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 on Oct. 2.

The affidavit said police began investigating Columbus' death on Oct. 7, when they received a state Department of Human Services (DHS) report detailing various suspicions of first responders who were called to the nursing home to aid Columbus.

According to the affidavit:

A report from the DHS's 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 (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) 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.

Messages were left with police and DHS for further information about the investigation into suspected abuse of a vulnerable adult and forgery.

An administrator at The Villas said she would contact the nursing home's corporate office for a response to the allegations. The Villas is owned by Eagan-based Monarch Healthcare Management, which operates numerous facilities throughout Minnesota.

The city of Hudson is fining the owner $1,400 a day. The owner told city officials that his lawyer advised him to leave it where it sits.