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May 2, 2008 6:35 pm US/Pacific
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Call Kurtis: Assisting An Assisted Living Refund
ROSEVILLE (CBS13) ―
A Roseville woman's Mom was placed in an assisted living facility. When she passed away a couple days later they had trouble getting a refund, so they called Kurtis Ming.
Linda Meylink reminisces about her past, meticulously paging through the photos of her family's history.
"This is my Mom when she first came from England," says Linda, "and that's my sister, and that's me".
Being that close, it was a hard choice to place their 85-year-old mother in an assisted living facility.
"Us three kids took care of our Mom as long as we could," says Linda.
But dementia had taken its toll and Linda decided "The Palms" assisted living and memory care in Roseville would be a good place. In February, after a medical check-up with her mother's doctor, Linda checked Elsie into "The Palms".
"It was really hard for me to leave her there because she wasn't feeling well," says Linda.
Actually, Elsie was very sick. The day after going into the facility, Elsie had to rush to Kaiser and died a few days later. She was at "The Palms" less than a day. When Linda asked for a refund of the $3,100 she paid for an entire month, she was told no.
But Linda's contract says she's entitled to a pro-rated refund after the room is cleared, which Linda says she did right after her Mom died. When Linda mentioned that term of the contract, she says "The Palms" said they'd check that right out.
"They never did," says Linda. "Then I was watching television and I thought 'I'm going to call Kurtis.'"
We contacted "The Palms'" owners, Sunwest, in Oregon, to ask why it was taking so long. They didn't have an explanation but assured Call Kurtis that a check would be sent right away. They overnighted a check to Linda for $2,695.
"We're real happy," says Linda. "I've settled everything, too, with my Mom and her life as it was here."
If you have a loved one placed in a facility, you should do like Linda: read and understand your residency agreement. If you're having problems with an assisted living facility, the Ombudsman of California is a great resource for assistance in these matters.
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