BURLINGTON — Vermont Attorney General TJ Donovan announced a settlement Monday with Woodbine Senior Living, which operated a residential care home in Essex Junction, over violations of the state’s Consumer Protection Act.
Woodbine is prohibited from operating another long-term care facility in Vermont again. It also agreed to pay $120,000: $62,000 to the state, $1,000 to each of the 48 affected families, and $10,000 to the Vermont Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association.
Woodbine, a Maryland-based senior living company, operated the Spring Village at Essex facility from December 2014 through April 2018. Today, the facility is owned by Massachusetts-based Hallkeen Assisted Living and operates under the name Maple Ridge Memory Care.
Donovan said that Woodbine violated Vermont law by deceiving consumers about the services offered at the facility. Spring Village said it could provide care for “end-of-life” and “age-in-place” services, so Vermonters with conditions like dementia and Alzheimer’s could move to one location and have all their health needs met at the facility.
“These promises were a lie,” Donovan said. “They were misleading, they were deceptive and that’s why this is a violation of Vermont law.”
Donovan said Spring Village’s advertising of memory care services conflicted with state law regarding licensing for long-term care facilities. It was licensed as a residential care home, as opposed to a nursing home. Residential care homes have fewer regulations than nursing homes.
Woodbine violated the condition that residential homes are generally prohibited from admitting individuals who need, or come to need, large amounts of care, Donovan said.
The investigation found that four individuals who were admitted under the promise of age-in-place received eviction notices from Spring Village because the care needed exceeded the license under which it was operating. The notices gave the families 30 days to appeal the eviction or find a new facility for their loved one.
“Can’t do this in Vermont, we’re not gonna allow it,” Donovan said. “These folks, who are sick, who are suffering from a terrible disease, basely got eviction notices from this facility because they deceptively marketed that they could take care of them when in fact they couldn’t.”
In 2018, VTDigger reported on eviction notices given by Spring Village. Residents and family members at the time said they were pleased to hear about the services offered at Spring Village, but quickly realized some of the promises made would go unkept.
Bruce Bottamini, at the announcement Monday, said that the new facility and promises of end-of-life care, both in pamphlets and in conversations with staff, led him to choose Spring Village for his late wife, Phyllis, who had Alzheimer’s. She died in May 2018.
Although his wife’s condition never got to a point where she was told to leave, Bottamini was concerned that such a day might come.
“The promises made on multiple occasions by Woodbine that Phyllis could age in place and provide end of life care for her was a critical factor in my decision to take her there,” Bottamini said.
Bottamini said he quickly heard about other families being told their care needs exceeded what Spring Village could provide and that the promises of end of life care “should never have been made.”
He described the situation as “incredibly painful” and he was very “anxious” about his wife being evicted.
“No person should have to deal with the kind of uncertainty that Spring Village families faced,” he said.
Mia Groff’s mother, also a resident at Spring Village, suffered from dementia for seven years before her death in October 2019. Groff said it’s very hard for families to decide on where to bring their loved ones because of the cost of end-of-life care.
Groff said families shouldn’t have to question whether or not the facility is able to provide the services advertised, or if the staff are able to execute the kind of care needed.
“If administrators and parent corporations don’t provide that staff — the resources needed to carry out their model — the situation ultimately results in neglect of patients and families who are in crisis,” Groff said.
Speaking after the announcement, Grace Gilbert Davis, executive director of the Vermont Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, said the settlement was “significant for our chapter.”
Gilbert Davis said the $10,000 settlement will be used to support education programs and provide services for people with Alzheimer’s who are part of the Vermont Chapter.
Donovan said a new consumer guide can help Vermonters compare the 167 long-term care facilities in Vermont.
The guide breaks down the differences between nursing homes, assisted living homes and residential care homes, all of which exist in Vermont and offer different services while falling under different state regulations.
The publication is a collaboration of the AG Office’s Elder Protection Initiative and the state Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living.
“It’s incredibly hard to understand the differences,” Assistant Attorney General and chair of the Elder Protection Initiative Jamie Renner said.
Renner said the guide also covers staffing requirements, discharge practices, resident eligibility, levels of care and more.
