Richfield nursing home staff suspected of slow response to dying resident, then forging paperwork

Staff members at a Richfield nursing home are accused of forging a do-not-resuscitate directive after responding slowly to a patient dying, according to police.

In a search warrant affidavit filed Tuesday in Hennepin County District Court, police asked for a judge’s permission to seize from The Villas at Richfield all relevant medical records, video surveillance and identities of any medical staff involved in the care of 55-year-old Candace Columbus, who died Oct. 2.

The affidavit said police began investigating Columbus’ death five days later, when they received a state Department of Human Services (DHS) report detailing suspicions of first responders who were called to the nursing home to help Columbus.

Columbus’ uncle said she was moved from a Duluth hospital to The Villas less than a day earlier.

“She was supposed to be there for recovery,” Duane Columbus said of his niece, who lived in the Hibbing area. “Something smells fishy.”

According to the affidavit:

A report from the DHS Minnesota Adult Abuse Reporting Center said paramedics were called to The Villas after nursing home staff “suspected [Columbus] was dying but did not check on her or call 911 promptly.”

The Villas staff claimed that Columbus had a do-not-resuscitate (DNR) directive on file, but they did not provide it when asked by police officers, firefighters and paramedics on scene.

First responders then saw staff “filling out a DNR form, and they are suspected of forging documents. No physician was present to sign the form.”

Police reviewed officer body-worn camera video, which showed staff on the phone “with someone who claims to be the facility manager, who appears to be giving the staff instructions on how to fill out the DNR form.”

A DNR is an directive written by a health care provider that instructs medical staff to not to perform CPR if a patient’s heart stops beating or if the patient is no longer breathing.

The Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office said Wednesday that a private physician signed the death certificate, and the death was not reported to the examiner’s office. Columbus died from natural causes and “other significant conditions” including cerebral palsy, chronic respiratory failure and COVID-19, the examiner’s office said.

The Villas is owned by Eagan-based Monarch Healthcare Management, which operates numerous facilities throughout Minnesota.

Paxton Wiffler, the company’s chief operating officer, told the Star Tribune late Wednesday afternoon that “we take these allegations very seriously and conducted a thorough internal review. ... In addition, the Minnesota Department of Health reviewed the matter and found no deficient practice.”

Publicly available results of Health Department investigations into complaints showed two determinations this month that The Villas was meeting state and federal requirements for nursing homes, but neither specifically mentioned that Columbus’ death was the subject of the review.

Wiffler declined to say whether any staff at The Villas was disciplined stemming from the death. He did say his company has “been in contact with the Richfield Police Department to offer any assistance they may need with their investigation.”

Police Lt. Brad Drayna said Wednesday in an e-mail that his department “wouldn’t be able to provide any additional information and/or context due to the ongoing investigation of the incident.”

DHS also declined to answer questions about the circumstances surrounding Columbus’ death.