Board strips license from owner of assisted living facility

Published 9:11 pm Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Oakwood Assisted Living on E. Washington Street is owned by Scott Schuett, whose license to administer such facilities has been revoked by a state board. The facility can continue operating under a different administrator. It appeared to be open on Tuesday.

The owner of Suffolk’s Oakwood Assisted Living has been stripped of his professional license after issues at the home, including 19 reported assaults in seven months, according to records.

Scott Schuett’s license and registration to practice as an assisted-living facility administrator and preceptor were revoked after an administrative hearing in December before a state Board of Long-Term Care Administrators panel.

Schuett’s license and registration had been summarily suspended on Sept. 13, 2012, and he has also been fined $25,000, according to the hearing transcript.

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The hearing in Henrico County considered whether Schuett “may have violated certain laws and regulations governing assisting living facility administration practice in Virginia.”

The reported assaults at Oakwood, 2536 E. Washington Street, between Jan. 1 and Aug. 27 in 2012, provided evidence that Schuett “failed to ensure that residents were properly supervised,” the board found.

Among the board’s other findings, when an Oakwood resident stopped taking anti-seizure medication and declined treatment by an in-hour physician, Schuett failed to “take appropriate steps to ensure the (resident’s) safety and well-being,” according to the transcript.

He failed to notify the resident’s Community Services Board case manager of the issue and failed to document the resident’s seizure activity and transfer to a hospital, the board found.

Schuett also failed to document the discharge from Oakwood of a resident who was attacked by another resident and taken to hospital, never to return to the home, the board found.

“Mr. Schuett failed to maintain complete and/or updated records for multiple residents and failed to ensure the charting of significant happenings experienced by residents … including one who had refused his medication and refused to meet with his physician, two who committed violent assaults on fellow residents, and the two resident victims of those assaults,” the transcript says.

“Mr. Schuett failed to obtain a mental health screening for a resident as recommended by the uniform assessment instrument assessor.”

Schuett, who was absent from the hearing and without legal representation, has 30 days to appeal the board decision.

According to the transcript, the board found various other issues at two other Hampton Roads homes owned by Schuett.

On May 9, 2012, for instance, Schuett failed to notify the Department of Social Services “in a timely manner” after the death of a diabetic resident at Williamsburg’s Madison Retirement Center.

After the resident experienced high glucose readings, Schuett failed to provide the resident with “proper supervision, care and, attention.”

At Ashwood Assisted Living Facility in Hampton, Schuett “on multiple occasions” had failed to ensure a sufficient supply of food and that residents received proper nourishment.

The Board of Long-Term Care Administrators is under the Virginia Department of Health Professions, which launches investigations when information indicates a possible violation.

Trained and sworn investigators and inspectors “attempt to interview all sources of the complaint, all potential witnesses and all subjects of the complaint,” the department’s website states. Resulting investigation reports are sent to the applicable of 13 boards.

Schuett did not return a call for comment on Tuesday. He is allowed to continue owning the facilities, and Oakwood can remain open under a different employed operator. The facility appeared to be operating Tuesday.