**Pictures may be disturbing to some viewers**
Update: Numerous Staff and former Staff have contacted the State, as well as family members
The family of a resident in an Abilities Plus house in Kewanee is demanding change after what they describe as a two-year losing battle. Andrew Yarger lives in an Abilities Plus house because he is immobile and needs round-the-clock care. Andrew has lived in an Ability Plus house for 13 years. And until a few years ago, his family said the care he received was excellent. Jennifer Yarger said things started changing a few years ago. Jennifer said she has been corresponding with the Executive Directors for two years regarding the issues and living conditions, but her correspondence went unanswered. Current and former staff spoke with RegionalMediaNews.com regarding the work environment at Abilities Plus and what they describe as “bullying, threats, and abuse” in the workplace. Abilities Plus responded to our invitation to have a conversation about the allegations and said they take all allegations seriously and are fully investigating the accusations. Jennifer Yarger contacted us and requested we attend the September 23, 2024, Abilities Plus Board meeting after what she said was two years of “neglect” of her brother and, instead of things improving, they worsened. Jennifer Yarger, her mom Sherry, and her dad Doug, reached a point where they felt they had no choice but to escalate their concern to the board and the media.
Jennifer Yarger wants people to know that abuse comes in many forms. It doesn’t mean assault or physical abuse. In Andrew’s case, dressing him in another client’s clothes that are too small and causing an injury to his skin while removing the clothing too aggressively. Jennifer said that Andrew can’t explain things very well. He was unable to vocalize any pain from the skin injury to his underarms. Jennifer said that for Andrew to say his back and neck hurt from his bed means “he is in major pain.” She said it shouldn’t take them going to the media and the board to get something done. The Yarger family, current staff, and former staff said the problems began a few years ago. They said prior administrators did a good job.
Jennifer said a staff member told Andrew that “he was fat and no one loved him.” She reported the staff member to management, and action was taken, but how is Andrew supposed to forget those words? Sherry Yarger received a phone call from her son, Andrew, after the board meeting, and before she uttered hello, Andrew said, “I like my staff.” Jennifer talked about how upset her mother was because Andrew had never said those words before. Jennifer said that Andrew has gone from happy to sad over the last couple of years. Jennifer said she sent an email to the Executive Directors and Board President and hadn’t received a reply at the time of this writing.
Numerous staff members attended the board meeting to talk about the way they have been treated by management and the way they have witnessed other staff and clients be treated.
Randy Carton is the president of the Abilities Plus Board of Directors and met with the Yarger family, current staff, former staff, and myself before the board meeting. Mr. Carton said he had received emails from three people at that time. A staff member said staff members are willing to “speak up, but they are being bullied by other staff.” Another staff member said they are being threatened with losing their job for speaking with the board. Mr. Carton asked the staff member if there was a misuse of words regarding the threat of termination, and they said there wasn’t a misuse of words. A staff member said, “We can’t keep employees because of how they treat us.” Several individuals reporting to be staff at Abilities Plus have said on social media that they haven’t experienced any abuse and that Abilities Plus is a great place to work. However, several staff members, present and former, allegedly witnessed and/or experienced abuse by management. Staff report hearing management make fun of staff, call staff names, and “bully” anyone who speaks up or questions them, which staff members said the family of clients has heard. A staff member said they heard management saying bad things about the family of the clients. Staff members told RegionalMediaNews they were told to sign off on watching medication destruction, but the medications were not destroyed in their presence; they also said all the medications they were told to sign off on being destroyed were narcotics.
Numerous staff members questioned the confidentiality of emails sent to human resources and if management could read those emails. Mr. Carton said they would look into the confidentiality concerns.
