Georgia Senior Care Facility Didn’t Tell Residents About Financial Problems; Abruptly Kicks Them Out

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, the state of Georgia urged senior care homes to limit visitors as a means to protect residents inside the facilities.

But Tranquil Gardens Assisted Living & Memory Care in Acworth didn’t follow suit.

In fact, earlier this year, the facility placed a large sign out front encouraging people to “Come and Visit Us!” Apparently, the home celebrated its second anniversary and let others know they were 100% open.

But Nikki Windsor, who happened to be the executive director at the time, objected to the sign. She told Brian Stewart—whose family owned the center—that the sign wasn’t true and that opening the center was against the state’s regulations.

But Stewart insisted that he didn’t care and said, “I want my doors open.” It’s possible that he felt this way because the facility was in a financial crisis, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

It seems like from the jump-late 2018—when the facility was moving in its first residents that financial woes were forming, and Tranquil was already struggling to stay afloat.

A few months later, the facility’s owner filed for bankruptcy, a secret the owner and the home’s operator hid from residents and prospective residents.

A price that residents ended up paying. On July 13, Stewart told residents they had three days to get out because the home was shutting its doors.

He then told employees and others that the electricity was getting turned off and the bank had foreclosed.

Residents and staff were left in a panic. Meals had stopped being prepared, and food was scarce. Families had to act quickly to relocate their elderly loved ones. Residents were forced out without getting refunds, and caregivers didn’t receive pay.

“They never once let anybody know to be prepared, to get prepared,” said Joy Beth Fissette. Her parents lived at the home for the past year, and both have dementia. “The owners, they knew, they knew this whole time. It’s so frustrating that they knew about this whole thing.”

Now the question remains, who will be held responsible for what happened at the facility?

The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office will look into the matter to see if the facility violated any criminal laws. State officials cited the facility for violating the 30-day rule to notify residents of being discharged or evicted.

The Stewart family released a statement that cites the pandemic as a reason for the shutdown. “While we have worked tirelessly to try and remedy the situation and explored every possible avenue, a domino effect of things out of our control transpired at the end that led to a very heartbreaking and rapid end to the facility.”