“Methodology
The Post examined facility inspection data and incident reports from two-thirds of states and collected news reports from across the country, the first time a news organization has attempted to determine the national scope of wandering incidents and deaths among people living with dementia and other cognitive impairments in assisted-living facilities.
Because 19 states do not allow reports to be downloaded by the public, and Nebraska and D.C. have not released new reports in recent years, the data presented by The Post is certainly an undercount.
To collect its data, The Post wrote computer programs to pull facility rosters and the number of beds available in every state, and to gather more than 160,000 available individual inspection reports since 2018 from the states that posted those reports online.
Using key phrases such as “elope,” “wander” and “missing,” reporters searched for cases where residents had left the facility without staff’s knowledge or had been left outside unattended. They expanded their review into states without online inspection portals by scouring media reports and lawsuits and by filing public information requests with state agencies and local police departments. A second and third round of media searches were done by researchers and reporters to try to provide the public with the most complete accounting of walkaways and walkaway deaths.
The Post’s review included both general assisted-living facilities and the more secure dementia-care units. Many states have different names in their regulations for these facilities. The Post used a review from the National Center for Assisted Living to determine the different titles for assisted-living complexes.
The Post counted deaths involving residents with Alzheimer’s disease or other cognitive impairments who got outside or were left unsupervised outside, including in vehicles. In one case, a resident was found in a stairwell. In another, the facility placed the resident in independent living although his contract required assisted-living oversight. The Post’s review was not limited to deaths that led state authorities to cite facilities, but in 9 out of 10 cases where a resident died, inspectors did issue citations.
To examine states’ oversight of assisted-living facilities, reporters gathered regulations regarding staffing levels, training and reporting requirements from each state. The Post then categorized each state into a tier of regulatory oversight based on benchmarks suggested by experts.
Finally, reporters used data from the American Seniors Housing Association ranking the 50 largest senior-housing owners. Reporters classified the companies on ASHA’s list into general categories of ownership, to understand the business models underlying the assisted-living sector.
About this investigation
Memory Inc. Patients with memory problems walk away from assisted-living facilities just about every day in America; many die. The Post examines a pattern of neglect in America’s booming assisted-living industry.
Reporting by Christopher Rowland, Todd C. Frankel, Yeganeh Torbati, Julie Zauzmer Weil, Peter Whoriskey, Steven Rich and Douglas MacMillan. Federica Cocco and Alice Crites also contributed to this report. Videos by Joy Sharon Yi.
Design and development by Allison Mann. Additional design by Laura Padilla Castellanos. Data analysis by Steven Rich. Photo editing and research by Haley Hamblin. Video graphics by Sarah Hashemi.
Lead editing by Evelyn Larrubia. Editing by Betty Chavarria, Karly Domb Sadof, Susan Doyle, Meghan Hoyer, Courtney Kan, Anne Kenderdine, Thomas LeGro and Lori Montgomery.
Additional support from Maddie Driggers, Tom Justice, Jordan Melendrez, Gwen Milder, Amy Nakamura, Jayne Orenstein, Alexandra Pannoni, Kate Rabinowitz and Erica Snow.”
Dozens of assisted-living residents died after wandering away unnoticed
By Christopher Rowland, Todd C. Frankel, Yeganeh Torbati, Julie Zauzmer Weil, Peter Whoriskey and
Dec. 17 at 6:30 a.m
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