Fall River assisted-living facility where fire killed 10 temporarily lost certification for mistreatment
A Massachusetts assisted-living facility where a fire killed 10 people earlier this month temporarily lost its certification nearly a decade ago due to resident mistreatment, according to state regulators.
Specific details of what prompted the month-long suspension were redacted in documents the state Executive Office of Aging & Independence provided to The Associated Press on Tuesday. But based on a March 2016 incident involving a certified nurse's aid who was later fired, state regulators concluded that Gabriel House failed to treat residents with "consideration, respect, personal dignity and privacy."
Barred from accepting new residents
The facility in Fall River was barred from accepting new residents until it took corrective action.
The state's deadliest blaze in more than four decades has highlighted the lack of regulations governing assisted-living facilities that often care for low-income or disabled residents. Gov. Maura Healey declined last week to weigh in on the efficacy of state and local inspections. Instead, Healey has touted that a state commission is currently working on recommendations to improve assisted-living facilities.
State records released Tuesday include about two dozen complaints about the facility in the the last decade, including several related to "abuse, neglect or financial exploitation. Other complaints involved a resident getting stuck for hours in an elevator that was then out of service for months and staff members who threatened residents and withheld medication.
State Fire Marshal Jon Davine said the fire on July 13 started in a resident's room. Investigators said the cause of the deadly fire is still officially undetermined but narrowed it down to either smoking or the failure of a resident's oxygen device.
