The recent accidental deaths of three Atria Senior Living residents is sparking renewed interest in California’s staffing requirements for assisted living communities, with two lawsuits alleging insufficient staffing and training as contributing factors.
Three Atria residents — Peter Schroder, 93, Gertrude Elizabeth Murison Maxwell, 93, and Constantine Canoun, 94 — died from ingesting substances within the same week at two separate communities.
Canoun died Aug. 31 from what the Atria Park of Walnut Creek called a “negative reaction” to something food-related on Aug. 23. His family told local media, however, that they believe that their father, who had dementia, drank cleaning fluid while unattended at lunch in the dining room.
Schroder and Maxwell were among three residents at Atria Park of San Mateo who mistakenly were served a cleaning fluid instead of juice on Aug. 27 and were rushed to a hospital. Maxwell died at the hospital Aug. 29. Schroder spent 14 days in the hospital before dying Sept. 7.
A spokeswoman for Atria Senior Living told McKnight’s Senior Living that the incidents were “isolated and unrelated.”
“Our ongoing internal investigation determined that on Aug. 27, an Atria Park of San Mateo staff member filled a pitcher with liquid dishwashing detergent that has a nearly identical consistency and color to cranberry juice, with the intention of dispensing the liquid into a commercial dishwashing machine,” the Atria spokeswoman said. “This was a violation of our policies and procedures. Another staff member picked it up, mistaking it for juice, and served it to three residents.”
Lawsuit alleges understaffing
Schroder’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit Sept. 16 against Atria Park of San Mateo and parent company Atria Senior Living, as well as community Director Jennifer Duenas and Atria Regional Vice President Kris Waluszko. It alleges that the community was understaffed and that staff members were not adequately trained.
According to the lawsuit, video from the community shows a kitchen employee pouring a “heavy duty bathroom cleaner and disinfectant” into a smaller jug. The employee allegedly left the liquid sitting on a counter to address a “disruption” in the dining room due to inadequate staffing. A second employee placed the pitcher on the breakfast serving counter, and a third employee began pouring the red liquid into residents’ glasses.
The incident reportedly occurred shortly after Canoun, who had dementia, was left unattended in a dining hall at Atria Park of Walnut Creek when he allegedly drank dishwashing liquid that he mistook for cranberry juice.
The Atria spokeswoman said that residents are the company’s top priority.
“We devote significant resources to ensure our staff are thoroughly trained and able to meet our resident’s needs at all times,” she said of the San Mateo cases. “We take this incident very seriously. We’re continuing to work with authorities and the Department of Social Services to fully review and assess the incident. Our hearts remain with the residents affected, their families and loved ones.”
Second lawsuit filed
Maxwell’s family also filed a wrongful death and negligence suit on Sept. 29, against Atria Management Co., Atria Park of San Mateo, Atria Senior Living, operator WG Hillsdale SH LP and Duenas.
According to that lawsuit, an employee left a container of cleaning liquid in the kitchen area, while another employee filled a separate container with the liquid. Another employee picked up that separate container and poured the liquid into cups for residents to drink.
The lawsuit points to inadequate staffing and training as contributing factors to the incident that led to Maxwell’s death, saying that policies to cut costs and care are “part of their scheme to profit from vulnerable adults.”
The California Department of Social Services is still investigating the cases.
Some call staffing regulations vague
Crista Nelson, president of the California Long-Term Care Ombudsman Association, told a San Francisco-area NBC affiliate that state staffing-related regulations for assisted living communities are vague, specifying that staffing be “sufficient,” a subjective word.
“It allows the facilities that are for-profit organizations to run as lean as possible,” she said, according to the media outlet. “That’s good for business. That’s not good for healthcare.”
David Hahklotubbe, which the NBC affiliate identified as a gerontologist and former assisted living community owner, told the media outlet that having communities be required to base staffing on resident needs could be an answer.
