THOMASVILLE, N.C. (WGHP) — The nursing home whose staffing issues during a 2022 winter storm left two patients dead paid thousands in fines.

A spokesperson for Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said that Pine Ridge Health and Rehabilitation in Thomasville paid a reduced penalty of over $126,000 after nearly 100 patients only had three staff members caring for them in January of 2022.

A manager at Pine Ridge at the time told Thomasville Police that people could not get to work because of the snowstorm. State and federal investigators began looking into their response and preparedness after two patients died and two were hospitalized.

The investigation found that patients were not properly cared for. For over twelve hours, patients starved, sat in their own waste and were not given their necessary medications. The state investigators say that the administrators and leaders at the home failed to properly prepare for the weather and did not notify staff of the emergency preparedness plan.

The parent company of Pine Ridge Health and Rehabilitation Center suspended the administrator and the Director of Nursing for the facility.

A follow-up inspection in March found that they had corrected all of their cited deficiencies.