NJ Public Advocate to contact hundreds of current and former residents of SJ assisted living facilities

Alleges company seeks to involuntarily discharge elderly residents on Medicaid in eight facilities

TRENTON -- The New Jersey Department of the Public Advocate today will begin directly contacting more than 500 current and former residents of a Wisconsin company’s eight southern New Jersey assisted living facilities as part of its investigation into the company’s involuntary discharge practices.

The Public Advocate has been investigating Assisted Living Concepts Inc. after receiving  allegations that the company has been involuntarily discharging residents once they have exhausted their life savings.

“We have already had about two dozen complaints about the company’s discharge practices. However, it is difficult to assess the full scope of the problem unless we reach out to all of the people who may have been affected,” said NJ Public Advocate Ronald K. Chen.

On May 28, the Public Advocate filed a complaint and supporting motion and affidavits in Superior Court seeking to enforce the subpoena served on Assisted Living Concepts requesting the names and addresses of all former and current residents of ALC facilities dating back to 2006.

That request was granted by a Superior Court judge on June 17 and Assisted Living Concepts provided 538 names to the Public Advocate earlier this month. Of the names received, 262 are people who still reside in ALC facilities and 276 are people who are no longer living in an ALC facility.

Letters will be mailed to each of these individuals or their responsible family members beginning on Friday, July 25.

The letters from Public Advocate Chen advise the current and former ALC residents that his department is “conducting a review of involuntarily discharge practices employed by Assisted Living Concepts” and invites them to participate in the review by answering a few simple questions on an attached survey.

Respondents will be contacted and follow-up meetings scheduled with the individuals or their families at a location convenient to all parties, said Gwen Orlowski, the Director of the Public Advocate’s Division of Elder Advocacy. Orlowski estimated that the interviews will continue through the summer.

The Public Advocate began its investigation upon learning that ALC was discharging residents after they had spent their life savings and needed to convert to Medicaid, despite promises that had been made that they would be able to stay.  The practice also appears to be contrary to the terms of ALC’s licensure and certificate of need, said Orlowski.

Last month, New Jersey Senator Jeff Van Drew introduced legislation that would address some of the concerns raised by the Public Advocate’s investigation. Van Drew has proposed legislation requiring all assisted living facilities – not just those that opened after September 2001 – to set aside a minimum of 10 percent of their beds for people on Medicaid. In addition, Van Drew’s bill would not allow assisted living facilities to evict residents because they have spent-down their savings and are now eligible for Medicaid.

These are the facilities operated by ALC in southern New Jersey and the number of individuals or their families who will be contacted from each facility:

ALC South Jersey locations:

Baker House

685 S. Brewster Road

Vineland, NJ 08360

Goldfinch House

18 Reeves Road

Bridgeton, NJ 08302

Lindsay House

39 Supawna Road

Pennsville, NJ 08070

Mey House

199 Steelmanville Road

Egg Harbor Township, NJ 08234

Chapin House

1042 Route 47 South

Rio Grande, NJ 08242

Granville House

111 Sunset Road

Burlington, NJ 08016

Maurice House

1719 W. Main Street

Millville, NJ 08332

Post House

540 Mullica Hill Road

Glassboro, NJ 08028

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