A Minnesota senior living community where workers reportedly “helped families hide cameras” is under investigation by the state over abuse allegations backed up by a recording device in a resident’s room.
Maple Hills Senior Living in Maplewood, MN, is being investigated by the Minnesota Department of Health after a family member recorded the alleged abuse of his 83-year-old father at the community.
A former employee told Fox 9 that “many employees at the facility have helped families hide cameras to blow the whistle on alleged abuse by their coworkers.” The device that captured the alleged abuse was placed without the community’s knowledge, but Executive Director Jalove K. Tillis-Hall shared in a statement with McKnight’s Senior Living that she thanked the family for coming forward.
The placement of electronic monitoring equipment in residents’ rooms became legal in assisted living communities and nursing homes in January 2020 in the Gopher State, and on Aug. 1, Minnesota became the last state in the country to license and regulate assisted living communities.
In the past four years, Maple Hill has had nine substantiated and four inconclusive complaints with the state health department, including neglect, financial exploitation, medication errors, medication mismanagement, theft and injuries.
ITillis-Hall confirmed that the employment of two home health aides was terminated because they were deemed to have improperly transferred a resident from a sitting position. Nursing staff, she said, found no injuries on the resident during an assessment and alerted the family about the incident. The community also reported the two staff members to the state.
“Maple Hill will not tolerate any abrupt or undignified interaction with any resident living in our community,” Tillis-Hall said. “Such treatment is against our policies, our training, and our mission to provide a safe and respectful environment for everyone who lives in our community.”
Tillis-Hall said the community will cooperate with the state’s investigation and will conduct its own investigation to “assure that its team provides a safe, professional and supportive environment for all residents.”
Author: KIMBERLY BONVISSUTO
Date: August 24, 2021