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| Bernie Jestrabek-Hart calls her Brookdale Senior Living Scotts Valley
apartment a ‘live-in art studio.’ (Dan Coyro -- Santa Cruz Sentinel)
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SCOTTS VALLEY >> Two residents of Brookdale Senior Living
Scotts Valley have joined a lawsuit filed in federal court in San
Francisco alleging the company based in Brentwood, Tennessee, committed
elder financial abuse through understaffing that makes it impossible to
provide services residents were promised and have paid for.
The
lawsuit, which names seven plaintiffs, seeks class action status for
5,000-plus residents in Brookdale’s 89 assisted living facilities in
California and at least $45 million in damages, $9,000 for each affected
resident.
The lawsuit alleges Brookdale, a publicly traded company that is
the largest provider of assisted living for senior citizens in the U.S.,
violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by failing to make its
facilities readily accessible by individuals with disabilities.
Bernie
Jestrabek-Hart, 72, of Scotts Valley, is one of the plaintiffs. The
other Scotts Valley plaintiff is Patricia Lindstrom, 81, whose husband
Art died in February of a heart attack.
The lawsuit alleges
Brookdale staffing is based on predetermined labor budgets and desired
profit margins, with permission from corporate headquarters required for
deviation. This creates a disincentive for executive directors at a
facility to request increased staffing “because they are not eligible
for bonuses unless they meet earnings targets,” according to the
lawsuit. Gay Crosthwait Grunfeld of Rosen Bien Galvan & Grunfeld,
one of three law firms representing plaintiffs, contends the incidents
detailed in the initial lawsuit filed in July are symptoms of a systematic problem at Brookdale facilities.
Jestrabek-Hart read about the lawsuit and contacted the law firm to share her story.
Brookdale
spokeswoman Heather Hunter said, “We believe this lawsuit is without
merit. We are not able speak directly to specifics, but we are defending
ourselves vigorously.”
In February, Brookdale Senior Living
reported a net loss of $572 million for 2017 on $4.75 billion in
revenue, compared with a net loss of $405 million on $4.98 billion in
revenue for 2017.
STAFFING ISSUES
Brookdale Scotts Valley, licensed for 220 beds at 100 Lockwood Lane, was called Oak Tree Villa before Brookdale took over.
Jestrabek-Hart, who uses a wheelchair, came to Brookdale Scotts
Valley in October 2015 and is paying $4,477 per month plus $834 per
month for assistance with dressing and showering.
Fees have risen
21 percent and 11 percent respectively since she moved in, compared to
the 2016 consumer price index was 3.4 percent, according to the lawsuit.
A
metal sculptor for 30 years, Jestrabek-Hart overcame polio and ran an
equestrian facility in Idaho. In 2012, she switched to fabric creations
after surgeries to fuse her back and replace her shoulders. She’s dealt
with arthritis and fractured toes on her right foot.
She expected she would get help showering four times a week as
per her contract and that she would be able to take the Brookdale
shuttle bus to doctor’s visits and social outings, as the company
website stated.
After she moved in, she learned transportation was
limited — Monday and Thursday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. — and she was told her
motorized wheelchair was too heavy — which had not been an obstacle at
her prior assisted living residence in San Jose.
She said she calls Para Cruz, and pays for the service herself.
According to the lawsuit, the fees have risen due to the cost of
providing services but Jestrabek-Hart said there are not enough staff.
She
was one of several residents stranded on the first floor for three
hours, unable to reach her room on the second floor, when the power went
out. She was unable to use to her CPAP machine, prescribed for sleep
apnea; there was only one generator-powered outlet in another wing,
inaccessible to her.
She has waited two to three hours for a
staffer to help her shower, sometimes falling asleep before assistance
arrives, and she has waited 90 minutes to an hour in the morning and
evening for help dressing and undressing. She’s been told only one staff
member is on duty to meet the needs of 150 residents.
She once fell out of her wheelchair onto the floor of the laundry
room, enclosed by a heavy hard-to-open door and lacking emergency pull
cords, with no way to summon help; by chance someone walked in and
assisted her.
She notified the facility, but nothing has changed.
MEALS ISSUE
Lindstrom
and her husband came to Brookdale Senior Living in November 2015,
attracted by “nutritious meals and snacks planned by a registered
dietician,” as one of the forms said.
Her husband had diabetes,
heart disease and cognitive impairment. They paid $5,900 per month for a
two-bedroom unit plus $400 per month as a second-resident fee, before
moving to a smaller studio for $4,295 per month plus the $400 per month
second-resident fee.
Lindstrom found there was no dietician on staff and too few staff
to pay attention to individual dietary needs. The menus, determined in
Tennessee, were starchy, mashed potatoes, baked potatoes and root
vegetables, lots of canned foods rather than fresh, and “sugar, not just
in desserts,” she said.
In three months, her husband gained 20 pounds, she said.
“His blood sugar was high repeatedly,” she said. “That meant his brain didn’t work right.”
COMPLAINTS
In April 2017, the state Department of Social Services, which licenses residential care facilities for the elderly,
issued a $10,000 penalty
to Brookdale Senior Living Scotts Valley after an investigation into a
fall by elderly man on Feb. 21, 2016 and discovered the next day.
The man was hospitalized in the intensive care unit for
dehydration and rhabdomyoloysis, which is when damaged muscle issue
breaks down.
The state found the man had not received food or water for 24 hours, concluding “staff failed to provide.”
Jestrabek-Hart
is serving her second one-year stint as president of the resident’s
council. She sent letters last fall to then-CEO Andy Smith and in March
to the new CEO, Cindy Baier, describing issues such as not enough
staffing, transportation problems for those with electric wheelchairs
and uneven sidewalks due to tree roots creating trip hazards.
State law requires
residential facilities to respond in writing within 14 days to any
written concerns or recommendations submitted by a family council
representing residents, but Jestrabek-Hart did not get a response to her
letters.
She said the new executive director, May Sunglao, who
started in August, made some improvements, such as painting the sidewalk
trip hazards yellow so they are easier to see and taking care of the
lawn.
“Our staff is wonderful. They work very hard trying to do what’s right,” said Jestrabek-Hart.
If the lawsuit should be successful, she would like to see more staff.
At the front desk is a notice saying seven positions are available.
Baier, who became CEO Feb. 28, told McKnight’s Senior Living that the Brookdale
plans to increase total compensation costs 5.5 percent to 6 percent, improving salaries and wages to boost employee retention.
Full Article & Source:
Brookdale Senior Living residents join class action lawsuit
