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Employee, frustrated over mold problem, quits nursing home job

By Blaine Tolison, wsoctv.com
By Blaine Tolison, wsoctv.com

MARSHVILLE, N.C. — Darious Johnson showed Channel 9 samples of moldy drywall he said came from inside Autumn Care of Marshville.

He said he worked there as the nursing home's director of maintenance, and was compelled to expose a problem with mold he found at Autumn Care because he cares about the residents and employees there.

"They're like my family,” Johnson said. “You know everybody. It's a small town. The employees you spend more time with them, than your own family."

But he said when he brought the issue to his manager in November, he was told to paint over the mold.

"That wasn't the way it should've been done, but that's what I was told," Johnson said.

Inspectors found several minor violations and mold in three rooms, according to a Dec. 27 state report.

The nursing home received a score of 91.5 out of 100.

Johnson who worked at the facility for 15 years quit after the inspection out of frustration.

"From, you know, the lack of management and the lack of them going anything about it," Johnson said.

"No employee has been directed to disguise any environmental factor. At all times the facility has acted in the best interests of the health, safety and welfare of its residents," the parent company of Autumn Care, Saber Healthcare Group, said in a statement to Channel 9.

Mold can cause a number of health problems as simple as stuffiness, to as serious as lung infections, according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention.

"I would like to basically see them come in and correct the problem for the benefit of the residents," Johnson said.

"To date, we have no independent verification of mold in the facility,” Autumn Care said is a statement. “Further, no resident or staff has had any issues that can be directly and proximately linked to environmental factors inside the facility."

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