Woman seeks probe into mother's death at Cumberland rehab facility

Susan Smith Bullock blames Carolina Rehab Center in Fayetteville for not caring for her mother after a fall.

Smith Bullock says her mother was sent there following a hospital stay late last year and never came home.

Smith Bullock shared images she claims show neglect by the center. Some of the pictures may be disturbing to some viewers.

The photos show what appears to bruising on her mom's legs.

Smith Bullock says she raised several issues with administrators about her mother's declining health, but says the problems were not properly addressed.

Earlier this year, her mother fell at the facility, but Smith Bullock says she wasn't told, which is required by state rules.

After spending hours in bed after that fall, her mother was taken to the hospital where she died of pneumonia, something that doesn't make sense to Smith Bullock.

"I don't understand how she can go from eating dinner, laughing and joking and then, you know," Smith Bullock said.

WRAL Investigates found that the facility was slapped with a $69,000 penalty in 2017.

And over the past three years, the state investigated 16 complaints at Carolina Rehab, which led to violations.

Elizabeth Englund with Carolina Rehab provided a statement to WRAL News: "We do think it is important to separate opinions from facts. We fully investigate concerns when they are brought to our attention. We stand by our commitment to our patients and take great pride in the care we provide."

Medicare issued a two-star rating for the facility, which categorizes it as below average.

In a statement from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, officials said they did investigate an incident in January 2019.

"A complaint against Carolina Rehab Center of Cumberland was received and investigated in January 2019. The findings noted a deficiency in failing to provide timely notification in connection with a fall of a resident. No other allegations were substantiated in connection with this investigation. Because the facility had already instituted corrective measures to prevent a similar situation from occurring again, they were not given a citation for the identified deficiency," the statement said.