A California continuing care retirement community violated the conditions of a sales agreement when it attempted to evict a 96-year-old resident, according to the California Department of Social Services.
Pacific Grove Senior Living, owned by San Diego-based Pacifica Senior Living, issued an eviction notice to Jean Jacques, giving her three days from the Aug. 16 notice to pay $109,000 in back rent and fees, according to Monterey County Now. Last week, the state Department of Social Services issued its findings from an investigation into the matter, determining that the eviction notice was unlawful, according to the news outlet.
Jacques moved into Forest Hill Manor, which subsequently changed its name to Pacific Grove Senior Living, in 2002 under previous owners California-Nevada Methodist Homes. She paid a $249,000 entrance fee for a lifetime contract, paying a monthly rent of $5,000 for 16 years until her funds were depleted, the media outlet reported.
California-Nevada Methodist Homes declared bankruptcy in 2021 and subsequently sold the community to Pacifica in 2022. Attorney General Rob Bonta approved the sale for $34 million in 2022 with a list of conditions, including paying off debt, addressing safety issues and honoring existing residents’ contracts. In California, the transfer of nonprofit-owned healthcare facilities to for-profit owners requires a review by the attorney general.
The Pacific Grove Senior Living residents’ association and the California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform took up Jacques’ case and filed a complaint with the state. They called Pacifica’s three-day notice “grossly insufficient” and said it lacked certain requirements, facts explaining the reasons for eviction, and the effective date of the eviction, according to the news outlet.
After public backlash, Pacifica reversed its decision on Aug. 30. The Department of Social Services determined after its investigation that the company did not abide by the original agreement.
This spring, a report from a monitor appointed by the California attorney general’s office determined that Pacific Grove had not met the conditions of the deal laid out by the attorney general and had implemented a series of cost-cutting measures while raising fees. The report listed several failures on the part of the owners, including not honoring resident contracts, lacking emergency lighting, declines in food quality, reductions in activities, and having antiquated electrical, plumbing and heating systems.
Pacifica Senior Living had not responded to requests for comment from McKnight’s Senior Living on Friday.
