Disabilities agency faces County Council

By Charles Sowell  

MAY 18, 2012 8:43 a.m. (4)

The interim director of the Greenville Disabilities and Special Needs Board painted himself as rescuer of the embattled county agency at Tuesday’s long-anticipated meeting between the Greenville County Council and DSN board and staff.

Patrick Haddon told the council Committee of the Whole that he found the state-funded agency mired in red ink with a disturbing record of medical errors when he took the interim job in February – a choice that itself drew criticism due to the speed with which Haddon replaced his predecessor, who was fired, and Haddon’s lack of experience in the disabilities field.

Seven board members have resigned from the agency in recent weeks, most citing dysfunction and a lack of transparency within the board and administrative staff hierarchy. The agency was headed toward a $1.2 million shortfall when Haddon arrived. Haddon told the council he fired the finance director and hired a new one last week, and he expects the agency to finish the fiscal year with a $50,000 to $60,000 surplus.

The County Council called Tuesday’s meeting in response to a groundswell of complaints about the agency, its staff and board chairwoman Roxie Kincannon, who refused Council Chairman H.G. Butch Kirven’s invitation to join Haddon and agency lawyer David Holmes in answering questions from council members.

The council is weighing whether to ask Gov. Nikki Haley to remove the remainder of the board and start over with new faces. The council nominates board members to the governor, who has sole authority to appoint or remove them.

Kirven said the council will meet again in a week to take action, telling the close to 100 people in the audience that “County Council now has a unique opportunity to make some badly needed and far-reaching changes to a system that has a long history of problems.”

Board member Tammy Dantin was the only agency representative to speak other than Haddon and Holmes, telling the council that she has been frozen out of the information loop by Haddon and board chairwoman Kincannon.

“I figured since no one else will talk about it, I will,” she said.

She told council she knows very little about the operations of the disabilities organization, that she has received little training, and that decisions concerning services and financials were closely held by the board’s leadership and Haddon.

Holmes and Haddon took up the bulk of the session responding to the County Council’s list of 32 written questions and with Haddon’s reported findings and the changes he said he has made since taking the interim job.

Haddon said his review of DHEC inspection reports dating back to 2008 uncovered “continual problems” with medication delivery. “We were giving medications either to the wrong person at the wrong time or the wrong dose,” he said. “We have had many alleged staff abuses and potential neglect.”

In the past 10 months the agency had been cited 12 times for not complying with regulations to assure proper care is given, he said, adding two contract nurses have been fired and the agency is now short 25 staff positions.

Haddon said his “biggest worry” is that staff shortages will “lead to exhaustion” and potentially abuse and neglect. The county agency has a budget of about $20 million and serves 2,200 clients who suffer from spinal cord injuries, autism, mental retardation and related disabilities.

Council didn’t have the opportunity to ask many other questions, but at one point Councilman Joe Dill questioned the recent firing of Harold Edmonds as finance director.

“It’s my understanding that he helped get you all out of a tight financial situation,” Dill said. “To my way of thinking you don’t fire a man who’s done that kind of thing for you. You hug him and hold him close.”

Edmonds has an extensive background in accounting and came to Greenville DSN from the Charles Lea Center in Spartanburg. He has since gone back to work at Lea, a spokesman for the center told the Journal.

Haddon disputed the contribution that Edmonds had made to the board’s fiscal recovery and said DSN had already hired Edmonds’ replacement, Alan DeFlorio of Myrtle Beach.

DeFlorio’s background is in ad sales for seven television stations and as a national sales representative with HRP. He has worked for WHNS-TV in Greenville as a sales representative and was working in sales for WMBF-TV in Myrtle Beach at the time of his hiring, according to DeFlorio’s LinkedIn Web profile.

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Troubled   |2012-05-18 13:35:55 This agency is just getting worse. The Board, namely Roxie and her puppet Haddon are continue to hire their croonies, whom have no experience with disabilities. The new QA Director, no experience, the new Controller, no experience, Haddon, no experience. So, now the agence key personnel is a "FARMER, SALESMAN,ans CORRECTION OFFRICER...oops, he really wasn't a correction officer. In the meantime, there are more than 25 Direct care vacancies..why?, because the salary is so low, the staff qualify for foodstamps. The consumers are still coming to programs with lunches that you wouldn't feed a dog, missing adaptive equipment to eat the slop with and then clothes that are bleached out, either too big or to small. They are mad to attend programs after having surgeries that leave them with a shunt in their head that is visable to the eye. Come on people, come into the programs and ask the staff what really goes on. The consumers are... Reply

Concerned Parent  - Puppets   |2012-05-20 03:29:15 I'm not sure who the puppet mister really is. Is it Roxie or Connie ? I really don't think Roxie has enough brains to be the puppet mister. Have to say, it is one heck of a puppet show for sure. Reply

Concerned Parent  - Finance Director   |2012-05-20 16:01:45 It sure seems strange that Patrick can go out and hire a finance director and when Mr. Parker needed one, Roxie, Connie and Tracy had to interview the applicants. They even said the guy from Oconee didn't meet the qualifications. I guess qualifications didn't matter when they hired Patrick. Maybe the new finance director can get a good deal on some TV advertizing so they can run an ad and fill all of those job vaccancies. See, Patrick isn't has dumb as you think! Reply

I'm agast!!!`  - What a LIAR!!!   |2012-05-21 10:33:03 When Patrick Haddon was slid into the Executive Director slot the agency was NOT headed toward a $1.2 million shortfall. That's a bald-faced LIE!!! All you have to do is get the financial statements for November-April to see that the agency was operating in the black during all those months with the exception of December due to holiday pay. Of course, if you asked for the financial statements under FOIA you might wait for months to get them. Haddon is NOT a savior - he's a political hack using the agency for his own agenda. AND the 99.9% accuracy rate of med errors the agency experiences is 2+% HIGHER than the state average! Haddon is blowing smoke up your skirts! Reply

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