'Breaks My Heart': Caregiver Describes Bringing Food From Home For Assisted Living Residents
LAKEWOOD, Colo. (CBS4)- Former employees of assisted living facilities that were suddenly closed are talking about the poor conditions for the people who lived there.
One of the four facilities was Stanford house in Lakewood where the residents were scattered to other assisted living facilities.
For nearly five years, Orra Lee Sterner was a caregiver at the home on Stanford Avenue. She says near the end, before it closed, she would buy food for residents out of her pocket.
"I would bring food from home, the other staff would bring food from home, the other residents would go and bring in food," she said.
Residents at the home included John Parker who asked, "How many times a week can you have mac and cheese?"
In all four facilities closed, two of them were shut down by the state. Residents were left with little time to pack their belongings.
One of the residents moved to another facility is Miriam Dunnam, "It was like 'Bingo! Now you don't have a place to live.'"
CBS4 investigator Rick Sallinger spoke with former employees including Sterner who said, "I cared for these people immensely I was there with most of them for 4 to 5 years."
Former employees told CBS4 of staffing problems, medication not being given at proper times, dosages, in some cases, being given medicine from other patients.
Some declined to speak on camera, but Sterner did talk about her experience, "I saw what good care they had and what a good time they had when they first started there and to see them slowly decline and not be happy there anymore."
The state said the facilities were previously owned by George Bollinger under the name Nurturing Care. It was then sold to Quantum Assisted Living Denver associated with Prima Assisted Living owned by Allison Kirschbaum before closure.
Her name and phone number appear on the door at Stanford House. Calls to the phone number got a full answering machine. There was no answer at her address when her bell was rung and texts have not been returned.
Sallinger asked Sterner, "What does this do to you to see this happen?" She replied, "It breaks my heart."
CBS4's Rick Sallinger is a Peabody award winning reporter who has been with the station more than two decades doing hard news and investigative reporting. Follow him on Twitter @ricksallinger.
