Judge orders state takeover of troubled Arizona assisted living facility Heritage Village

A court-appointed receiver is taking charge of Heritage Village, a troubled assisted living facility in Mesa where residents have suffered medication errors, neglect and injuries while state regulators did little to hold owners and managers accountable.

State Attorney General Kris Mayes had asked a judge to appoint a receiver last month when she filed a lawsuit against the facility, citing reporting from The Arizona Republic as an impetus to a state investigation. The Republic found Heritage Village had racked up about 150 violations over three years — more than any other assisted living center in the state — and also paid just a $500 fine after an employee who repeatedly was accused of physical and sexual assault was arrested in the rape of a resident.

Mayes named more than 20 defendants in her lawsuit, including Madison Realty Companies — the company that manages Heritage Village — and Linde Leibfried, the facility’s former executive director. Mayes alleged that the facility's current owners and managers endangered vulnerable adults and committed consumer fraud.

"I'm happy; I think it is a step in the right direction. But I think there's a long way to go," said Kanji Matsunaga, whose mother, Carol Caruss, was attacked by another resident and suffered several falls at Heritage Village. "It shouldn’t have taken people's injuries and blood to get this far. It shouldn't have taken a rape."

She wants to see the state simplify its complaint process. She navigated a "complicated and convoluted" bureaucracy of three government entities to try to hold Heritage Village accountable for her mother's poor care.

Some families are too overwhelmed to bother filing complaints; others get lost in the shuffle, she said.

Adult Protective Services ultimately determined her mother suffered neglect, she said.

Heritage Village will pay the appointed receiver, Peter S. Davis of J.S. Held LLC, $375 an hour to turn the facility around. Davis has worked for more than 20 years on receiverships, forensic accounting, restructuring, fraud detection, bankruptcy, valuations and damages, according to his firm's website.

He specializes in financial data, fraud detection and calculating damages.

Madison Realty Companies will defer to the receiver for the duration of the Mayes' lawsuit. If facility management ultimately is proven liable for elder abuse, its owners would have to sell not only Heritage Village but their Vision Senior Living centers in Apache Junction and Mesa as well.

Company didn't fight request for receiver

The company agreed to the receivership. Gary Langendoen, senior managing director, called Davis’ appointment “an important step forward for Heritage Village and for our 150 residents and dedicated employees.”

“A protracted court process would not have benefited anyone, least of all our residents," he said in a news release.

He noted that Heritage Village has hired a new executive director and quality assurance consultant, hired more than 40 employees and a wellness coordinator. The facility tightened security, extended shifts and launched an on-site clinic that sees about one-third of residents.

“At the end of the day, everyone wants the same thing, and that’s for our residents to be safe, happy, and have the best possible quality of life,” Langendoen said in a news release.

State inspectors found 48 more citations after The Republic's investigation published last October. In January, the state Health Department informed Heritage Village that it intended to revoke its license, according to Mayes’ lawsuit.

But Mayes wanted to prevent the facility from losing its license entirely because that would have left more than 150 residents and their families scrambling to find them new homes. Moving can cause major trauma for people with dementia.

The receivership allows residents to remain but receive quality care, Mayes said in an interview with The Republic and azcentral.com.

Research your options: Senior care in Arizona: A guide for resources, Republic investigations

Investigative series leads to change

Mayes' lawsuit is one of many government actions taken in the wake of The Republic's "Bitter End" series, which chronicled widespread resident injuries in Arizona's assisted living facilities.

Gov. Katie Hobbs recently signed a bill into law to reform assisted living regulations and U.S. senators asked the Government Accountability Office to study Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements and other federal funds that assisted living facilities receive.

Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., asked during a Senate Committee on AgingCommittee hearing in January if the federal government should consider regulating assisted living. Nursing homes are federally regulated.

"(Republic reporters) reviewed police reports, they reviewed footage in some facilities, they analyzed regulatory reports from the state, and they interviewed families and experts. What they found was — I think it’s fair to say — horrifying," Kelly said. "I think a lot of us knew there were issues in the system. We knew that. But I don't think we knew how bad it was."

See The Republic's comprehensive tool: What Arizona assisted living centers facilities had citations?

Reach Caitlin McGlade at caitlin.mcglade@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on X @caitmcglade.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Court appoints receiver to run troubled Arizona assisted living center