With the disappearance of nursing home beds across Maine, an influx of aging Mainers are ending up in “nonmedical” residential care facilities that aren’t equipped to handle higher medical needs and are held to lower staffing and nursing standards.
This investigative series uncovered that Maine rarely sanctions residential care facilities even after severe abuse or neglect incidents, and Maine’s health department rarely investigates when residents wander away from their care facilities.
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Maine rarely sanctions residential care facilities even after severe abuse or neglect incidents
From 2020 to 2022, Maine’s state health department cited residential care facilities for dozens of resident rights violations and hundreds of other deficiencies. But it has imposed only one fine in response.
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Maine proposes major staffing changes for assisted living and residential care facilities
The proposed regulations come after an 18-month investigation by The Maine Monitor and ProPublica found dozens of violations at the state’s largest facilities.
Ombudsman ‘not aware’ of the high number of wanderings from assisted living facilities
A recent investigation by The Maine Monitor and ProPublica raises questions for officials, potential for regulatory change.
Three takeaways from The Monitor’s investigation into elopements
Maine’s health department rarely issues sanctions when residents wander away from their care facilities, a joint Maine Monitor and ProPublica investigation found.
Maine’s health department rarely investigates when residents wander away from their care facilities
Elopement — when a resident wanders out of a care home — is a real risk, particularly for people with dementia. But in the vast majority of cases in the state, the facilities are never inspected and rarely sanctioned.
How we investigated Maine’s assisted living facilities
We submitted more than a dozen records requests and sifted through 331 inspection documents.