Family of Hacienda patients speak out in support of facility despite its numerous scandals
PHOENIX (FOX 10) -- Hacienda healthcare has been through a lot in recent months.
In December, a baby was born to an incapacitated patient at the facility, which resulted in the arrest of a former nurse. Recently, maggots were discovered under another patient's bandages. On Wednesday, the facility is set to lose its Federal funding.
Despite the onslaught for Hacienda, they are fighting back. They have appealed the revocation of their license, and they will appeal the decision to remove their Medicaid funding. People who have loved ones at Hacienda are also fighting back, saying they want their loved ones to stay there.
"This is his world and these are his people. This is his family, his caregivers. His nurses, they are his family and they love him as much as I do. They know him better than I do," said Heidi Reid-Champigny. Her 55-year-old brother, who is non-verbal and mentally challenged, is a patient at Hacienda. Despite reports of maggots found on one patient and the rape of an incapacitated patient, Reid-Champigny wants her brother to stay there.
Dr. Alan Strobel and his wife said they want their 30-year-old son, Logan, to stay at the Hacienda facility, because they insist the facility has saved his life, and to move him could kill him.
"Behind you, about ten feet, are some of the sickest individuals who have left Intensive Care Units. This is where they go," said Strobel, who blames media coverage for some of Hacienda's problems
"[It] in no way resembles the hellhole you have read about or seen depicted on the news," said Strobel. "Tragically, these false portrayals of Hacienda have driven the State and Federal oversight agencies to the brink of shutting down."
Family members said they hope to push back against the negative perception many may have of Hacienda HealthCare's facility, and keep it open for their loved ones.
"To say this is a horrible institution is completely incorrect," said Strobel. "Some bad things happened here, but it's a great institution."
One parent said on Monday that both Federal and State officials were inside the facility, going through documents and records. He said they may find some problems, but they are committed because quite honestly, they have nowhere else to go.