Emeritus at South Hill under state investigation
An assisted living facility on Spokane’s South Side has been told to stop accepting new residents pending a state investigation of the facility.
Emeritus at South Hill, 3708 E. 57th Ave., was issued the order on Sept. 19 by the Department of Social Health Services.
According to documents from the department, the agency’s residential care services unit completed an inspection on Sept. 3 and found eight separate deficiencies.
The alleged violations involve resident care, staffing, food sanitation, resident rights and handling of resident grievances.
Emeritus at South Hill is part of a larger group of senior living facilities. Earlier this year, Emeritus was purchased by Brookdale Senior Living Solutions of Brentwood, Tennessee. Brookdale has four other facilities in Spokane.
Kristin Puckett, manager of public relations for Brookdale, said in a statement Monday evening that the company “is cooperating with state regulators and is working on a plan of correction to address all issues in the survey and will submit to the state within the imposed deadline.”
“We expect to receive another state inspection in the future and will work to have corrective actions in place. As always, the health and safety of our residents is our top priority,” the statement said.
The violations cited in the report include, for example, that the facility failed to assess whether two residents could be allowed to smoke safely.
Another alleged violation involved monitoring three residents for their well-being.
The on-site kitchen and food service was not maintained and managed as required by the state, according to the report. And safety measures and disaster plans for three residents were found to be lacking.
Some of the violations were described by investigators as repeated deficiencies dating back to recent years.
Each carries a civil penalty of $100 for each resident involved. The amount could total as much as $2,000.
The case remains under investigation, said Mindy Chambers, a spokeswoman for DSHS.
She said the assisted living facility has appeal rights that could involve informal dispute resolution or a hearing before an administrative judge.