MOUNT DORA Carlton Palms faces possible manslaughter charges in death of girl Millard K. Ives | Staff Writer millardives@dailycommercial | Posted 5 days ago For five days a 14-year-old severely disabled teen vomited, screamed, bit herself and thrashed around in the Carlton Palms Educational Center in Mount Dora — and she was getting worse, according to state officials. Paige Elizabeth Lunsford, a child of Margate residents, was admitted to Carlton Palms in June 2013. Because she was autistic and also nonverbal, she couldn’t ask for help or tell her caregiver what was wrong. But instead of sending her to a hospital, the center put her on a liquid diet and placed her in a four-point bed restraint where they bound her arms and legs. Ten days after her arrival at the center, the blonde, pigtailed girl died at the Carlton Palms Educational Center with a 103-degree fever. An autopsy listed the cause of Lunsford’s death as dehydration due to gastrointestinal infection. An investigation by the Department of Children & Families determined she died of child neglect. An investigation by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office into the death was turned over several days ago to the State Attorney’s Office. “We will try to find out if there is enough criminal culpable negligence to file manslaughter charges,” prosecutor Hugh Bass during an interview Friday. According to a DCF document, the educational center has been the focus of almost 150 allegations of neglect or abuse since 2001, including 47 involving children. The Agency for Persons with Disabilities, or APD, which oversees programs for disabled people, has filed three administrative complaints against Carlton Palms with the first two citing “multiple acts of physical violence to the residents.” The latest one was filed in earlier in September after a recent walk-through of the home found a problem with medical records keeping, according to APD spokeswoman Melanie Mowry Etters. The APD is seeking a $10,000 fine and a moratorium on new admissions for the center. But the APD backed off of the same request for the first two complaints — apparently after Carlton Palms agreed to take corrective action, including enhancing its video surveillance equipment. A video submitted to investigators of Lunsford’s last hours were somehow deleted. “We have zero tolerance towards abuse and neglect and this is unacceptable,” Etters said. Tom Shea, a program director with Carlton Palms, wouldn’t comment on the allegations during an interview with the Daily Commercial on Friday. He did say they are trying to work with APD. “We’re working with APD to try to resolve the problems,” he said.
Posted on: Fri, 26 Sep 2014 03:27:14 +0000
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