Series Examines Assisted Living Facilities In Pennsylvania

The Philadelphia Inquirer recently published a four-part series, titled "A Failure To Care," that examined problems with assisted living facilities in Pennsylvania. Summaries of the articles appear below.

"'Shame of the State': Troubled Facilities and Lax State Oversight Have for Years Put Residents of Pennsylvania's Assisted Living Homes at Risk of Assault, Neglect -- and Tragedy": The article, published on Sunday, examined the results of an eight-month investigation of assisted living facilities in Pennsylvania. The investigation, based on an examination of thousands of pages of public records and hundreds of interviews, found that since 2000 at least 55 residents of assisted living facilities in the state have died because of possible neglect. In addition, the investigation found "a long list of health and safety violations, a history of substandard care, and a system of state oversight that ... often allowed deficient operators to violate safety rules with virtual impunity," the Inquirer reports (Dilanian, Philadelphia Inquirer, 2/25).

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