from Alzheimer's or old-age dementia.The family suffers the pain of watching them slip away over such a long period that when death finally comes, there is as much relief (for them mostly) as there is grief over their loss. The family has had a long time to prepare for the death, so are not "broken up" as with a sudden, unexpected death.

It looks like someone didn't pay much attention to the article. Otherwise, he would have known, that the family in question suffered no such pain "over a long period," because they unloaded their dear mother at the very beginning of her Alzheimer's.

"she raised her children such that they knew that it was wrong for them to have dumped her in a nursing home [so they transferred their guilt onto the nursing home]."

Not every home is suitably equipped or designed for old people who (eg) cannot climb stairs, etc, and not every person is skilled enough or physically able to attend to the needs of their elderly loved ones. There is always guilt after any type of death, and people agonize over those things they should, and should not, have done or said. WHile this famly probably does have some guilt over putting their mother in a nursing home, the person who wrote this article does not have any inside knowledge of this family's situation, feelings, thoughts, etc. What a sickening article.

If you had read the article carefully, you would know that the lady in question was a "wanderer," meaning she walked quite well, thank you, and did not have extraordinary needs. Besides, if she were being taken care of in the home of one of her children, she wouldn't have needed to climb stairs! Your "criticism" of the author as lacking "any inside knowledge" of the family's situation is irrelevant and idiotic. First of all, because then no one could ever write anything about a stranger, and you'd just have people writing about themselves, which tends to be the least reliable writing of all, since autobiographers almost always present themselves as they wish to be seen, not as they are. (And if you believed what you said, FR would be a total waste of time for you. You could never criticize the statements of socialist politicians, reporters, or activists, because you have "no inside knowledge" of their minds.) Second, because the writer can see what the family has done and said, and judge them accordingly. When people's acts and statements show them to be hypocrites, you can read them just fine. Third, you presume to know the situation better than the writer -- where's your inside knowledge?

Your post was sickening. You didn't pay attention to the article, you just had a knee-jerk reaction, based on your own agenda, guilt, and rage.

If you can do that, more power to you, but not all people can care for their elderly relatives. My mother tried to care for her mother for almost a year. Even with a home health aide, it nearly killed her.

My grandmother needed around the clock care and the stroke had made her a completely different person. She would have nothing to do with either my father or me and she was incredibly demanding.

Finally we found a wonderful nursing home where she was well taken care of, just a few blocks from my parents' home. With the therapy she received there and the company of others her own age, she began to regain her personality and health. We were able to visit frequently and she was able to come to our home for dinners and family events.

Without the care she received at that nursing home, I would have lost both my grandmother (who died last year after 5 years in the nursing home) and my mother who would not have been able to cope with her mother's needs.

We, too, cared for my MIL in our home.

But after a couple of years, it became impossible for us to spend all day, every day, with her. Responsibilities changed in our lives, and she was afraid to be left alone, even for a few minutes, much less a couple hours. So we couldn't do church, family vacations, even shopping together. A quick trip to drop my son off at school was traumatic to her. Somebody always had to be home.

She is now in a beautiful assisted living facility with a waterfront view and lots of activities and people her age to interact with. She has on-site supervision and nursing care, should she need it.

We did what we could for as long as we could. I have no guilt at all about where she is living now or the care she is receiving. It's costing "an arm and a leg", but it is a safe place with good care.

"Your [Eowyn-of-Moron] post was sickening. You didn't pay attention to the article, you just had a knee-jerk reaction, based on your own agenda, guilt, and rage."

Yup.
Couldn't possibly have said it any better myself, mark.
These kinds of brainstems are out, they're scary, & they have the vote.
Talk about tragic.

"If all the Arthur and Sidney Gardners of the world were successful in their lawsuits against nursing homes, the homes would all be forced to close, and the Gardners and their ilk would have to rely on the tender mercies of their own children, once they became aged and infirm. That would be poetic justice."

While I [fully] understand what Nic's saying insofar as the LTC operators being forced out of business by the ruthless, souless bloodsuckers?
It's also important to emphasize it'll only be the luckiest of elderly who've families who're able to take care of their loved one's needs, too.
The overwhelming remainded face a very bleak future, indeed.

I have to ask how much "poetic justice" would really be administered if these private enterprises went belly up, & the state stepped in to provide these necessary kinds of services, ie, a form of "Hillary Care"??

I'm old enough -- & so are you, Mr. Rustow -- to recall the well documented horrors of state owned & operated hospitals & institutions.
How nearly impossible it was to address these horrors due to the simple fact it was a nameless, faceless governmental bureaucracy one had to try holding and/or making accountable for their barbaric behavior(s)?
~yea.

