(Jewish Voice News) Washington, D.C.’s inspector general has launched a formal investigation following allegations that home health nurses and aides were sleeping while on duty — a scandal that erupted after an explosive News4 I-Team investigation, as NBC reported.

The probe was triggered by complaints highlighted in the NBC report, which included hours of overnight video footage that appeared to show caregivers asleep while assigned to monitor vulnerable patients. The revelations quickly drew public outrage and renewed scrutiny of the District’s home care system, a situation Zero Hedge pointed out has been simmering beneath the surface for years.

At the center of the case is Damon Brooks, a D.C. resident whose story went viral in December, amassing more than half a million views online. Brooks, a paraplegic sports journalist, described repeated incidents in which caregivers allegedly failed to respond when he needed help, according to NBC’s reporting.

NBC reported that Brooks receives in-home care through the District’s Elderly and Persons with Physical Disabilities waiver program, which is funded by Medicaid. Brooks said he endured years of unreliable overnight care, often unable to wake aides when assistance was urgently needed — all while fearing that speaking out could jeopardize his access to services.

“Sadly, I’ve had large gaps in my schedule,” Brooks said, as NBC reported. “Sometimes I get people, sometimes I don’t.”

Following the broadcast, Brooks said investigators from the Office of the Inspector General contacted him directly. According to NBC, officials told Brooks that some of what he experienced may constitute fraud and warranted further review.

“They explained to me that some of the things that I’ve been subjected to were not right,” Brooks said. “They were deemed fraudulent, and they’re opening an investigation to see how they could possibly assist me with hopefully rectifying the issue.”

Since the NBC report aired, Brooks said he has not observed aides sleeping during their shifts — a change he attributes to the heightened attention brought by the investigation. “I don’t want anybody to be a casualty or lose their quality of life because of somebody else’s negligence,” he said, as NBC reported.

The controversy has also reignited broader concerns about staffing shortages within D.C.’s home health care system. D.C. Councilmember Christina Henderson, who chairs the council’s health committee, told NBC that the problem extends well beyond the District.

“It’s a complicated issue, but it’s certainly not unique to D.C.,” Henderson said.

According to figures cited by NBC, the District has lost roughly 13% of its licensed health aides and 28% of certified nursing assistants over the past four years. Henderson warned that low pay is a major driver of the crisis, estimating it would cost more than $89 million over four years to meaningfully raise wages.

“It’s hard to recruit someone who could earn more at Starbucks or another retail job that’s far less labor-intensive,” Henderson said, as NBC reported, adding that the situation forces policymakers to rethink budget priorities.

Zero Hedge also pointed out that the staffing crunch raises uncomfortable questions about oversight and accountability in taxpayer-funded care programs, especially those serving people with severe disabilities.

The District’s Department of Health Care Finance, which oversees the waiver program, said in a statement that it investigated the complaints and took corrective action, though it declined to provide specifics, according to NBC.

The Office of the Inspector General’s investigation into Brooks’ case remains ongoing, as city officials explore ways to stabilize and expand the caregiving workforce — now under a national spotlight sparked by the NBC investigation and amplified, as Zero Hedge noted, by growing concerns over systemic neglect.