The family of Fritz Loyd, a former Beatrice State Developmental Center resident, does not believe his sudden move from BSDC had anything to do with his death June 26 at a Falls City nursing ho
CORY MATTESON and NANCY HICKS / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Friday, July 10, 2009 12:00 am
The family of Fritz Loyd, a former Beatrice State Developmental Center resident, does not believe his sudden move from BSDC had anything to do with his death June 26 at a Falls City nursing home.
In February, Loyd and 46 other BSDC residents deemed too "medically fragile" to remain in the care of the center were moved to various hospitals and care facilities.
Though Loyd's death, at age 66, was reported to state Health and Human Services staff June 29, the information did not reach Jodi Fenner, acting director of the Division of Developmental Disabilities, until Friday afternoon, according to Kathie Osterman, HHS spokeswoman.
Loyd was the sixth of the "medically fragile" BSDC patients to die since they were moved in February.
Loyd had been a resident at BSDC since 1985, until he was moved to Creighton University Medical Center in February, said his brother and guardian, Luke Loyd. He said his brother adjusted well to the move.
In May, Luke Loyd said, the family was presented with several places where Fritz Loyd could be moved next. They chose Careage Estates in Falls City.
"We thought Falls City was his home, and it was," Luke Loyd told the Journal Star Friday night.
Fritz and Luke Loyd's sister Rita Brennan lives in Falls City with her husband, Patrick.
Luke Loyd visited from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, as did his sister Susan Erwin, who lives in Kansas City, Mo. Buoyed by their visits and his caretakers' efforts, Fritz Loyd was doing well in the unfamiliar setting, Patrick Brennan said.
"He was happy," he said. "The nursing home was wonderful."
Patrick Brennan said Fritz Loyd's doctor visited him the morning of June 26 and told the family he was doing well.
"And then he had a heart attack, we suspect, and died later that night," Patrick Brennan said.
"I didn't think it had anything to do with the move."
Family or guardians of three of the other five former BSDC residents who have died have spoken to the Journal Star. In those three instances, the family has said that the stress and shock of being moved from the center was a contributing factor in the former resident's death.
On Wednesday, Dr. Joann Schaefer, Nebraska's chief medical officer, told the Associated Press that stress from the BSDC move has not contributed to any of the deaths.
She wrote in an e-mail to the AP that she understood why some guardians believe stress contributed to the deaths, but "knowing the situations and details involved, I do not believe that is true."
Luke Loyd said the family was concerned when informed that Fritz Loyd would be moved in February, because the care he received at BSDC never gave them cause for concern.
"The staff and the facility he was in, never in all the years I was there or visited there, I never found anything (wrong)," he said. "Just the greatest environment."
Fritz Loyd's death was not included in recent statistics from the Department of Health and Human Services because top officials were not aware of the death.
Staff are looking into why the information didn't reach top administrators and will correct the system, Osterman said.
Reach Cory Matteson at 473-7438 or cmatteson@journalstar.com. Reach Nancy Hicks at 473-7250 or nhicks@journalstar.com.