A resident of the Carver Living Center alleges she was not given a shower in over a year's time. Others say they were treated roughly by staff, and even one even claims to have been threatened with a hand gesture.

The complaints against Carver Living Center, a nursing home in North Durham, are plentiful and well-documented by state inspectors. Yet residents who contacted WRAL Investigates say reform is not happening at the facility, and change is desperately needed.

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Barbara Paschall, 72, a current resident, said staff frequently comes into her room vaping, and will even fall asleep in the empty bed next to her while on shift.

"[They] will crawl up in the extra bed in my room, or the chair in my room, and cover up, go to sleep," she said. "[They] snore so loud, I can’t hear my TV."

Paschall said the facility will often run out of medication, meaning she has to go days without her prescriptions until they are filled again.

She said she was living with mold in her room for more than a month. And she claims her meals are often inedible given her dietary limitations as a diabetic.

"I pray every day and ask the Lord, 'Is today my day, Lord? Please come and get me and take me home,'" Paschall said. "Because that’s where I'd rather be than here any day of the week."

A former manager of Carver Living Center, who wanted to stay anonymous, wrote to WRAL Investigates that the center "By far, is the most concerning and scariest places I have worked in my 20-plus years in health care."

He wrote that staff would steal residents' money, clothes and belongings, and also food. Because there was so little food already, residents were quickly losing weight, he said. He detailed concerns about cleanliness and claimed some staff would work while on drugs. On the memory care unit, he said staff would often take their smoke breaks at the same time, leaving that section unstaffed, "which had led to multiple resident falls, injuries and malnutrition."

Medicare.gov lists Carver Living Center as a one-star facility, described as "much below average."

In the last three years, the site notes 42 complaints resulted in citations, and it has been fined more than $200,000.

Paschall felt compelled to speak to WRAL Investigates, not simply because of her own situation, but for others' too.

"I’m not trying to make a difference just for my life," she said. "I’m not going to be here a whole lot longer. I want to leave it a better place than I found it."

WRAL investigative reporter Sarah Krueger contacted Carver Living Center by email multiple times, and did not receive a response. So, she went to the facility to try and speak with leadership in person. A man who identified himself as a manager ultimately came out and asked her and her photographer to leave the property.

"OK, could we leave the property together then and have a conversation?" Krueger asked.

"No, not right now," he replied. "I'm in the middle of something."

The manager suggested Krueger email her phone number to the facility, which she had already done. She did so again, and still has not gotten an answer to her list of questions.

Days before running this story, WRAL Investigates also contacted the company that owns the facility, CCH Healthcare, and did not hear back.

WRAL Investigates contacted the State Department of Health and Human Services to ask if there are any active complaints against Carver Living Center it is investigating.

A spokesperson said: "Complaints made to [the Division of Health Service Regulation] are confidential and we can’t comment on complaints, investigations or possible investigations. All complaints are carefully reviewed for appropriate follow up. Findings of complaints are posted to the DHSR website."

To review inspection histories for facilities statewide, visit DHSR's website.