Company accused of ‘inadequate care’ at WA senior living facilities to pay $7M
A company that owns 15 long-term care facilities in Washington has agreed to pay $7 million after an investigation into claims of inadequate care.
According to a Wednesday news release from the Washington State Attorney General’s Office, the company – Bonaventure – will pay the $7 million to improve its services and issue a $250 credit to 800 residents at 10 facilities in Puyallup, Tri-Cities, Bellingham, Arlington, Bothell, East Wenatchee, Lacey, Richland and Vancouver.
The release said that from Jan. 1, 2019 to Dec. 31, 2024, the company failed to “provide a number of vital services to residents, including medication assistance, housekeeping, maintenance, dining, and infection control.”
“Families entrusted their loved ones to these facilities and expected safe, clean, and conscientious care. Sadly, for many of them, that’s not what they got,” Attorney General Nick Brown said in the release. “Enforcing our consumer protection laws to protect vulnerable people from inadequate care is a priority for me and our entire office.”
The Attorney General’s Office said the company has not admitted liability, but has agreed to raise wages for its staff, hire more staff, hire a quality assurance team and hire a health and wellness director for all of its Washington facilities that have both assisted living and memory care services.
In a statement to The News Tribune Wednesday, Bonaventure said residents at their facilities are a top priority.
“Bonaventure strongly believes that the AG’s threatened litigation was meritless and has strongly defended itself against the claims brought by the AG. However, rather than face years of baseless litigation, millions of dollars of ongoing legal expenses, and waste time and resources on ongoing litigation, Bonaventure has agreed to resolve its dispute with the AG,” the statement said. “The settlement contains no admission of wrongdoing or liability on behalf of Bonaventure. Bonaventure’s residents and their families have always been our top priority, even through the unprecedented COVID pandemic, and this resolution allows us to continue focusing on what matters most — delivering quality care and maintaining the trusted relationships we’ve built over 24 years of serving Washington communities.”
The company said it spent $10 million in capital improvements in 2023 and 2024, and has increased labor costs by 55% since 2019.
“Indeed, Bonaventure’s commitment in the agreement is only a fraction of the costs that Bonaventure was already planning on spending in the coming years,” the statement said. “We plan on vastly exceeding these expenditures as we continue to serve our seniors and keep our physical buildings up to our high standards.”
Washington state residents who have negative experiences with a senior living facility can file a complaint at fortress.wa.gov/atg/formhandler/ago/ComplaintForm.aspx.
