My dad was taken to the emergency room because of his dementia and his behavior which my 90 year old mother could not handle. She called me to help her so we thought by taking him to the ER we could find a place to take him such as a nursing home. My dad was not violent just would take off and could not find him or verbally abusive. The hospital "pink slipped" dad after we told them about his behavior. That means he has to be evaluated by Century Health. After Century Health came in to evaluate dad, she accused the family of abuse ! We were devastated by the accusation and want to know where we can send complaints about this facility to. We tried OH department of health and they could not help. Lisa was a young girl who obviously had no training in dementia. They ended up sending my dad to a mental health facility in Toledo OH that had drug users etc in with my dad. This should never have been. Century Health would not tell us where they had taken dad and we found out days later from an ER nurse. This facility (Century Health) is not trained enough to make such decisions about the proper care for dementia patients or what the families are going through. We have talked to other families that have dealt with Century Health and had similar or worse outcome. They need to be stopped before it happens to another family.
I'm not sure what they meant by abuse, you don't really say, but usually it involves restraints of some kind or locking the patient in the house alone.
It really helps to see a lawyer, I hope you have one.
Has your father executed a DPOA that gives someone in the family authority act on his behalf legally? If so, ask the mental health facility and the ER for whatever information they have on its corporate status.
You can also check with the Ohio State offices to find out if it's an Ohio corporation, or is a "foreign corporation", whichi merely means that it's incorporated in another state.
Once you find that out, contact Ohio state offices again to find out what regulatory agency governs actions taken by the type of corporate entity Century Health is.
Was it the hospital staff who contacted Century and got them involved? If so, then presumably they have some kind of arrangement, whether it's just a referral arrangement or a contractual one.
Change of direction....I'm leaving in the above information in case you need to follow that route, but there may be a more direct one:
I just did some quick checking. It's incorporated, non profit and claims to have met accreditation standards of "internationally recognized CARF (Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities)" I think filing a complaint with CARF is a good way to proceed.
I also found that it's certified by the "Ohio Mental Health & Addiction Services http://mha.ohio.gov/". If the URL for the Ohio Mental Health organization is deleted, Google Century Health, and scroll to the bottom of the page.
I would make sure you have dates and as much data as you can get, including from the hospital if it cooperates.
My guess is that Century may have negotiated some referral contracts to get psych referrals.
Another avenue is to find out how Century gets paid. Have you received any bills, or Explanation of Benefits from Medicare that provide more detail on its charges? If anyone is proxy as stated above, you can try to get Medicare to give you information by forwarding a true copy of the DPOA. I believe Medicare has its own form of POA, so that may be a stumbling point.
But you can file a protest and complaint with Medicare and ask for an investigation. And when the Medicare EOBs come through, you can appeal and challenge the legitimacy of the funds Medicare paid to Century.
I think I would also try to find an elder law attorney in your area who handles institutional challenges. These people know which are good and bad organizations and may have some information on Century.
It wouldn't hurt if the other families banded together and also contacted attorneys. More complaints might get more action from the regulatory agencies.
Century is also responsible for the actions of its employees, including the young woman with apparently little experience in dementia. Make sure you address this in any complaints you file.
BTW, not to pry, but what were the alleged abuse allegations? I'm not questioning their legitimacy, but rather the scope and nature of them. It helps to put in perspective this young woman's comprehension (or lack thereof) of dementia.
Where is your father now? Have you been able to get him back home or in another facility?
This is a travesty and a horrible thing for any family to have to go through.