Lawsuit: Wash. nursing home neglects penis ailment

A nursing home cited by a state agency after a 97-year-old man contracted severe urinary tract and genital infections and died has been sued for allegedly severely neglecting him.

According to the lawsuit, Everett Rehabilitation and Care Center failed to properly care for Charles Bradley until his son, Jeff Bradley, became so upset by his father's declining condition that he insisted that he be taken to Providence Regional Medical Center in Everett on March 13, 2008. The elder Bradley died 18 days later, the lawsuit claimed.

At the hospital, state records show, he was diagnosed with acute infections of his urinary tract and genital area and pneumonia in both lungs, and practically nothing was left of his penis, only a wound.

"They were shocked and didn't know what had happened. They had never seen anything like that," said James F. Gooding, a lawyer who filed the lawsuit Wednesday on behalf of the son in Snohomish County Superior Court.

"No one at Everett Rehab did anything or told anybody about his condition. We believe it was negligence. They didn't care," Gooding told The Herald of Everett.

Days after being hospitalized, Bradley also was found to have penile cancer, according to the lawsuit. There was no mention of cancer in a state investigative report.

Elizabeth Loyet, administrator of the nursing home, an affiliate of SunBridge Healthcare Corp., which is owned by Sun Healthcare Group Inc. of Irvine, Calif., told the newspaper in a written statement she could not comment on details of the lawsuit because of federal privacy laws.

"I assure you however, quality care of our residents is our utmost priority. We deliver care as ordered by (the) residents' physicians, in accordance with the care plan designated for each resident," Loyet added.

Gooding said the elder Bradley moved into the nursing home in 2004 to be with his wife, who needed 24-hour care. When she died soon afterward, he remained at the care center and was lucid, speaking with his son during weekly visits, Gooding said.

On Nov. 7, 2007, a nurse told the residential care manager that Bradley had a wound on his penis, but the manager went on a three-week vacation and forgot about the report when she returned, according to an investigation by the state Department of Social and Health Services.

The next thing the care manager heard about the matter was on March 14, 2008, when a doctor at the hospital said Bradley's penis was gone, according to the lawsuit.

Everett Rehab workers told investigators that Bradley had a history of refusing baths and assistance in using the toilet, nor did he let them check his skin for wounds. He generally only allowed one aide provide him with intimate assistance, according to state documents.

That aide told investigators he reported the wound to a nurse, who said she saw a 1-centimeter (about 0.4 of an inch) wound and told the resident care manager about two weeks before Bradley was hospitalized, records show. According to state records, the nursing director at the home concluded that the wound developed because he wouldn't allow staff to conduct periodic skin assessments.

Patients are entitled to refuse care but nursing homes are required to care for their residents and may legally discharge anyone whose refusal makes it impossible for the staff to provide adequate care, said Linda Moss, a regional administrator for Residential Care Services, part of DSHS.

The state subsequently found the nursing home violated federal care standards by failing to provide Bradley timely medical attention, notify relatives or his doctor of changes in his health or report that the man refused to allow staff to check his genitals.

Administrators were required to submit a plan to prevent a recurrence of such problems, and state investigators subsequently found no further violations, Moss said.