The very reason(s) these state run hellhouses were shut down & the services turned over to the private sector to begin with, eh?

In that sense then, it would hardly be "poetic justice," rather an injustice as well as a monumental setback as we returned to a system infinitely better off left dead.

Seems we're doomed to repeat history, yet again.

...& too stupid to realize it.

Your anger towards me is way over the top and out of line. Unless you are the author of this article, in which case I apologize for calling you an idiot and a jerk. I will admit I did not focus closely on those parts of the article that referred to the mother being in the early stages of Alzheimers, and being a wanderer, and I will take my lashes for it. But I stand by what I wrote regarding the author's suppositions and judgment over the behavior and emotional state of the son, and the rest of the family.

Making the decision to put a family member in a nursing home is emotionally charged and painful. I don't know any more about this family than you or the author. And you are right, each of us is drawing conclusions without any inside knowledge. While they may deserve these charges and accusations, they also may NOT deserve them, and that is what my "knee-jerk" reaction was to this.

(an aside--you said if she were being taken care of in the home of one of her children, she wouldn't have needed to climb stairs...Um, don't most homes also have stairs?)

My father who was in sykesville mental hospital even though he was not a mental case, his problem was he was a alcoholic and had seizures when he drank. he was a hard headed irishman and loved his beer, but he was an epileptic he feel from a ship during the war and recieved a plate in his head ,the meds he was taking were not very good when combined with booze, so us kids would find him convulsing a lot, he would not quit his drinking so my mother put him away after years of trying, my brohter and I were put in one catholic orphange after the other during our youth, my mother claimed she could not take care of us kids so off we went ) I am not wanting sympathy here just understanding,YEARS LATER after we had our own families I tried to care for my dad at first he would act like he was taking his meds and then he would have seizures ,so I watched him more carefully I found out he was spitting the meds out so I tried to keep everything in clear containers if I put it in his ice cream or other foods he would fish it out, and then came the big one he almost died so he had to go back , in truth my father was happier where he was it was a terrible let down for me, my point is sometimes there is no other alternative.

I totally agree with you. On a case by case basis there are legitimete reasons to be in extended care nursing home or mental facility.

The woman in this article did not fit the bill for that from her condition. In addition it must be noted that at least one of her sons is a pastor so I am even more confused by the 9 months looking for a home health aide.
I read some other articles on this case in NY POST Newsday and Daily News and all agree she was not very ill other than she had a few ailments related to aging like arthritis.

It also should be noted that the family did indeed contact a lawyer immediately and claimed foul play in that someone brought her to the roof. All unproven.

Making the decision to put a family member in a nursing home is emotionally charged and painful.

Normally, but based on the contradictory statements of the two brothers who spoke to the press, and the preacher-son's smooth talking the day of his mother's death, I somehow doubt the sons were terribly tortured. Now, the other four siblings, none of whom spoke to the media, may well be another story. I wouldn't be at all surprised if some or all of them were torn up over the matter. It sounds to me like the preacher-son basically took over, and did things to his own liking.

(an aside--you said if she were being taken care of in the home of one of her children, she wouldn't have needed to climb stairs...Um, don't most homes also have stairs?)

Sure, they do. But I don't see why the mother would have to walk up and down the stairs. She could either have a ground floor room, or have a second-story room, whereby the family goes up and down the stairs to see her, and to care for her. And considering that this woman's children appear to be well-to-do, and claim to love her so much, they could have chipped in, and paid for one of those stairway chair-elevators.

Magoolaghan should have known that a 3:45 CNA-to-patient ratio is perfectly adequate.

I was a CNA and we worked hard with a 2:4 ratio. It was 1:4 for the grave shift. I can't even imagine 1:15. We gave baths, medicated, fed, changed and entertained the clients. We were there if the client had any medical or emotional problems. My mom's a CNA and right now she has ONE client. She hops for him every 15 minutes on average. 1:15 is WAY under staffed.

Wow. That's some amazing staffing. I'm familiar with some New York nursing homes, and they were staffed similar to the article. Did you work in a standard nursing home, or in some sort of special care facility? Also, I'm a little confused about your giving medication. My understanding was that CNAs cannot give meds. Are you and your mom specialized CNAs, beyond the level of a typical CNA?

Switching incentives so nursing homes and the best interest of patients are on the same side is an answer.

Annual inspections keeps homes great for 3 weeks a year. When administrators are paid a bonus for keeping costs down, the pool nurse won't be called. Overworked nurses and aides double up and abuse possibilities go up.

Random spot checks with large financial carrots and sticks would change incentives and back up responsible administrators.

The current system of financially rewarding bad policy is nutty.

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