Multiple staff members talked about the “neglect” of clients. They said clients are not being bathed daily or weekly in some cases. Jennifer, her daughter, and her mother, Sherry, all talked about the countless times they visited Andrew, and how he smelled because he hadn’t been showered or changed. They recount seeing feces on the floor, food crumbs in Andrew’s bed, and crumbs on his wheelchair. Andrew’s wheelchair was unsafe and needed replacement parts, which were reportedly ordered. Another area of concern was the shower seat for Andrew, which was missing a safety strap. Staff members said that clients are fed mostly frozen foods and not healthy homemade meals, which they say often are chicken patties or hamburger helper. Jennifer said that Andrew has gained about 100 pounds in the last couple of years. Andrew’s mother, Sherry, tearfully said that she is concerned he will gain too much weight and be evicted from the Abilities Plus House.
The staff members speaking out are concerned that Abilities Plus will have to close their doors. They said they care for their clients, and that is why they are still working there. The staff members in attendance said they are understaffed, underpaid, treated horribly, and called names in front of other staff. One former staff member said they learned how not to treat people and what it takes to do things the right way. Though two staff are required at the 808 house, staff said they will pull one person from the overnight shift to go to another house. This leaves one person to do bed checks, roll clients to avoid bed sores, and change the immobile clients. Wheelchair clients are moved between their bed and chair using a Hoyer Lift. Jennifer said she has had to show staff members how to properly use a Hoyer Lift to avoid injuries. One picture below shows Andrew not properly in the Hoyer Lift and almost falling out of his seat; one person was injured after falling out of the Hoyer Lift.
Andrew was given another client’s medication, and the family wasn’t immediately told about the incident. Jennifer reported a blister with a skin break on Andrew’s ear in August, that staff didn’t know about. Andrew had marks under his arms from a shirt that was many sizes too small, and not his shirt. There is a picture below of Andrew in the shirt in June. Most recently, Jennifer noticed a buildup of white “gunk” in Andrew’s elbows that the staff didn’t know about. The skin was raw under the debris.
Staff members said there has been a COVID-19, Shingles, and Scabies outbreak at the houses. Jennifer and Sherry Yarger said they were never told about this. Staff members said that staff was required to work while infected with COVID. Staff members allege that vitals are not being conducted regularly nor is client equipment being cleaned, such as CPAP gear.
The following is the statement Jennifer Yarger read to the Abilities Plus Board:
“Hello, my name is Jennifer Yarger. I am a sister to one of your long-time clients, Andrew Yarger. Andrew Yarger has lived at one of your Cilla houses for 15 plus years now.
I am here today to express my concerns that I’ve been sharing with Staff and the Director of Residential Services for going on 2 years now. While I have had many conversations with staff over the years and the residential coordinator, past and present, nothing ever seems to be taken seriously as our concerns as a family have grown larger and larger.
A Few months ago, my mother, Sherry Yarger and I set up a meeting with Director of Residential Coordinator, Ashley Williams. After we thought she would be settled in her new role at the agency, we thought that if we shared our concerns and questions with her that maybe things would get better. We presented her with Pictures that I had taken over the last several years of what his hygiene had been looking like and safety concerns we had about the Hoyer lift that has been broken and possibly over the weight limit. I have watched staff maneuver him in this Hoyer dozens of times and give them pointers on how to properly place the Hoyer pad and how to position Andrew correctly in his chair. It has been very clear that over the last 2 years there has not been enough training for the staff. Most of them do not know what they are doing. And that raises safety concerns for many reasons. Not just for Andrew, but for all wheelchair clients and staff!
Regarding his personal Hygiene. I visit Andrew frequently and I can confidently say that 90% of the time he is covered in food crumbs all over him. Dried food all over his mouth. His teeth are not brushed, and he is covered in dry skin on his head and face. Our family has provided coconut oil to help with this situation and they do not use it. We have requested it be used by him every morning after his shower. He has been using the same bottle for over a year, which proves they are not using it. They recently have been dressing him in someone else’s shirts. He wore a female’s blue shirt all day that was several sizes too small for him and it created a deep laceration under his armpit. None of us were notified. Nor was it treated properly.
