One resident in an assisted care facility was able to escape and could not be found. One month later, the body of the deceased female resident was located approximately two miles from the nursing home. The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services has formally pulled the license of the woman's care center due to charges of nursing home neglect.
The woman was a resident of a senior living community. She received services there due to the effects of Alzheimer's disease. In late August, she was reported missing from the facility. Early searches for the woman did not result in her return. She was located almost one month later, deceased in a drainage ditch not far from the senior care home.
The Pennsylvania DHS has now reported that it is revoking the license of the facility for what the agency has characterized was gross neglect. DHS found that the woman's disappearance was not immediately reported. It also found that the woman had a history of escape attempts, and no sufficient safeguards were in place to prevent her from leaving the facility again.
Unfortunately for the Pennsylvania woman and her family, she lost her life due to insufficient safeguards by the institution that was charged with her care. The revocation of the facility's license will hopefully prevent similar misfortunes for other people, but it does not change the effect that her death will have on the family. A family who has lost a loved one due to nursing home neglect likely wishes for justice. When filing a wrongful death lawsuit, many individuals choose to utilize the services of an experienced attorney.