Read on Twitter
THREAD: After @anneryman and I did this investigation on the ways Arizona failed nursing home residents, one thing stuck with me most. At a Prescott nursing home, staff had been forced to work while sick with covid-19. ~50 residents got sick and 15 died. https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-health/2020/12/31/arizona-long-term-care-facilities-and-covid-19-how-crisis-grew/3906755001/
The state fined the place $500. I couldn't understand why more hadn't been done about this. I kept asking the board that regulates nursing home managers until they finally launched an investigation of their own. But I had so many more questions.
The board's job is to vet the people running these facilities that care for an extremely vulnerable population. Who ran this nursing home, and how did this happen? What we found when we kept digging was shocking.
It starts in Utah before the housing crash. Criminal court records show a man named Larry Rasmussen collected money for an investment deal that never happened. He boasted a nearly-complete housing development but never mentioned he didn't have a license to legally build homes.
He also didn't mention to an investor that he was delinquent on child support and divorce proceedings, owed someone else money and was under investigation by the Utah Division of Real Estate for forgery.
At one point, according to police records, Rasmussen somehow got a check from Walgreens to a pharmaceutical company for $1.7 million, opened a bank account with name similar to that pharm co. and tried to deposit it.
Rasmussen was convicted for securities and communication fraud for deals that went bad with two investors. He was sentenced to 60 days in jail, moved to Arizona and got a job @gcu. Part of his job description involved tracking budgets.
After 10 years @gcu, Rasmussen went to work at Dream Center Education Holdings, LLC. It shut down after the government yanked federal loan eligibility. Read @rachelleingang's reporting about DCEH for more information on that. https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-education/2019/03/04/argosy-university-took-students-financial-aid-altered-documents-filing-claims-dream-center-holdings/3060458002/
After DCEH closed, Rasmussen got a job at Granite Creek Health and Rehabilitation. He applied to be the administrator within a year. He described his departure from DCEH as an unexpected termination because the company closed his office.
In order to become a licensed nursing home administrator, Rasmussen had to get a fingerprint clearance card. He was rejected at first but got a "good cause exception" after writing a letter saying that he had been scammed by a business partner who took his money and disappeared.
The board that licenses nursing home admins has a staffer who screens applicants. 3 business days after getting Rasmussen's criminal records, the employee invited him to a board meeting. What happened next could only be described as @Diego4Justice put it: “A friendly encounter.”
The then-board president asked him if he had any other problems with the law besides the two fraud felonies. One member praised him for paying back the people he was court-ordered to pay back. In less than 10 minutes, the board approved him. The board pres wished him good luck.
Rasmussen took charge of Granite Creek right as the pandemic struck. He and his mgmt team in June forced employees to work when they were sick. He didn't want to hire extra staff b/c hazard pay would cost $5 to $10 more per hour. Employee health screening logs were altered.
. @MichaelBraga2 and I spent a month+ reviewing Rasmussen’s criminal records and @AZDHS reports that showed what happened on his watch, along with talking to families who lost loved ones. Subscribe to @azcentral and read the story here: https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-investigations/2021/04/22/arizona-nursing-home-board-failed-appointing-felon-run-facility-families-say/7171749002/
