This is horrible, but who is at fault?

[NastyWoman]

Can anyone legally blame the people who left? Is it the state's fault for not bringing in emergency caregivers upon closing the facility? Can society even expect others to work for free if it is not willing to put up the help/ money itself?
what say you? 

www.mercurynews.com/crime-courts/ci_24395697/seniors-left-fend-himself-after-state-shutters-castro

[Shooby]

Well, I would think there would some policy in place and transfer policies for something like this.  But, no I am not surprised people left.  Seems to be the way of the world unfortunately.  But, kudos to those who did stay and try.

[Shooby]

I would like to know, where is or was the Director?

[Deleted]

How does the state "shut down" a facility without DSHS or the sheriff involved in the physical closure?

A place has enough violations to get shut down & people are surprised that the employees walked out without giving a thought to residents? Duh.

The 3 that stayed should get medals, but they'll probably get sued instead.  I feel sad all around.  The residents sound like they are abandoned people that don't have the capacity to assist themselves.  I don't understand how the 3 people that stayed didn't get immediate assistance from the sheriff's office.  

[Tennesseer]

Where are the owners? Find them.

[Sum Dum Gai]

The owners are probably an LLC that will declare bankruptcy now that the facility is shut down.

[mmhmm]

The owners of this establishment definitely need to be found and prosecuted.  I wouldn't be averse to prosecuting every employee responsible for the care of those patients.  I cannot, in my wildest dreams, imagine walking out on a helpless patient.  Get on the phone, call 911, and get to work giving care!  I admire the three who stayed.  At least, they exercised their humanity and tried to help.

[mmhmm]

Oct 27, 2013 15:35:03 GMT -5 Sum Dum Gai said:

The owners are probably an LLC that will declare bankruptcy now that the facility is shut down.

Then put their happy little arses in jail and let them be bankrupt there.  They're already morally bankrupt.

[MarleyKeezy78]

I would not only sue the owners but the state for not having a procedure in place to make sure the residents were properly moved and placed. Bullshit

[Sum Dum Gai]

Suing a bankrupt company sounds like a waste of time to me, but I guess they still have the facility itself. It must be worth something. I don't think you can jail the owners for following a state order to close. If anything the state screwed up here by ordering the shutdown without arranging relocation for the patients.

If your state closed a prison and didn't relocate the inmates would you expect the guards to work for free?

[MarleyKeezy78]

True, but if you still had people in your facility you would let someone know, right?! I mean WTF! If I was one of the remaining workers I would have been contacting the state, the police, a friggin hospital! Come on, really!!!

[chiver78]

Oct 27, 2013 15:35:03 GMT -5 Sum Dum Gai said:

The owners are probably an LLC that will declare bankruptcy now that the facility is shut down.

CEOs have been held liable for their corporations, this is a situation I'd like to think would be comparable. they weren't just running a business, their business was caring for people who couldn't care for themselves.

so angry after reading that link

[busymom]

Obviously, those workers who left the residents to "fend for themselves" had no conscience.  Karma is a beyotch, & I hope they get all of it in return some day.


I have a close relative who was a nurse for many years.  If the next shift didn't show up, the nurses would pull double shifts, or more, to make sure the people were cared for.  Even in a blizzard or weather emergency, they never left their patients. 

[Sum Dum Gai]

It does seem weird that the workers who remained didn't contact the police, a local hospital, or something.  I don't know who I'd call if I was responsible for a bunch of bedridden people and our facility was shuttered, but I'd definitely be on the phone trying to get somebody to take them.

[sesfw]

God bless good people.

[Tennesseer]

I cannot imagine the director of the facility didn't contact the owners when they were shut down before the staff and management abondoned the residents..  

So I would like to hear from the owners.

[tskeeter]

I'd think that the owners and managers of this facility would have a duty to make arrangements for further care of these patients.  Whether those arrangements would be contacting the relative responsible for the care of the patient, or arranging transfer to another facility for those patients who don't have a care coordinator outside of facility employees.  As a last resort, I'd think that they would contact the local social services office to arrange care for any remaining patients.

I'd think that to simply walk away from a situation like this would be gross negligence on the part of the employees.  And that some of the employees could be subject to legal action, as a result.  Although the newspaper article says the employees who stayed were working without pay, I wonder if that was just an assumption that the writer or one of the employees made.  The fact that the state shut down the facility doesn't necessarily mean that employees would not be paid to help close down the facility and transfer patients to other facilities.  And the article doesn't say that an owner of the facility told employees that they weren't going to get paid if they continued to care for patients.  That makes me suspect that the "no pay" issue may not be accurate.  Which makes abandoning these patients even more unconscionable.