This story is over a month old, but it’s a biggie.
OK, so remember a couple of years ago, when federal regulators shut down the “skilled nursing unit” at the Healdsburg Senior Living facility at 725 Grove St.? The facility was taken over by a San Diego company called Pacifica circa 2018, and racked up dozens of complaints and citations in the first few years, according to old reports in the Healdsburg Tribune — but nothing as major as the alleged “situation of immediate jeopardy to residents” that led to the abrupt closure of its 38-bed skilled nursing unit in 2022.
Now, thanks to a lawsuit filed in county court by the five children of former senior resident Phyllis Johnson, we know more about why that might have happened. The Press Democrat reports:
“According to the suit, Johnson died of neglect in 2021, just 41 days after she moved into Healdsburg Senior Living Community. Her children reached a $2.6 million settlement in May, with Pacifica owing all but $100,000 of that. The relatives are back in court now, suing to collect penalties for the company having failed to pay in a timely fashion.” (Pacifica reps and their lawyers refused to talk to PD reporters, due to the ongoing litigation.)
A surgeon who tried to save Phyllis when she was rushed from the senior home to Sutter Hospital in Santa Rosa reportedly wrote in a court declaration that he saw signs of “clear reckless neglect.” He added: “We also discussed how we had seen other hospital residents admitted from Healdsburg Senior Living who also appeared neglected. This is unconscionable neglect and abuse.”
In interviews with the PD, former staffers at Pacifica’s Healdsburg location describe the parent company as purely profit-driven, with dangerous cost-cutting tactics and very little concern for actual senior care. Pacifica reportedly started out in commercial real estate, then moved into the hotel business and now runs senior homes. In fact, the company is currently in the process of building another assisted living facility in Santa Rosa, right off the Hopper Avenue exit of the 101. Warn your friends!
