Orange County Nursing Home Forced to Close, Displacing 80 Residents

By Orlando Personal Injury Attorney on November 3, 2012

After years of poor inspection reports, unsafe conditions and numerous incidents of residents wandering away from the facility, an Orange County nursing home has been forced to close its doors by state officials. Around 80 elderly residents who live at the AnnWay Assisted Living Facility near Forrest City Road will have to find another place to live after Florida Agency for Health Care Administration officials revoked the facility’s license.

In their report, state officials said that the facility was too unsafe to remain open. There were numerous reports of residents’ medications being handled improperly, unlocked medicine cabinets and residents receiving prescription medication intended for other residents. The report also mentioned several incidents where poor oversight and lax safety measures allowed residents struggling with dementia to wander away from the facility, a serious problem given the facility’s location near busy four-lane Forrest City Road. State inspectors reported that doors were unlocked and many patients lacked proper identification, making it difficult for authorities to know who they were or where they belonged when they did wander off.

The facility faces fines of $5,700, and state officials are reportedly working with the Department of Children and Families and the Department of Health to ensure residents are relocated to better-run facilities.

There are many different kinds of elder abuse, and lax oversight, unlocked doors and poor medication safety and protocols definitely qualify as abuse. Lax oversight can result in patients falling or otherwise hurting themselves and suffering until someone finds them. Unlocked doors allow patients who are struggling with dementia and may be hallucinating to wander near busy roads, bodies of water and other potentially dangerous areas. Poor medication monitoring that leads to patients receiving the wrong drugs could cause allergic reactions, drug reactions and other potentially life-threatening conditions.

Millions of senior citizens live in Florida, and hundreds of thousands of them live in assisted living facilities in and around Orlando. While many are well-run, professional facilities that put the needs of their patients above all other considerations, many others are more concerned with profit than the welfare of their residents. If you know or suspect that an elderly person or anyone else living in an assisted living facility is being abused, call your local police department as soon as possible. If you or a family member has been abused and you want to speak with an Orlando elder abuse attorney, call James O. Cunningham today at 800-425-2004. In nearly 40 years as an Orlando personal injury lawyer, Mr. Cunningham has helped countless abuse victims receive compensation that has allowed them to move to better facilities and get the care they need and deserve. Call today to get an experienced Orlando personal injury attorney on your side!

James O. Cunningham

Since 1977, personal injury lawyer James Cunningham has provided effective legal advocacy to people who are injured through the negligent actions of another person or entity throughout the Central Florida area. He fights to obtain recoveries for his clients’ physical and emotional pain and suffering and pursues his clients’ personal injury cases with a commitment to excellence and impeccable preparation.