BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) - The former manager of a senior living facility in Vermont will pay $120,000 as part of a settlement with the state to resolve claims that it misrepresented the extent of its care.
Maryland-based Woodbine Senior Living, LLC managed Spring Village at Essex, a 56-bed residential care home in Essex Junction, Vermont. It was accused of violating Vermont’s Consumer Protection Act by misrepresenting to families that it would care for prospective residents at all stages of dementia and aging, Vermont Attorney General T.J. Donovan said Monday.
“Older Vermonters and their families making crucial and difficult decisions about long-term care deserve the truth from care facilities as to the levels of care they can and can’t provide,” Donovan said. “Residents and their families should be able to rest easy that a promise today won’t be broken tomorrow.”
Woodbine indicated that Spring Village residents would be able to “age in place” and receive “end of life care,” the attorney general’s office said. But as a residential care home, its level of care was restricted based on state laws and regulations. That led to multiple residents receiving discharge notices when their needs exceeded the home’s license.
Under the settlement, Woodbine has agreed to pay the state $62,000; pay $48,000 total to 48 consumers who moved relatives to Spring Village between April 2016 and October 2017; and pay $10,000 to the Vermont Chapter of Alzheimer’s Association, according to the attorney general. Woodbine also has agreed to never operate a long-term care facility in Vermont.
The facility has new owners and managers and is now called Maple Ridge Memory Care.
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