Diabetic Man Wrongfully Checked Out of Georgia Nursing Home Found Safe

Thank goodness he was found!

After DeKalb County police in Georgia spent two weeks searching for a missing diabetic amputee, Anthony Morgan has finally been found safe.

Morgan was checked out of Pruitt Health Rehabilitation Center by a man named John Bridges on Dec. 2 and has been missing since then. Morgan’s family claimed he was released on false pretenses, after Bridges claimed to be his uncle. Bridges told the front desk staff that he was there to pick Morgan up at 8:30 a.m. for a college football tailgate. That was the last time the facility claimed to have seen him.

“When Bridges came to pick Morgan up, he signed him out as ‘his uncle,'” family member Chandra Morgan said. “As you can see, our family is here. We do not know Mr. Bridges.”

But Morgan’s niece said her uncle called on Dec. 20 to say he was okay.

Panic started when Morgan’s right leg and left hand were amputated, and his family says he can’t survive without his medication, noting that he didn’t take it with him when he left the facility.

“For us to know that he needs insulin to make it throughout the day or whatnot, it’s hard,” Chandra said. “We don’t know. He could be in a diabetic coma.”

After Morgan didn’t show up for his midnight curfew, the front desk clerk filed a missing persons report. Police and his family tried to call Morgan’s cellphone multiple times, but the calls went unanswered. The facilities staff members said Bridges never gave a contact number.

To guarantee safety at nursing homes moving forward, the government is implementing new rules to regulate staffing levels. Announced on Sept. 1 by the Biden administration, the proposed law would require nursing homes to have staffing equal to three hours per resident per day – close to a half hour from registered nurses. Facilities must also have a registered nurse on staff at all times.