9-12-2010 Washington:The deaths of hundreds of seniors at adult family homes may have been the result of neglect or abuse, but were never investigated.
Some fell to the floor and bled to death internally. Others choked on food and suffocated. Still others languished for weeks as bedsores burrowed to the bone, ultimately killing them.
In neighborhoods throughout Seattle and across the state, hundreds have died prematurely, many in avoidable misery, while living at state-licensed adult family homes.
A Seattle Times investigation has uncovered at least 236 deaths that indicate neglect or abuse in these homes but were not reported to the state or investigated.
Dozens of suspicious deaths occurred in adult homes with long histories of violations, including some whose owners employed caregivers with little training or forged credentials.
In the first accounting of such deaths, The Times identified these cases by analyzing death certificates of 4,703 Washington residents who died at adult homes from 2003 through 2008.
Adult homes are a less-regulated, less-expensive elder-care option than nursing homes, and are touted as providing personalized care in cozy, neighborhood settings.
