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Treatment of elderly could be criminal
Report on workers at assisted-living facility confirms neglect
Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2009 | 2 a.m.
Related Document (.pdf)
Sun Archives
- Man says care of his mother at facility left her hospitalized (11-12-2009)
- Las Vegas adult group care home under fire (11-10-2009)
- State faults facility for care of seniors (10-29-2009)
Sun Coverage
Employees at a Las Vegas assisted-living and Alzheimer’s facility may face criminal neglect charges in connection with an ongoing investigation into the horrific care of elderly residents — some of whom were hospitalized because they did not receive their medication.
The Nevada Division of Aging and Disability Services investigated and confirmed a complaint of elder neglect at Chancellor Gardens of the Lakes and referred it to the attorney general’s office to determine whether criminal charges will be filed, officials said Tuesday.
The accusations stem from an ongoing investigation by the Nevada State Health Division of Chancellor Gardens, where the state previously found that dozens of the elderly residents had gone without their medications — resulting in three hospitalizations — and had suffered neglect at the hands of unqualified employees.
In the newest report, released Monday, the state found:
• Hundreds of pills that should have been administered to residents were instead discovered discarded in containers intended for needles and other sharp objects.
• A resident suffering from dementia — and unable to care for her colostomy — should not have been admitted to the facility because there were no medical personnel to provide care.
• Employees were unable to explain how to look for urinary tract infections or care for patients who had catheters.
• The facility failed to notify a patient’s guardian when the resident was admitted to the hospital.
• A patient with a history of seizures suffered four falls and required hospitalization.
The problems at Chancellor Gardens have been ongoing, even though state inspectors have been present or in contact with the facility for months.
Chancellor Gardens is owned by Utah-based Senior Management Concepts. One of the owners, Vaughn Pulsipher, told the Sun he is aware of the problems, taking them seriously and correcting them.
“I understand the extent of the problems,” Pulsipher said. “That’s why we’ve marshaled all our resources and our corporate team to solve the problem.”
Pulsipher said his company owns 14 facilities across the country and has a “fine reputation.” The problems at Chancellor Gardens came as a surprise, he said. He said it’s unacceptable that patients did not receive their medications.
“Unfortunately, we relied on some people to perform and they did not,” he said.
Carol Errisson, the former administrator at Chancellor Gardens, now faces disciplinary action from her licensing agency, the Nevada State Board of Examiners for Long-term Care Administrators. The board filed a complaint Oct. 13 alleging, among many charges, that she admitted patients who should not have been at the facility, did not ensure residents received their medications and failed to provide supervision for two residents who ran away. One of them died after being found dehydrated and in a diabetic coma.
Errisson did not return a call for comment.
Marla McDade Williams, chief of the health division’s Bureau of Health Care Quality and Compliance, said another survey that spanned three days was concluded Friday and still found problems — even though the operators knew they were under the state’s scrutiny.
Officials are now weighing what action to take against the facility, which has been in and out of compliance with state regulations throughout the year. The state imposed a ban on admissions Nov. 6 and could suspend or revoke the facility’s license, install a temporary manager or impose a limitation on admissions.
McDade Williams said it’s not easy to shutter a facility because Nevada law allows operators of elder care facilities to reapply and receive licenses even if they have been previously disciplined. Thus, it’s ideal to work with a facility to correct its problems, she said.
State inspectors have been at Chancellor Gardens at least a half-dozen times this year. Their latest report, released Monday and covering an Oct. 20-Nov. 2 survey, details conditions for the 110 residents at the facility, some of whom pay up to $4,000 a month to stay there.
The state found that even though some patients pay a $300 monthly surcharge to have medicines administered, none had received them, according to the new executive director.
The state had found medication problems in previous surveys, but the Nov. 2 report goes into detail about the extent to which patients went without their drugs. About 43 pages of the 58-page report include a case-by-case explanation of hundreds of medication errors for dozens of patients. Technicians were not accurately keeping the records in a computerized system, prescriptions were not refilled and patients’ doctors were not contacted for updated prescriptions, the report said.
The former wellness director confirmed with state inspectors that medication technicians were throwing away pills when they did not administer them.
The most recent sample of 30 residents’ medical records showed significant medication errors, the report said.
For instance, a resident taken to University Medical Center on Oct. 21 with dehydration, nausea, vomiting and a urinary tract infection had missed drugs for gastric ulcers and gastroesophageal reflux disease 22 times during the month. The resident had also missed 48 anti-nausea doses in September and October. The resident’s prescription for treatment of gastrointestinal infections was listed as unavailable from Sept. 1 to 20. The failure of Chancellor Gardens was a likely contributing factor to the resident’s hospital visit, the state report said.
