Masonic Homes of Kentucky paid a patient's family $11 million in June 2019 to settle claims that one of their facilities had failed to give the patient life-saving antibiotics and then failed to report the oversight to authorities, possibly contributing to the patient's 2013 death, according to a July 7 article in The Messenger-Inquirer.
The patient, Dan Schneider, stayed at Masonic Homes' Louisville-based Sam Swope Care Center for 24 days to recover from a hip infection. The nursing home transferred him to a local hospital when his condition worsened, and he died on May 2, 2013, following a hip operation.
Weeks later, an anonymous whistleblower sent a letter to Joann Schneider, Mr. Schneider's wife, claiming the nursing home had failed to give Mr. Schneider a single dose of a daily antibiotic. The home's director of nursing and assistant director of nursing knew about the oversight but failed to report it to authorities, the letter said. Federal investigators later found six violations at Masonic Homes in 2013 involving Mr. Schneider and other patients.
"This was an isolated incident that occurred six years ago," a Masonic Homes spokesperson told Becker's in an email. "We are hopeful the settlement and resolution will bring solace to the family."