Ramsey County group home "failed" to provide care in days leading up to man's death, report says
SHOREVIEW, Minn. — A man with disabilities died this summer while in the long-term care of a Ramsey County group home.
WCCO has obtained documents showing that staff at the facility made major mistakes in treating him.
Randy Whitaker lived at Lake Owasso Residence in Shoreview, a county-run facility for adults with developmental disabilities. The 41-year-old had autism and epilepsy and couldn't speak.
A Minnesota Department of Health report following Randy Whitaker's death says for five days, he experienced worsening pain, nausea and vomiting.
It says the facility "failed to assess and provide medical care needs," and staff "failed to...follow direction to send [Whitaker] to [the] emergency department."
A nurse is quoted in the report as saying, "Oh he will be fine till Monday, it's too much paperwork and phone calls."
Randy Whitaker died of intestinal problems that Sunday.
"Every day, I'm suffering from the loss of my son," said Fannie Whitaker, Randy Whitaker's mother. "I think it could've been prevented."
Randy Whitaker's family was never notified he was even ill until hours before he died.
"We're at the point of who do we trust?" said Rosalind Loggin, Randy Whitaker's sister. "We can't trust the state, we can't trust the government. Who do we trust to get our needs met and prevent this from happening to someone else?"
A nurse at Lake Owasso told state investigators, "[Whitaker's] death shook everyone up and should not have ended that way."
"Why didn't they take him to the hospital?" Loggin said. "So yes, we're very frustrated. We're devastated."
Ramsey County told WCCO it couldn't comment on the case due to privacy laws, but it has taken "corrective action" at Lake Owasso. That includes retraining nurses in identifying medical needs, when to contact a doctor, and not needing permission to call 911.
Randy Whitaker's family is now pursuing legal action against the county for a wrongful death.
"Randy was a very happy-go-lucky person," said his sister, Shirley Loggins. "He really lit up the whole room with his smile when my mom would come in."
Fannie Whitaker says Randy Whitaker's birthday and Mother's Day, which are close in date, will never be the same for her.
Lake Owasso was found to be back in compliance once the staff was retrained.