Now,
Arizona’s Department of Health Services is reporting that Heritage
Village has been cited more than 140 times over the past three years.
Robert Glassman is the attorney representing Dinet’s family. He said
there’s a clear pattern of misconduct at the facility that’s putting
residents at risk.
Gov. Hobbs calls for investigation into Mesa assisted living center facing numerous complaints and...
PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) - The Heritage Village Assisted Living Center is under fire again.
Now, Arizona’s Department of Health Services is reporting that Heritage Village has been cited more than 140 times over the past three years. Robert Glassman is the attorney representing Dinet’s family. He said there’s a clear pattern of misconduct at the facility that’s putting residents at risk.
✓ “You would think, after what happened to Joyce Denet, that state regulators would have closed the doors of this place. They would have shut it down,” said Glassman. “But they didn’t, and because they didn’t, all of these other families, other vulnerable elderly residents at this facility had to suffer. Arizona’s Family reached out to Heritage Village several times to get someone to respond to all the citations and fines it’s been issued, but our calls and emails have not been returned.
✓✓ The concerns raised about Heritage Village have gotten the attention of Governor Katie Hobbs, who believes there needs to be more oversight at health care and assisted living facilities. Hobbs released this statement:
“These health care facilities lack true accountability. The stories from Heritage Village and others are horrific and unacceptable. I am directing DHS and APS to immediately launch an investigation into the unacceptable response to complaints at Heritage Village. Additionally, my team has been hard at work developing a comprehensive package to address healthcare facility licensing. Over the coming weeks, we will be announcing a legislative package to ensure we are keeping Arizonans safe and bring accountability to a system that has lacked it for too long.”
The governor has also released a set of proposals she wants the Arizona legislature to consider in an effort to protect patients and strengthen accountability.
- Allow ADHS to increase fees and fines based on the severity of an infraction
- Increase ADHS regulatory powers, including cracking down on license hopping, and empower the agency to revoke licenses for cause
- Close inspection loopholes for facilities that are licensed by accreditation or have a previous deficiency-free inspection
- Implement robust licensure requirements for assisted living facilities
- Invest in additional employees and legal support for ADHS
- Increase regulation and certification of facilities advertising Alzheimer’s, memory, and dementia care
- Create a new, transparent quality rating system available to the general public for residential and nursing care institutions, which includes skilled nursing, assisted living, and long-term care facilities, within the AZ Care Check system
Denet’s family is hopeful that getting the Governor involved will finally lead to comprehensive reform that will change the way assisted living centers do business.
“We are thankful that she is going to be looking into Heritage Village, in particular, and just how and why they could have gotten away with all these citations over last several years,” said Glassman.
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