Fourth civil lawsuit filed against Heritage Springs Memory Care in Lewisburg

Sep. 8—LEWISBURG — A fourth civil lawsuit has been filed this week by one of the families affected by an extensive elder abuse case at Heritage Springs Memory Care in Lewisburg.

Attorney Erica C. Wilson, of Murray, Stone & Wilson, PLLC, in West Conshohocken, filed the lawsuit on behalf of patient Helen G. Roush-Buck and their families against the assisted living facility at 327 Farley Circle, Lewisburg, its management, building owners and two employees who were accused of abusing 17 residents.

Those listed as defendants are Heritage Springs facility and corporation, administrator Tambra Speece, Business Manager Lennea Brown, employees Madison Laine Cox and a 17-year-old boy, property and business owner T-Ross Brothers, of Milton, and Todd and Tom Ross and Christopher Helmrich, of T-Ross.

Over the last two months, three other civil lawsuits have been filed on behalf of patients Alice Longenberger, Sue Linder and Marsha Croll and their families, making four civil lawsuits filed in total. Wilson uses much of the same language in all four lawsuits to lay out the case.

The lawsuit alleges counts of negligence, breach of fiduciary duty and negligent infliction of emotional distress against the Heritage defendants; counts of negligence per se against all defendants; and counts of negligence and battery against the two employees. A jury trial is demanded as well as financial damages.

An unidentified 17-year-old male resident assistant and his co-worker resident aide {span}Madison Laine Cox, {/span}19, of Pinchtown Road, Montgomery, allegedly took numerous nude and demeaning photographs and videos of 17 residents between December and April. They allegedly posed with patients in the shower or on the toilet, took pictures of patients who had defecated themselves or had fallen to the ground and took videos of themselves demeaning or harassing individuals, according to court documents filed by Buffalo Valley Regional Police.

They allegedly sent those records to each other, shared them on the phone app SnapChat, and showed them to classmates at a school, police said.

The victims range in age from 72 to 100 years old. The majority of people residing at Heritage Springs are in various stages of Alzheimer's disease or dementia, which limits or severely impedes their cognitive abilities, police said.

Abuse detailed

One of those residents was Roush-Buck. She was admitted to Heritage Springs in June 2021 and remains a resident there today.

"According to police documents, Roush-Buck was videotaped and/or photographed while naked and while on the toilet, while propering her chin up, with the sole purpose of harassing, demeaning and alarming her," Wilson wrote.

Following the arrest of Cox and the juvenile employee and despite the widespread reach of their conduct, Speece "told families of the residents 'this whole thing is blown out of proportion' and 'the newspaper is sensationalizing this,'" Wilson wrote.

Prior to the arrest, Wilson wrote that staff at the facility lodged dozens of complaints against the juvenile employee, including a moment in which he told residents to "come sit on my lap, you might like it." The complaints were ignored, "allowing the rampant abuse to continue," Wilson wrote.

Roush-Buck was admitted to the hospital in July with a severe urinary tract infection that had gone undiagnosed while at the facility. Her family verbally complained to Speece about Roush-Buck's condition on multiple occasions, as well as a lack of communication by the facility staff, Wilson wrote.

"Heritage defendants failed to provide a safe environment, free of abuse for vulnerable residents like Helen G. Roush-Buck," Wilson wrote. "Heritage defendants accepted Helen G. Roush-Buck as a resident fully aware of her medical history and understood the level of nursing care she required."

'Utter cruelty'

Wilson described in all four lawsuits the alleged abuse as "utter cruelty" and "ongoing torture" — a "far cry from the promised 'nurturing environment' on Heritage Spring Memory Care Center's webpage." She wrote that the facility was "often staffed by children and hooligans, if at all" or staffed by untrained personnel.

Wilson wrote that Heritage Springs "maximized profits at the expense of the care required to be provided to their residents.

"In their efforts to maximize profits, Heritage defendants negligently, intentionally and/or recklessly mismanaged and/or reduced staffing levels below the level necessary to provide adequate care to residents," she wrote.

Certificate revoked

The state Department of Human Services recently revoked the facility's certificate of compliance and issued a provisional license, which is valid until Feb. 4, 2024. If the violations are not corrected within five calendar days of the receipt of the letter, the state intends to assess fines.

The Aug. 4 letter and report details a total of 30 violations stemming from licensing inspections on April 12 and 13, May 3, 9 and 18, and June 6, 15 and 27. Two additional inspection summary reports in February and December showed a combined seven additional violations.

Cox waived hearing

Cox has been charged with 17 misdemeanor counts of abuse of a care-dependent person. The charges were filed by Buffalo Valley Regional Police Patrolman Gary V. Heckman in the Lewisburg office of District Judge Jeffrey Rowe.

Cox on Aug. 24 waived her right to a preliminary hearing, which moved her case forward to the Union County Court of Common Pleas. A formal arraignment is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Nov. 6 in front of Union County Judge Michael Piecuch.

Rowe set non-monetary bail with conditions for Cox. She must not be employed at a health care or caregiving facility; she must not have any contact with the victims, families of victims, witnesses or the juvenile co-defendant; she must show up for court proceedings; she must inform the court if she moves; and she must stay out of trouble.