Minnesota agency investigating complaints against staffers responsible for uncovering elder abuse

A department spokesman confirmed late Tuesday, Jan. 23, that there were complaints pending against Kris Lohrke, director of the Office of Health Facility Complaints, and her colleague Assistant Director Michelle Ness. Under state law, the specifics of complaints against public employees become public only after the investigation is completed and if an employee is disciplined.

The Office of Health Facility Complaints has been under fire for failing to investigate complaints of abuse of patients that ranged from neglect to assault. In 2016, the agency investigated just 10 percent of the 3,400 complaints it received from the public and less than 1 percent of the 21,000 self-reported complaints from the facilities.

Last week, Emily Piper, Department of Human Services commissioner, said she couldn't discuss specifics about Lohrke's or Ness' employment. Piper's agency is working with the health department to address the backlog of maltreatment complaints and improve the oversight system.

"We have been making personnel changes as part of our efforts to improve the state's response to complaints about the care of vulnerable adults," Piper said in a statement. "State law prohibits us from speaking to the employment status of any particular employee."

Piper testified to a joint committee of senators Wednesday, Jan. 24, that her agency's work to improve how abuse complaints are processed also uncovered low morale at the agency. Employees responding to surveys described a "toxic and disrespectful" work environment that Piper said likely played a role in a high turnover rate among the agency's workers.

Last month, lawmakers said a former employee at the agency described a similar work environment and was fired after she spoke out about problems. The staffer, Nancy Omondi, has threatened a whistleblower lawsuit.

Also in December, Dr. Ed Ehlinger, state health commissioner, resigned suddenly amid growing outrage that residents of care facilities had been neglected, abused and robbed, but the perpetrators often not punished. The abuse was detailed in a five-part series in the Star Tribune.

At a hearing Wednesday, lawmakers continued to gather information about the abuse problem and heard testimony from facility representatives, state officials and advocates for seniors.

Kristine Sunberg, president of Elder Voice Family Advocates, told senators that her group represents people whose family members had "horrific experiences" in long-term care facilities. "Nobody should be scared to live in these senior care facilities," Sunberg said.

Kari Thurlow and Toby Pearson, from the Long-Term Care Imperative, which advocates for providers, said they were working with members to develop a multifaceted approach to addressing and preventing abuse.

"We have problems out there," Pearson said. "We have to get together as a group and figure out how to raise the bar."

Piper told senators that staffers from the health and human services departments were working to address a backlog of more than 2,300 complaints and she hoped to have all of them resolved before the end of the year.

Dan Pollock, the acting health commissioner who took over last month for Ehlinger, apologized for the department's failings and said it was his top priority.

"This is not the Minnesota we know and take pride in and not the Minnesota that needs to care for the most vulnerable among us," Pollock said.