Lax Regulations And Vulnerable Residents Can Lead To Problems

Some states call them assisted living facilities; others, residential or personal care homes. These state-licensed facilities promise peace of mind for families whose elders require long-term care. In Vermont and elsewhere, investigations into these homes have revealed lax oversight, injuries and deaths.

Few understand the risks like June Kelly. Her mother, Marilyn Kelly, was energetic and loved to go fishing when she moved into Our House Too, a 13-bed facility that advertised its memory-care expertise. Over the next eight months, almost everything went wrong that could.

Often, her daughters arrived to find their 78-year-old mom in a stupor. June arrived one day to discover Marilyn trying to feed herself but unable to find her mouth with her fork.

"She was in her pajamas, and there was excrement down her arm," she recalled.

June, who held her mom's power of attorney, eventually discovered that Our House Too was giving Marilyn daily doses of a sedating and controversial antipsychotic called Haldol without either woman's consent.

After two bouts of lice and a rotten tooth came the final blow: An overnight staffer was caught on camera shoving Marilyn to the floor. Marilyn died a month later from pneumonia. The staffer pleaded guilty to assault.



Now, the Kelly family is suing the care home and Marilyn's prescribers, alleging neglect and wrongful death.
The defendants have denied all allegations.

"We're almost 19 years old, and I'm still as passionate today as I've always been about the work that we do and the way that we do it," said Paula Patorti, the facility's owner.

In an investigation, Vermont Public Radio and the alt-weekly Seven Days found that the kind of ordeals Marilyn Kelly endured are not uncommon in Vermont.

A review of nearly six years of inspection reports revealed troubling patterns of inadequate care. At least five residents have died in accidents related to deficient care, and the majority of homes have been cited for severe infractions. One home's owner told regulators that it was easier to accept a citation than to give staff the dozen hours of required annual training.

Homes that provide poor care are rarely fined by state regulators, who are acutely aware of their state's need for long-term care beds. Vermont has one of the oldest populations in the nation, and people with dementia, such as Marilyn Kelly, can wait months for placement at a facility.

NPR
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