THOMASVILLE (AP) — Two patients were found dead at a short-staffed North Carolina long-term care facility amid last weekend’s winter storm after residents requested a welfare check, according to a police report released Tuesday.
The Thomasville police report said two more patients were found in critical condition Sunday at the Pine Ridge Health & Rehabilitation Center and taken to hospitals, the Winston-Salem Journal reported. Residents requested the check, claiming staffers hadn’t seen by some residents and couldn’t be reached by phone, police said.
Police arrived around 8 p.m. Sunday and Thomasville Fire Department and Davidson County Emergency Medical Services helped conduct assessments of all residents that lasted until 7:30 a.m. Monday.
Officers determined that there was inadequate staffing, with three staffers for 98 patients, according to the report. A winter storm hit the region Sunday, making travel hazardous.
“Obviously, the weather and road conditions contributed to the inadequate staffing issues with this facility,” Capt. Brad Saintsing said in the report.
The newspaper couldn’t immediately reach officials with Principle LTC, which operates 56 centers in North Carolina, Virginia and Kentucky, involving about 7,200 beds, according to its website.
The State Bureau of Investigation, Davidson County District Attorney’s Office, N.C. Department of Health and Human Services and Davidson County Social Services are investigating.