Behind the Perks Was Neglect, Suit Alleges

It’s been billed as one of Southern California’s premier retirement homes--a faux Mediterranean villa where retirees dine on duck and crab before mood-lit fountains and sink shots on a nine-hole putting course.

But two wrongful death lawsuits filed by family members of residents at Morningside of Fullerton charge that beneath the glitz lies a pattern of neglect.

In both suits, daughters of former residents say that Morningside and its adjoining nursing home, ParkVista, failed to protect their mothers from falls that broke bones, and then delayed calling emergency medical crews when it was clear the women needed help.

Facility administrators and their lawyers have denied the claims. They said the accusations are part of a nationwide increase in lawsuits aimed at elderly care facilities, which they say are easy targets for such legal action.

“These types of lawsuits are the nature of the beast,” said Louis Koff, administrator of ParkVista. “In this industry, anything that goes wrong becomes the basis for a lawsuit.”

Although the Morningside complex has long been known as a luxury resort of retirement homes, this is not the first time its owners have been accused of neglect.

A review of state records shows that regulators have cited the nursing home six times since 1996, including one case in which operators were fined $10,000.

“The home looks so plush and upscale that it lulls you into a false sense of security,” said Deborah Louis, whose mother, Bernice Czohara, moved into one of Morningside’s spacious, balconied apartments just two months before her death in 1999.

“There’s white cloths on the tables, delicious food and of course you’re paying an awful lot of money. Well, I feel betrayed now. They didn’t do what they promised they would do. They promised to watch my mother.”

Louis says in her suit that her mother’s death was precipitated by a fall in her apartment just before sunrise one day. The 82-year-old broke her shoulder and lay on the floor, unable to reach the telephone. The suit says the retirement home never checked her mother’s room.

Louis said it was almost 15 hours after the fall that she discovered her mother on the floor, naked, in a puddle of urine and suffering from a stroke. She died two weeks later.

“It was just horrific,” Louis said about finding her mother on the floor. “It’s so troubling to me to think that she was in that neglected position for so long. She didn’t deserve that.”

The second suit involves ParkVista at Morningside, the on-site nursing home, and says that 88-year-old Verna Olson died as a result of a fall from a wheelchair early one morning in April 2000.

Olson was unsteady and prone to falls, the suit says, and should have been braced with a seat belt. No restraint was used however, and as a nursing assistant wheeled her from the bathroom to her bed, Olson lurched from the chair, struck the floor and broke her neck. After the accident, she was returned to bed, the suit alleges.

About six hours later, it was clear Olson was not doing well, and an ambulance was called. She died two weeks later in a hospital.

Olson’s daughter, Nadene Ivens, said through her lawyer that she expected her mother to get better treatment.

“They just didn’t care,” said lawyer William J. Flanagan. “Her mother was there because the facility had a good reputation. The care was allegedly skilled.”

State regulators fined ParkVista $700 as a result of Olson’s fall. Investigators ruled that the home failed to address the patient’s poor balance and develop ways to prevent falls.

The nursing home is challenging the fine. But home administrators and their lawyers have declined to discuss either lawsuit or state investigations of complaints at the site.

Despite the claims of poor treatment, some Morningside residents can’t imagine living anywhere else.

Thurl Ravenscroft, the 87-year-old voice of Kellogg’s Tony the Tiger, moved into the retirement home with his late wife 10 years ago after touring other homes throughout Southern California. Among the amenities that caught their attention were the spa, heated outdoor swimming pool, boccie ball court and, of course, the putting and pitching green.

“There just wasn’t any question where we wanted to go,” Ravenscroft said. “It’s just wonderful. They really take care of you here. It’s like living in a fine hotel.”

Morningside and ParkVista, which sit on 41 acres overlooking steep rolling meadows and horse trails, are part of a rapidly growing industry of so-called continuing care retirement communities.

Such facilities, marketed almost entirely to wealthy seniors, offer lifelong care to able-bodied retirees who are enticed by swank accommodations, as well as the ability to move into on-site nursing facilities if they grow frail.

The perks at Morningside include guest apartments, a formal rose garden, and package trips to such destinations as Catalina Island, Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon.

“Basically, the more amenities you offer, the more money you can get,” said Pat McGinnis, of the consumer group, California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform. “It used to be enough to just offer meals. Now, these homes are stealing chefs from the top restaurants and offering maid service. Some will even offer cocktail receptions and cruises. It’s an interesting phenomenon. I think we’ve seen a real boom nationally in the last five years.”

Typically, McGinnis said, such facilities require an initial payment of hundreds of thousands of dollars that goes into the trust that operates the home. In addition, residents pay a monthly fee ranging from $1,000 to $5,000.

Morningside holds a stellar reputation in the retirement living industry since it opened a decade ago, experts said, and has an 18-month waiting list. Some residents reserve their rooms years in advance.

According to state regulatory records, problems at Morningside-ParkVista have been limited to the nursing home side of the complex; the retirement home has never been cited.

State regulators declined to characterize the overall quality of service at ParkVista, but said they don’t consider the number of citations to be unusually high for a facility that size.

Morningside-ParkVista has roughly 300 units as well as 100 nursing home beds.

In 1996, the California Department of Health Services fined the nursing home $10,000 after patients suffered a spate of mysterious falls, bruises and skin tears.

Regulators feared that the injuries were a result of employees injuring or ignoring patients, but said the causes would never be known because the home failed to investigate them fully.

Regulators have cited the nursing home on five other occasions as well, including once in connection with Olson’s fall from the wheelchair.

Among the most recent complaints investigated by the state were claims made in December that a nursing assistant had poured an irritating liquid on the bare buttocks of an 87-year-old patient and was observed throwing an 82-year-old woman into bed “like she was a rag doll.”

Home administrators said the employee was suspended when the complaints arose and no longer works for the home. Administrators are appealing that fine as well.

Still, lawyers for the families argued that any violations are troubling.

“Many of us are going to go to nursing homes someday, or are thinking of it for a relative,” Flanagan said.

“When you give your elder over to a nursing home like this, you think everything’s OK.”