Fort Worth nursing home hosted a weekly happy hour. It didn’t end well
A Fort Worth nursing home hosted a happy hour for residents in November, during which one resident got angry while waiting for a drink and attacked a pregnant staff member, according to a state inspection report.
The nursing home, Remarkable Healthcare of Fort Worth at at 6649 N. Riverside Dr., has been identified by the federal government as having “a history of serious quality issues.”
The nursing home’s most recent citation stemmed from a Nov. 2, 2023, happy hour. The staff had been hosting happy hours for about a year before the one in November, according to the state inspection. During the weekly happy hours, residents could order rum, whiskey, and vodka, with the mixer of their choice, the report said.
Nursing home staff did not check whether the residents being served had diagnoses or prescriptions that could be dangerous when combined with alcohol, the state found.
On Nov. 2, at the beginning of the weekly happy hour, one resident requested a double shot of alcohol in his drink from the nursing home’s activity director. When the activity director declined, the resident became upset, throwing his drink on her and then attempting to grab a bottle of alcohol from her, according to the state’s investigation.
The resident kicked and scratched the employee, who was pregnant at the time. The resident then took his shoes off and attempted to hit other people with them, before another staff member separated the resident from the group. The resident was transported to the hospital for treatment.
In the state’s investigation, three residents said they were served alcohol weekly at the nursing home, despite having conditions with symptoms that can be come worse with alcohol use. All of them, the state reviewer found, had “diagnoses and behaviors that could be intensified by using alcohol.”
Remarkable Duo LLC owns 72% of Remarkable Healthcare, according to federal records. That LLC is registered to Jon McPike of Southlake, according to the Texas Comptroller’s online database. McPike did not immediately respond to a voice or text message asking for comment for this story. In interviews with the state, McPike said all residents who were served alcohol had been cleared to drink by the nursing home’s medical director. The medical director denied any knowledge of alcohol consumption in her interview with the state.
Remarkable Healthcare agreed to stop serving alcohol at its weekly happy hours after the state inspection.
The Star-Telegram interviewed a former staff member of Remarkable who confirmed that the nursing home regularly served alcohol to residents. The Star-Telegram agreed not to identify the staff member by name, because she was asked to sign a confidentiality agreement when she started working at the nursing home.
Remarkable Healthcare of Fort Worth was identified as one of the nation’s most troubled nursing homes in January 2023, when the federal government designed it as a Special Focus Facility, a designation reserved for homes with the most serious and long-standing health and safety violations.
Have you or a loved one stayed at Remarkable Healthcare, or do you work or currently work there? We want to hear from you. Reach out to health reporter Ciara McCarthy at cmccarthy@star-telegram.com or call or text 817-203-4391.
