ST. PAUL
The Minnesota Department of Health has substantiated an allegation of neglect at a Faribault, Minn., assisted-living facility after an administrator failed to stop repeated sexual conduct among vulnerable adults.
Faribault police are investigating the incidents - in which one male resident had sexual contact with six others in the memory-care unit - but no criminal charges have been filed.
The sexual acts often occurred in public settings in the locked memory-care unit at Keystone Communities of Faribault, according to a state investigative report made public Thursday. Workers at the facility reported the incidents to an administrator but were told the clients were "consenting adults" and should be given privacy, the report states.
"Staff were (told) not to document the incidents or call family members, because this was 'normal' behavior," the report states.
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That was the wrong answer, said Mike Lewis, a partner with Keystone Communities Management Group, which operates the Faribault facility. The administrator was later terminated.
"What she failed to differentiate was that this was a special set of seniors who have dementia and related diseases who don't really have the capacity for consent because they're often confused," Lewis said. "Unlike an assisted-living person who would have the capacity to recognize what is going on, many in the dementia unit would not."
The incidents began occurring after a male resident with wandering behavior was placed
in memory care in July. The man was in the unit only during his waking hours, according to the report, but was involved in a series of sexual acts.
The acts ranged from fully and partially naked encounters on beds to suggestive touches and caresses in the living and dining rooms.
"Staff indicated that one client involved in the contacts thought that (the man) was her husband and would call (him) her husband's name," the report states.
A state investigator interviewed an administrator at the facility who was aware of at least some of the sexual conduct, the report states. The administrator told staff not to intervene, the report states, unless a client had a negative response to the contact.
"When the investigator questioned the administrative staff person regarding the ability of clients to consent, he/she stated it was a 'grey line,' " the report states.
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Keystone Communities hired an attorney who specializes in elder law issues to talk with staff and managers about their obligation to report such incidents involving vulnerable adults, said Lewis, the company official. Workers have been told that if they don't get the problem solved after reporting it internally, they should contact the state, Lewis said.
He said the case described in the state report Thursday came to light because an employee complained to a Rice County official, who in turn contacted the state Health Department.
As a further response, Keystone Communities is adding an additional staff person to each of its memory-care units at facilities in Faribault, Eagan, Mankato and Prior Lake, Lewis said. A meeting for all family members of those living at the Faribault facility is planned for Saturday, he said, adding that staff already have been meeting with the families of residents involved in the incidents.
"We don't contest the items in the report; we're just trying to respond to it and come into compliance with what the state is ordering," Lewis said. "It was definitely against Keystone policy to allow this type of behavior to go on in the memory-care unit."
The names of those involved were not included in the state report.
Distributed by MCT Information Services