A resident who suffered from Alzheimer’s and dementia did not receive 22 doses of the antibiotics prescribed for cellulitis, a potentially serious bacterial skin infection. The problem persisted and the resident was taken to Valley Hospital & Medical Center.
In a third case a Chancellor Gardens resident was found to be in congestive heart failure, in part because of the facility’s failure to administer cardiac medication, the report said.
McDade Williams, the bureau chief from the state, said she did not know the current condition of the patients.
Discussion: 24 comments so far…
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hey attorney general catherine cortez masto...
what the hell have you done about the hepatitis epidemic???
anything???
anything at all???
that effected over 50,000 people...
probably close to a quarter million people when you include their immediate family members...
well guess what...
that's a hell of a lot of very angry people...
in fact...
that's enough to control an election...
got that...
so i ask you once again...
what the hell have you done about the hepatitis epidemic???
anything???
anything at all???
oh by the way...
next time you talk to district attorney david roger...
tell him we are keeping a close eye on him too...
and...
next time you talk to the clowns on the medical board...
you do send a representative from your office to those yuck-fests known as medical board meetings don't you???
tell those clowns we are demanding that the legislature blow them up and start over from scratch...
enough is enough...
are you listening state assembly persons???
are you listening state senators???
one last question...
do you think desai, carrol, and carrera will get some golf in this weekend???
Once again, somebody tries to hijack the comments section to rant about something unrelated to the story.
You're off topic Birdie - What the heck does this ranting comment have to do with this article.
The witnesses can't remember anything. Obviously there's a "No Snitchin'" rule among the elders.
Revoking their license is not enough. Bring charges against the owner!
They should be up on criminal charges. Its elder abuse.
If it was daycare center for children, and abuse of any kind was going on, those in charge would have been hauled off to jail immediately with the DA filing charges. The "center" would be then closed down.
Nevada is just like any other State when it comes to protecting their elderly - nothing ever gets done. Oh sure, the lip service is there and the promises but that's about it. The nursing home/assisted living facility ALWAYS just gets a couple of slaps on the hand and they continue to do business while families end up burying a loved one because of neglect and mistreatment in the facility they were living in.
And in every State - it is ALL very political.
Birdie
PLEASE have your coffee before you start spouting off on something that has nothing to do with the article at hand. The first two sentences probably got read and everyone skipped your whole post. A waste of time.
if you were asked to predict how this matter will get handled by our public officials...
there is no better point of reference than how they handled and continue to handle the hepatitis epidemic...
period...
end of story...
When and where exactly did this reporter talk to the the owner? Hmm.... I think he didn't talk to them at all, and invented quotes.
Also, above and beyond the creative facts he ....came up with.....moving people who are independent and choose to continue living in a place they are happy is difficult to do. I know my Father would put up one heck of a fight if we tried to move him.
The man who sadly went missing, and ended up in a diabetic coma, was independent. It IS a tragedy, however he was an independent adult, who came and went like any other independent adult. We will all miss him, however he was in charge of his own medication, much like a lot of the adults at CG. Unless a resident is in the lock down unit they can come as go as they choose. This particular resident liked to go to the casino, and out on the town. He had been doing so for some time, with no problems, so it was a shock and surprise to all when he did go missing.
I think this story is extremly biased, the facts are diluted and skewed, if there at all.
Hi LKNaked, thanks for reading my story on Chancellor Gardens. I spoke with the owner of the facility on the phone yesterday afternoon. You can feel free to verify this, as I publish what I do with my name attached. As for the story being "biased," as you allege, you are welcome to download the state's report yourself, read it, and make your own determination. As always, you or anyone else can feel free to call me at 259-2330 if you have thoughts.
LKNaked if these "patients" are so independent and can came and go as they please. Then why aren't they at home or in an apartment taking care of themselves? If they are in charge of their own medication then why was medication found in places it had no business being in?
Urinary tract infections that aren't being dealt with I suppose that is the "patients" responsibility as well?
Please why would anyone keep their relatives in a place that costs 4k a month, if they could care of themselves???
In short LKNaked you are a moron, glad I am not related to you.
NativeNevadan, You don't know youaren't related to me.
I did not say ALL the residents are indenpendant, I said a lot are.
The medications are for residents that are not independant, and they are dealing with that. A lot of Assisted Livings have these issues, do some research.
A lot of INDEPENDANT people CHOOSE to live in assisted livings because they like the ease.
Yes, there are problems at Chancellor, there are every where, and they are dealing with them.
Funny thing is, Vaughn and Carol have always given residents families their personal cell numbers, in case we need to reach them. Vaughn doesn't remember ever talking to this reporter. Neither does Carol. When did you say you spoke with them?
