Florida ban no barrier to ABQ home operator
By Colleen Heild, Albuquerque Journal, N.M. | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
The home in
At the time of his arrest in the neglect case, Accardi was serving six months probation for an unrelated no contest plea to misdemeanor charges that included possession of marijuana and exposure of his sex organs to an undercover sheriff's officer at a
None of that has proven to be a barrier to Accardi's being licensed to operate assisted living homes in
The state
DOH officials say Accardi's two homes, initially licensed in 2008 and 2009, are in good standing.
Accardi, 47, told the Journal in a recent telephone interview there have been no problems with residents' safety or welfare.
"I have great staff and great residents that we're really helping in filling a need," he said. The homes, among the 233 assisted living facilities licensed in
In an initial telephone interview, Accardi told the Journal his criminal neglect case was expunged in
In a subsequent interview he said, "I know that I've never been convicted of a felony and the state of
Accardi added that
Asked about misdemeanor marijuana and exposure charges filed as a result of an
A spokesman for the health department in
Under
If a person pleaded no contest to the neglect charge, "he/she may or may not be disqualified from operating an Assisted Living Facility in
Accardi was charged with nine counts of neglecting an elderly person after rescue workers were called to the assisted living home in
According to the newspaper report, most of the nine residents suffered from dementia or Alzheimer's disease, and authorities discovered that staff looking after them had no health care credentials.
The prosecutor handling the case, who is now a judge in
One employee at the home was arrested after police learned there was a 19-hour delay in seeking medical attention for the 85-yearold resident who fell and broke her pelvis, according to the
Three days later, rescue workers were called to treat a resident who was bleeding after a fall. That incident led authorities to discover fire safety violations, the newspaper reported.
Authorities also discovered there were three too many residents living in the home, and the only worker present didn't have the required training in first aid and CPR and was dispensing medication without training, according to the Sentinel newspaper.
Police shut down the home and residents were transferred to other facilities, the newspaper stated.
According to the report, Accardi told police he hired the worker for
He pleaded no contest in
Collins told the Journal she was surprised Accardi was operating assisted living homes in
"...The whole reason for the plea is (for him to) get out of this business," Collins said. "Because that's what the victims all wanted -- the families all wanted. Just give up your license, we'll put you on probation and you're never going to work in the health care field again in
Accardi said he didn't recall such a ban, but Collins said "that was part of the (plea) deal."
The
However, she stated in her email that the agency denied a license for one of Accardi's three assisted living homes for failing to carry commercial liability insurance in 2002 and was in the process of taking administrative action against two others when they closed.
Accardi has told the DOH in
NM licensing
In applications filed from 2012 to 2014, something was written in response to the question about a felony conviction. But the answer was blacked out or obscured on copies of the applications furnished to the Journal by the DOH. Accardi signed off on the forms.
Prior to 2012, another partner in the company signed off on the applications.
Accardi's neglect case doesn't show up in the files of the
A spokeswoman for the state attorney's office in
Under
To qualify for expunging, a judge must have withheld a final adjudication of guilt. It's unclear whether that occurred in Accardi's case because of the lack of a court record.
In the initial interview with the Journal, Accardi said his case was expunged, but in a follow-up interview he said he wasn't sure whether it was expunged.
The
Management change
When the first of the two homes Accardi operates in
Gatti, Accardi and a third partner were listed as owners.
In license applications filed between 2008 and 2011, Gatti also attested to being the on-site director or operator, who under state law is to be responsible for the day-to-day operations.
But a DOH inquiry based on a complaint received in
Gatti was also not the person whom two New Life employees identified as the "supervisor and administrator of daily operations," at the Persimmon home, according to a 2012 survey report by the DOH.
To correct the matter, Accardi applied as the administrator of New Life in 2012 and now signs off on the license renewals. On earlier applications, his name only appeared as a co-owner. He told the Journal he served as marketing director.
Accardi told the Journal recently that he became the on-site administrator in 2012 after the legal requirements changed.
The law was amended two years earlier in 2010, according to a DOH spokesman, requiring that the person responsible for day-to-day operations also be a full-time administrator.
Gatti didn't respond to Journal phone and email requests for comment.
But in a
In the letter, he noted "a shortage of assisted living facilities in
Gatti's letter introduced Accardi by saying he "has nearly 20 years in the health care field from medical sales to senior care.
Accardi told the Journal he came to
"And I just fell in love and I'm a snowboarder and I like
Info provided on license renewals changed
Two different sets of license renewal applications were filed this year for New Life Assisted Living homes in
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