Tenth disabled person dies after being moved from Nebraska developmental center

From The Lincoln Journal Star in Nebraska:

Brady Kruse, who lived for 33 years at the Beatrice State Developmental Center, died in an Omaha hospital Nov. 15 of complications from his multiple handicaps.

Kruse, 35, was among 47 residents moved to hospitals and nursing homes in February after the state's medical director determined staff members at the center could not adequately handle medical emergencies.

He is the 10th to die since the move. Five remain in local hospitals.

Kruse spent most of last year at Saint Elizabeth Regional Medical Center in Lincoln before moving two weeks ago to a new group home in Omaha that had 24-hour nursing supervision.

Kruse had microcephaly. His brain did not fully develop and his brain stem was not fully connected, said his father, Terry Kruse.

"He was severely handicapped, He was blind. He had no hearing in one ear and 40 percent hearing in the other."

"But he moved mountains with his smile."

When Brady Kruse heard music or the voice of a friend, he would grin from ear to ear.

"He could not talk. He could not see. He could barely hear. But he had a smile that captured hearts."

His father spent the past year working to get a group home developed that had the kind of medical care his son needed.

When his son was moved from BSDC to a hospital in February, there was one group home in the state that had sufficient medical oversight and experience, he said. It was run by ENCOR, which provides services to people with developmental disabilities in the Omaha area.

ENCOR eventually signed a contract with the state to open a second medical group home for people from BSDC, and Brady Kruse moved into that six-person home in Omaha two weeks ago.

During those two weeks Brady Kruse had many new experiences. He went grocery shopping, shopping for clothes. He went to the park with roommates and to a day program, said Terry Kruse.

"This is a wonderful program," he said.

Brady Kruse was taken to an Omaha hospital last week after he developed a blockage of his small bowel, a not uncommon occurrence.

Brady Kruse was just over a year old when he went to BSDC, and he lived nearly his entire life there.

Terry Kruse believes serious problems developed at BSDC because the institution wasn't funded properly and then care was compromised by the red tape that surfaced after numerous federal inspections.

"The employees at BSDC did a super job of caring for Brady," his dad said.

Terry Kruse, who has spent a lot of time talking to senators and the governor during the past year, said he will continue to work for better funding and care for others like his son who have developmental disabilities.

"We've got a long ways to go. There are 2,400 people on the waiting list for service and 1,300 of them are waiting for placement in a group home or apartment," he said.