AMHERST, Ohio — A family is on a quest to find answers after they say a “patient bank account” set up through Amherst Manor for their loved one who was a patient vanished after their passing.
Kristin Morelock described her experience with Amherst Manor as “95% good, 5% bad.”
“They have a great nursing staff on that dementia floor. They really care. My dad called them his girlfriends. I always knew that he was in good hands. I never once had to worry about anything there,” said Morelock.
However, Morelock said the “5% bad” has created an ongoing battle since her father passed away nearly five years ago.
Morelock said she opened a “patient bank account” through Amherst Manor, and at the time of his passing, it had roughly $200 in it.
“That was my personal money that I sent to my father on a monthly basis so that he would have money for activities and haircuts and whatever he needed or wanted to do,” said Morelock.
When her father passed, Morelock’s family used the Dovin Funeral Home in Lorain to say their final goodbyes.
Morelock told News 5 she wanted that money in his “patient bank account” to be sent from Amherst Manor to the Dovin Funeral Home to help pay for funeral expenses.
Dovin Funeral Home Funeral Director Brian Hartman said, “Patient accounts are either returned to the family or, in most cases (like I believe in Mr. Morelock’s), returned to the State for Medicaid recovery if a patient is on Medicaid. If there are funeral expenses that the family incurs, it is possible for a funeral home to claim the funds for those funeral expenses from the patient account, but this is not always guaranteed.”
Morelock confirmed her dad was on Medicaid but said Amherst Manor never made her aware that sending the money to the State of Ohio was an option.
“It makes more sense if that money was extra from overpayments from Medicaid. That would make sense to me. But this is not Medicaid's money and that should not have been the way it was handled,” stated Morelock.
News 5 reached out to the owners of Amherst Manor, Sprenger Health Care Systems, for information, but it was unable to provide specifics, citing privacy laws.
“By regulation, if a resident passes away and they are private pay, their funds go to the resident’s estate. If a resident passes away and they utilize Medicaid funding, they are subject to Medicaid Recovery and a letter is sent to the facility requesting their funds be returned to the State of Ohio,” said Sprenger Health Care Systems Vice President of Acquisitions and Development, Amy Sanfilippo-Steadman.
News 5 contacted the Ohio Department of Health, Ohio Department of Commerce, Ohio Department of Medicaid, and the Ohio Attorney General’s Office to track down Morelock’s money.
“The Ohio Department of Health (ODH) licenses and regulates nursing homes. ODH would never accept funds that belonged to a deceased resident of a long-term care facility,” said Ohio Department of Health Press Secretary Ken Gordon.
The Ohio Department of Commerce told News 5 the money would not have been sent to it. If so, it would appear when searching here.
News 5 was unable to find anything equating to $200 through the Department of Commerce’s missing money portal.
“We did not find anything in our collections records – I can’t speak for [Ohio Department of Medicaid] records,” stated Ohio Attorney General Press Secretary Steve Irwin.
The Ohio Department of Medicaid was unable to confirm or deny whether Amherst Manor sent the money from Morelock’s father’s “patient bank account” to it. The department said a patient’s family can request the information, though.
“It's not something anybody should have to go through,” said Morelock.
Morelock said she’s not looking to get the money back. She is hoping her story helps others in similar situations.
If you find yourself in a similar situation, call the Ohio Medicaid Hotline at 1-800-324-8680.
The Attorney General’s office also has a hotline for unclaimed funds: 1-877-644-6823.
