Is Mom Really Safe in Her Assisted Living Community?

Feb. 27, 2010 - PRLog -- It happened in a high desert community  in Southern California.  One of the staff members noticed that a couple of the residents seemed unusually agitated at the breakfast table.  As days passed, more residents seemed to be experiencing what seemed like strange behavior.  A couple of the residents were questioned as to any concerns or problems they might be experiencing.  But the response was "No, everything is fine".  

It wasn't until about one week into this occurence when the nighttime security guard saw a resident coming in the back door around 12:30-just past midnight.  It was the policy of the community to have all doors locked after 8:00 pm.  So why was door unlocked?  Well, it seems that a couple of the residents had left the door conveniently ajar for a specific reason.  After chatting with some of those "agitated" residents, it was discovered that they had each individually received telephone calls of a similar nature over the recent weeks.  The telephone call went something like this - "Hello, Mrs._____________, I have your nephew, John, or your son, Bob, here and his life will be in danger if you do not comply with my wishes.  You need to put X amount of money in a paper sack and place it outside the back gate of your  community at 12:00 midnight, no questions asked.

So, rather than say anything to the staff, and out of pure embarassment, the residents kept this information to themselves and complied with the wishes of the caller.  

The obvious question is this - How did the caller know the resident had X amount of money, and how did he know the names of the residents' loved ones?  

A simple but scary answer:  The caller was getting inside information from a local bank employee about confidential records as well as when deposits were made.  This information was being used to scare and bilk innocent seniors out of their hard earned money and peace of mind.

Long story shortened, the caller was found and arrested, shortly after the discovery.

More importantly, one wonders -why were the doors not secured at the appointed  time of 8:00 pm and checked again by the security staff?  Was the entire staff trained to be aware of open and unlocked doors and windows?  Was there some type of accountability system in place in that community to "flag" unusual behaviour and occurences, such as a buddy system or neighborhood watch.

One of the very important areas of concern when researching any type of retirement community is SAFETY.  Questions need to be asked about systems that may or may not be in place to guard against something  like this horrifying incident.  In her book, "Care Enough to Know-Keep Your Parents Safe", Emily Butler-Morton outlines what you need to ask about, look at, and do, before ever signing on the dotted line.  We all want to know that our loved ones are safe when we place their care in the hands of anyone else.  Our parents and other loved ones are the ones who took care of us, and now it is our turn! Certainly,  if we care enough to know we will know enough to care to ensure a safe and secure environment to those important to us.

# # #

Advocate and Consultant to Seniors. Provides guidance to adult children, family members when searching for the very best in senior living. Gives direction on questions to ask and what to look for when contemplating a move to any type of senior living.