KLAS-TV Channel 8 News Las VegasTeen Develops Infection After Stay in Group Home
LAS VEGAS - "Getting into trouble and not staying home" are the reasons 15-year-old Giovanni says he landed in the Fresh Start Services juvenile home on Apricot Lane.
But, Giovanni received more than just punishment for his past discretions. This week, his skin became red, swollen and painful. "I was getting the fever, the chills," he said. "We went to University Medical Center, and they told me it was MRSA." MRSA is a bacterial infection that is highly resistant to antibiotics.
Giovanni's mother, Catherine Tokarczyk, blames conditions at the home for her son's illness. "My child was not well taken care of in that group home," she said. "It was a very neglectful place. Every time I walked into the door, there was a smell."
Tokarczyk says the building was moldy, and the kids slept on dirty mattresses. "There were urine stains, and I didn't even want to sit on those beds," she said. "I stood up the whole time, every time I went there."
Fresh Start Director Girma Zaid, however, defends conditions at the home. "If it were unsanitary, trust me, I'd be the first one to say, ‘Just a minute,'" he said. "None of that is true at all, none. Why she would take the time and make this vicious allegation is… I don't know."
This is not the first time a home run by Zaid has come under fire. The Los Angeles Times reports safety violations surfaced at a foster care operation he ran in California in the 1990s.
Read the Los Angeles Times Report
Regardless, Zaid stands by his work with youth. "We have a sound program," he said. But, Tokarczyk says Fresh Start is unfit for living. "It's shameful," she said.
Clark County officials said in a statement, "The foster home license for Girma Zaid's home on Apricot Lane was put on hold, pending investigation resulting from allegations of unsafe environmental conditions and inadequate medical services provided for a child placed in care."
The kids have all been moved out, and no more are being admitted. Meanwhile, workers are cleaning the facility. They threw out the old mattresses. Zaid says he's buying new mattresses and bedding and getting the home checked for mold.
The county is not speculating about the long-term status of Zaid's license.
