DSS investigates another assisted living facility

The Department of Social Services is looking into problems at a second assisted living center in New Hanover County.

Recently the state suspended new residential admissions and threatened to shutdown GlenCare of Wilmington. Now DSS is recommending a Type A penalty, the worst in that industry, for the Clare Bridge assisted living facility.

DSS says staff lost track of two patients who suffer from dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease. According to the report, on February 6 a doctor visiting Clare Bridge found a resident wandering in the parking lot. On February 24 another resident went missing. This time an employee saw the patient walking outside the facility.

A spokesperson for Clare Bridge says it is working with DSS to correct the problem and, in a statement, says, “They take the safety and security of our residents seriously, which includes training staff on our elopement protocols and reviewing building standards.”

Clare Bridge has until March 25 to correct the problems.

The DSS report comes as GlenCare of Wilmington, another assisted living facility, waits to find out if it will be able to stay open after several deficiencies and violations. New Hanover County DSS says that the violations suggest it might be time to reform the operating policies and procedures at assisted living facilities, and that the patients these facilities are dealing with are more complicated.