At the end of our conversation with Ashley, my mom and I both left with high hopes that things would start to change for the better. She assured us both that she has the clients’ best interests at heart, and she would speak with staff about doing better. She also stated that she would check into Hoyer training for them, which should have been top priority years ago.
It was brought to my attention that after our meeting with Ashely, we were laughed at and called an over dramatic family. This was so disheartening to hear whether its he said she said. It has become very apparent that none of our concerns for Andrew and other Clients are being heard as nothing has changed but gotten worse.
A year ago on October 1st, my father had a massive stroke. He required 24/7 care. My mother, Sherry, feeling overwhelmed with so much responsibility, decided to delegate and let me take guardianship of Andrew. We looked into hiring a lawyer to legally get it changed as this was our long-term plan anyway but at the time was not financially in our cards. So, we typed up a formal letter and had it notarized. This was signed by my mother and myself. I was notified by a staff member that the agency was trying to get it thrown out because my father had not signed it as he is also his legal guardian. They basically stated that Ashley thought I was a nuisance and blamed all Andrews problems on staff, so this was any easy way to get rid of me. While the agency may think I am a nuisance, I call it being an advocate for someone who cannot advocate for himself! I will never not advocate for someone who is not able to do so for themselves.
Another concern I would like to address is Andrews Finances. He gets paid on the first of the month and is broke by the 2nd week. I would like to request an audit of his finances for the last 6 months. I would like an itemized printout of what his money is being spent on. Including receipts. There are often occurrences when he is unable to go out to eat with the rest of the clients or buy something for himself because he is out of funds. This should not be a thing.
Andrew has called myself or one of my daughters on 2 occasions recently and stated that he was sad and had hurt feelings. If you know Andrew, he is usually happy-go-lucky all the time. He stated that a worker has told him that he is fat and that no one loves him. While we cannot prove that a staff member said this to him, we fully believe this was said. That is considered a Hate crime against someone with a disability. I did report it to the agency, but did not receive any feedback, as usual.
Another concern I have is if there is a nutrition program that the Cillas house must follow? While I know staff cannot tell clients No, are they following a healthy meal plan? With Andrews weight gain over the last 2 years, I find it difficult to believe that they are being provided with a healthy meal plan. Is the money that is provided to each home being used to keep the clients healthy or is it supporting their unhealthy habits? Andrew received a new wheelchair in November of 2021 I believe, and he has outgrown it already. His insurance only covers a new chair every 5 years. And we cannot get staff members to call the insurance company when something on his chair breaks. His chest belt has been torn and non-effective for months now and is now in my eyes creating a safety hazard. Recently when I go to visit, he doesn’t even have it on. Again, safety hazard. His laterals that go under his arm pits are constantly being broken due to staff not making sure they are under his arm where it belongs and runs into doorways with it. Staff members will state, we didn’t know it was broken or we don’t know how it broke. And fail to report it so it can be fixed and documented until a family member brings it up.
During our visits I often will find a wound that staff are unaware of. Last week had what looked like a blister oozing with infection. Staff had not had it documented and stated they had nothing to clean it with. So, I did it myself. He has also had a sore on his forehead for several weeks that is finally healing, and no one seems to know what it’s from. Why are these things not being documented or attended to?
Andrew was also given the wrong pill a few months ago. My mother was notified by staff and assured her it was no big deal and that it was fine, yet another staff member told me that Andrew stated he felt goofy and off. How is he given the wrong medication that wasn’t his when he has his own medication box? That should never have happened. Why was he not taken to be checked out if he stated he felt goofy?
Today I bring you my concerns in hopes someone will finally step up and seek a way to fix all these safety issues and show some compassion to these residents. Someone needs to go in and see the condition these clients are living in and how they are being treated. Our family deserves better. These clients deserve better! Do better.
If you would like to see photo evidence of my brother falling halfway out of his chair, wounds that he has sustained in their care, how disgusting they leave him daily, I brought pictures with me. Just ask for them.”
