FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 19, 2007
CONTACT: Jennifer Kelly, 213-300-3336 (cell)

Assisted Living Award Goes to the Worst?

Atria Kingwood Has Record of Poor Care, Unhappy Residents

KINGWOOD, TX -- Atria Kingwood today was given an award, but resident care advocates find themselves wondering, "what for?"

A survey of resident care records for Atria Kingwood reveals disturbing care problems:

• After one resident rang her emergency call button several times over a nine-hour period, she was finally taken to the hospital, where she remained in a coma for several days.  Regulators cited the facility for failing to provide enough staff to respond to emergencies, noting that only one person was assigned to care for 44 residents that night, 16 of whom required nighttime assistance (2/2/2006).
• An inspection of Atria Kingwood revealed a 26 percent medication error rate.  The caregiver responsible for delivering this medicine had never been personally trained to dispense medication, but rather was shown a training video and read a training manual (12/22/2004). 

Loved ones of Kingwood residents and former residents have recently contacted the Campaign to share more disturbing stories about their experiences with Kingwood.

"Seniors and their families pay dearly for what they're told will be the best quality of care available," said Pedro Rodriguez, Director of the Action Alliance for Senior Citizens. "Atria may not be living up to their promise of quality care."

The Campaign is calling for Atria to make a real investment in front-line care by staffing-up, increasing worker training, and lowering worker turnover. 

More information is at www.improveassistedliving.org.