Local nursing home patient death ruled homicide

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) – A local nursing facility is the center of a homicide investigation. Arbors at Oregon is accused of medically neglecting a patient for months.

“In her golden years at the twilight of her life, she deserved to be treated with dignity and respect and Arbors of Oregon just did not provide that to her,” Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Matt Mooney said.

72-year-old Lucy Garcia was a nursing care facility resident for years at Arbors at Oregon.

She was recovering from a stroke.

She died on July 2, 2024.

According to an autopsy report performed by the Lucas County Coroner Garcia died from months of medical neglect.

Her death was ruled a homicide from complications of a severe bed sore also known as a sacral pressure ulcer (stage IV) due to medical neglect.

“The bed sore had already progressed to the point it was down to her bone. There are horrific pictures of the bed sore. Horrific pictures. It’s completely inexcusable for someone like Lucy to develop a bed so serious in a nursing home setting,” Mooney said.

Oregon Police said they were given the case after the coroner presented its findings to the prosecutor.

According to Arbors at Oregon’s website, the facility offers care “focused around each individual” but the family lawyer maintains the nursing home failed to provide her with the basic care.

“The nursing home represented to the family that they could do that. They could take care of Lucy’s needs which included making sure she was protected from getting bedsores and that’s a very basic care needed. It just involves moving patients getting them out of bed if they’re able. If they’re not rotating them in bed so that different parts of their body don’t cause pressure on their backside where these sore form. The facility failed to do that,” Mooney said.

13 Action News went to the nursing home to get a comment from the director of nursing and the administrator but they said they could not comment and would pass our information to someone high up.

The family’s lawyer said Lucy Garcia raised four successful sons as a single mother and they are devastated.

“They want some accountability for what happened to their mother. Their mother’s passing was just terrible. No one deserves to pass like this. These bedsores are just a terrible way to just a terrible way to go. They’re a terrible way to go,” Mooney said.

This is not the first time the nursing home has been under investigation. In 2019 an employee was convicted of patient abuse.

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