Now-closed Atascadero nursing home faces 3rd lawsuit alleging abuse in 2 years

An Atascadero nursing home that closed in October is facing another lawsuit alleging abuse — the third such suit patients and their families have filed against the facility in the past two years.

Iris Schedler filed the lawsuit against Country Care Convalescent Hospital in San Luis Obispo Superior Court on Tuesday, claiming dependent adult abuse and negligent hiring and supervision.

Schedler — who entered Country Care seeking short-term, preoperative care after she fell off a horse and broke her tibia — claims an employee applied a Fentanyl patch to her arm less than three days after she was admitted, causing her to overdose.

She alleges blisters appeared on her back, but staff, “overwhelmed by the significant medication error,” did not notify Schedler’s family or transfer her to a hospital.

Eventually, Schedler was able to contact her husband, who arranged her transfer. Schedler spent a night at French Hospital Medical Center before being sent to Bella Vista Transitional Care Center, where staff allegedly discovered her back and legs were covered with blood blisters.

According to the lawsuit, Country Care staff wrongfully withheld care, resulting in the overdose and pressure sores.

Pacific Christian Senior Services, the nonprofit that owned the facility, settled two 2016 lawsuits out of court. Lawsuits represent just one side of the story; Pacific Christian Care has yet to file a response in court. Company CEO Daniel Busby said in an email to The Tribune that Schedler was a resident at Country Care for two days in May 2016 but declined to comment on the lawsuit’s allegations.

A suit filed on behalf of Leo Paul Landry claimed he fell and broke his femur after staff didn’t properly attend to him. He then developed pneumonia, which staff allegedly treated with a morphine injection, and Landry died soon after receiving the medication, the lawsuit claimed.

Another suit filed on behalf of Gabrielle Cohoon alleged she entered Country Care while recovering from a hip fracture. Employees allegedly neglected to reposition her, leading to bedsores. She was eventually taken to a hospital, where she received treatment for a urinary tract infection, dehydration and malnutrition; she died two days later.

Pacific Christian announced Country Care would close in September, forcing 35 patients to move. Busby at the time said Country Care didn’t close due to the lawsuits but because the facility couldn’t compete with others in the area.

The nonprofit still maintains two facilities: Atascadero Christian Community, an assisted and independent living facility, and Bethesda House, a home for patients with severe dementia, both on Santa Rosa Road in Atascadero.

This story was originally published November 3, 2017 at 2:43 PM with the headline "Now-closed Atascadero nursing home faces 3rd lawsuit alleging abuse in 2 years."