Makayla Norman nurses facing Medicaid fraud charges

As one nurse was arraigned in federal court Tuesday for Medicaid fraud for her role in the death of a 14-year-old cerebral palsy patient who starved to death, another has been indicted for making false statements.

Mollie Parsons — a nurse serving a 10-year prison sentence for her role in the 2011 death of Makayla Norman — pleaded not guilty to four counts of health care fraud in Dayton’s U.S. District Court. Her trial was tentatively scheduled for Aug. 3.

Court records show Kathryn Elizabeth Williams was indicted last week for making false statements on a skilled nursing initial evaluation/assessment form. Williams, sentenced last summer to 30 days in jail and 160 hours of community service, is scheduled to be arraigned June 10.

Parsons, 45, was supposed to provide daily care for Makayla Norman, who weighed 28 pounds when she died on March 1, 2011. Norman’s body was covered with filth and open bedsores, her hair and eyebrows infested with lice and her diaper hadn’t been changed for some time, according to Dayton police.

Norman couldn’t speak, move or feed herself. In all, five people were prosecuted for various crimes connected to Norman’s death, including her mother and doctor.

The indictment states that Parsons, as a home health care nurse, “was responsible for providing nursing services – including, but not limited to, wound care, personal hygiene maintenance, and feeding assistance.

Parsons was supposed to care for Norman eight hours per day, six days per week. Due to the financial status of Norman’s family, Medicaid agreed to pay for medical treatment, but required health care providers to submit “truthful and accurate information” detailing the specific services rendered.

The indictment said parsons repeatedly submitted “false and fraudulent representations” to Medicaid and “fraudulent nursing care notes that falsely documented fictitious service” to make up for when Parsons allegedly was not at Norman’s residence.

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