I just really find it interesting how soo many assisted livings are out there and we decide to pick on this one. I have had residents who currently live there approach me crying and stating why are people printing alot of things that are exaggerated and that there are two sides to every story. There are other assisted livings out there that the state has been to or about to survey that have more severe issues than CG. If anyone understands assisted livings they know that there are independent residents that do live there and there are others who do need the assistance but the staff and new management are moving forward and they have failed to say that there are all new management in there and trying to rectify the situation and ensure the best possible care for these residents.
Don't worry old timers. Harry going to fix this mess by taking $500 billion out of medicare. So when they throw you out, you can go live with birdie.
I agree with LKNaked. There are many facilities out there and yet why are they not making the news with Mr. Allen? Was there not a case last month of a death of a resident in a facility that was proven as neglect and yet Mr. Allen did not see the need to report this incident to the readers of his paper. If you are going to report on one facility deficiencies, how about reporting on all the facilities that are not meeting the standards required by the State. Maybe then people will believe you are not out to destroy one facilitie's reputation with the community but every facility that is not in complaince with th State...Oh wait would that make your opinion unbiased and accurate? What a shock that will be to your readers.
In regards to johnnytwofingaz and the kids that come over to visit. How dare you. Those residents love seeing the kids and they make one fast walk through to get there FREE candy or gift from the residents. The place does not reek of urine, feces and vomit. Maybe you should research before you speak or teach your kids some respect. We will make sure to give the school a call and tell them they are no longer invited. Visiting seniors is one of the most wonderful things they will do in there life time. As for picking on one community that is all Mr. Allen is doing but the more we talk about it the move he gets off on it. Chancellor Gardens has done so much to improve the community and give care to every single resident that lives there. New staff are giving more then there 40 hour work week to make sure everyone is taken care of.
No assisted living wants the State breathing down their back. I'm sure CG is doing everything poss. to correct the mistakes of others. Maybe the Sun should interview some of the residents at CG., get their side of the story.
My query is with the comment from one of the owners: "Chancellor Gardens is owned by Utah-based Senior Management Concepts. One of the owners, Vaughn Pulsipher, "I understand the extent of the problems," Pulsipher said. "That's why we've marshaled all our resources and our corporate team to solve the problem." "The problems at Chancellor Gardens came as a surprise, he said. "it's unacceptable that patients did not receive their medications."
Well maybe he needs to take his job more seriously. Surprised my foot! How is this thinking possible since this facility has had numerous changes and charges over the years while my mother has been there. One thing that upset me was that at holiday time, when the dining room employees go on break to have dinner with family, the residents were handed paper-bags with a bologna sandwich on white bread, an apple and chips for dinner. That's it! And my mother is paying more than $4,000 per month. I visited this November and arrived just as she was being fed dinner. The attendant was sitting next to mom as she fed herself with her fingers! I sat in and started feeding her with a fork. She was starving. She was still eating when everyone else had finished, and she was wearing someone else's clothes!
This place leaves alot of room for complaints. However, as I had written earlier, we visited many such elder residential facilities. Chancellor Gardens was the nicest and cleanest of all of them. That's why we choose it in 2004. Since then, there have been so many changes that it is difficult to comprehend that they haven't gotten it right yet! Hang in there Chancellor. And Vaughan Pulsipher, you have a lot of nerve saying that all this comes as a surprise. It's not just the medications!
And I'm not so sure that the State of Nevada will do any better.
As I pointed out above, Vaughn has no memory of ever speaking to this reporter, neither does Carol. The reporter said I could check with them to see if he did, I asked, and it seems he didn't. No comment from him on this yet.
The residents families used to all be given all the cell numbers when we moved someone in, I am not sure if they still do this or not.
It appears that Vaughan Pulsipher either doesn't remember or is not so sharp about lots of things having to do with Chancellor Gardens and Anna's Garden. I believe the reporter.
Hi jewellsinvegas - this may come as a surprise to you, but I'm not all-knowing! Perhaps you could call me and tell me about the facility where the person died from neglect. I take these stories seriously and am certainly not "picking on" any one facility over another. In fact, I've reported on problems in many facilities over the years. Check our archives if you care to integrate some facts into your opinions. And as always, you can call me at 259-2330 if you are in the mood to have a constructive conversation.
Mr. Allen,
I am not sure you know what a constructive conversation is to put it nicely. I am surprised to hear that you were not aware of this death but you are so aware of only one facility. I personally do not see how you are covering all the facilities that are in jeopardy since we did not see an article about the Concord's closing or that fact that because of their financial "neglect" many residents are being relocated. The people, we, the public, forget about as we write these, and I use the term loosely "sensational" articles, are the residents in these facilities. When they see articles like these, or when their facility closes, they are making drastic changes and it affects them mentally, physically, and emotionally. I hope that as you make the public aware of the problems in the assisted living facilities that it will include all of them from now on and not just one.
I would love to chat with you but from what I understand you are never truly available for conversation.