complaint·June 10, 2024

Interviews conducted on 5/24/24 at 3:45 pm and 5/31/24 at 8:10 am with F1 resulted in F1 stating no notification of increases had been provided prior to the invoices being received. F1 provided invoices showing the increases effective 9/1/23 and a second increase effective 4/5/24. F1 stated they had attempted to contact the facility administration regarding the increases starting in February to May of 2024 with no response until a conversation and email were done with the Business Office Manager on 5/20/24. F1 stated this was the first time they had received this notice. During the interview with F1 they stated in April 2024 the facility placed a “bracelet” on R1, following that F1 drove to the facility to discuss this with the administrator. Per F1, this discussion regarding the “bracelet” did occur in person. F1 did not state they addressed the increase concern with the administrator during this meeting. On 5/28/24 at 9:45 am LPA Rankin arrived at the facility and at 10:00 am requested copies of admission agreements, fee schedules, financial invoices, and correspondence / notifications for R1. LPA reviewed invoices dated 7/1/23 to 6/1/24. LPA requested documents showing correspondence for a sampling of residents that had been notified of rate increase over the past year, as well as any of R1’s notifications. Copies of notifications were provided promptly. The documents provided during the visit showed a letter dated 7/3/23 for R1, addressed to “(name of R1) C/O (name of F1)” showing the 60-day notification of the first-rate increase effective 9/1/23, and a document showing a 60-day notification of a second-rate increase for a “revised resident assessment” putting R1 into Level II range, this was dated 2/5/24 with the rate increase taking effect 4/5/24. The invoices provided to the LPA by both parties show the increases started per the effective date noted on the 60-day notifications. Notifications both have “First Class Mail” noted at the top of the letter. LPA provided assistance and recommended the facility send rate increase notices via certified mail, email, or somehow document notification was sent to show proof of correspondence. Continued on 9099-c In a telephone interview on 5/30/24 at 3:21 pm, Administrator stated she had seen F1 on various occasions, one of which was during a visit to discuss R1’s Wander guard bracelet. The administrator stated during that in-person discussion, at no time did F1 bring up the concern of the rate increase. Administrator stated F1 visits R1 regularly and has not tried to discuss rate increases. Based on interviews, and documentation obtained, there is not enough evidence to prove the allegation of, “Staff did not provide proper notification of rate increase” and it is unsubstantiated at this time. On the allegation: Facility staff did not communicate with authorized representative. LPA interviewed F1, who stated they have made attempts to contact facility administration and have not received responses. F1 does not have any documents in writing showing the attempts, and both parties have stated they had conversations in April and the rate increase concern was not brought up. When LPA spoke with Administrator to confirm her process for responding to and communicating with family and residents, she stated she and her staff have been responding to inquiries in a timely manner. She also stated that when voicemails are left, the voicemail is sent to her email so when she isn’t in-person at the facility, she is still getting notified so she can respond promptly, the same process occurs for Amy Bowman. On 6/10/24 an advisory was given to document conversations, and/or possibly follow-up with emails with residents and/or family who are appearing to start to elevate concerns so that they can provide documentation and support that all efforts were made to respond to concerns. Based on interviews and the information obtained, there is not enough evidence to prove the allegation of, “Facility staff did not communicate with authorized representative” and it is unsubstantiated at this time. Exit interview conducted, copy of report given.