In The News:
By: Storme Jones
OKLAHOMA CITY – A Bethany woman said she was banned from seeing her elderly mother at a nursing home out of retaliation for reporting abuse.
In 2018, T.J. Sarrington filed a complaint with the Oklahoma State Department of Health, alleging neglect and abuse at Meadowlake Estates nursing home in Oklahoma City.
Sarrington said the day the findings of the report were published and substantiated her claims, she called the administrator to get answers. That’s when he told her not to come to the property, or she would be arrested.
Among 25 violations, the OSDH found the nursing home committed violations against Sarrington’s mother and two other residents, and failed to “honor the resident’s right to a dignified existence, self-determination, communication, and to exercise his or her rights.”
That day, Sarrington said she was escorted off the property by Oklahoma City police for trespassing.
In the months since she was first removed, Sarrington said she missed what may be her mother’s last birthday and last mother’s day.
“I begged him to please let me see my mom. I begged. I swallowed every inch of pride that I had, and I begged,” Sarrington said. “He told me if I showed up, I would be arrested for trespassing.”
Sarrington said her mother thought her daughter was dead after going weeks without seeing her.
After seeking legal advice from advocates for nursing home reform, Sarrington said she returned to the home over the weekend, armed with a 2013 law saying, “every resident shall have the right to… meetings of family… or any other person or persons of the resident’s choice…”
The operator in charge of the home again called 911 telling dispatch, “I have a trespasser that’s been advised that she is not allows on our property.”
Sarrington said the responding officer called a supervisor after she said she had a right to see her mother. The supervisor agreed and the officer walked her back to see her mother for the first time in four months.
“It was a wonderful day. It was a day of joy,” Sarrington said.
The Oklahoma State Health Department said the nursing home was brought back into compliance a month after receiving the 25 health violations, however, the department is once again investigating the home.
News 9 reached out to Meadowlake Estates and its Texas based operator, StoneGate Senior Living, and did not hear back.
The home is one of 28 licensed to the City of Pauls Valley.
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NHAA is here to assist families, residents, and the community by sounding the alarm on issues like those found above. This nursing home and many others across the country are cited for abuse and neglect.
If you have or had a loved one living in this nursing home or any other nursing home where you suspect any form of abuse or neglect, contact us immediately.
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Personal Note from NHA-Advocates
NHAA shares with all the families of loved ones who are confined to nursing homes the pain and anguish of putting them in the care of someone else. We expect our loved ones to be treated with dignity and honor in the homes we place them. We cannot emphasize enough to family members of nursing home residents; frequent visits are essential to our loved ones’ well-being and safety.
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