Fifty-two-year-old Candace M. remains horrified at the circumstances which led to the death of her grandmother Eva Mae R. of West Palm Beach, Fla.

Alleged nursing home abuse that involved leaving her wheelchair-bound grandmother without supervision in the hot sun ended with the elder’s demise in mid-June 2017, according to Candace.

While Candace was not to blame for the incident, an online article at MyPalmBeachPost indicates that she feels guilty for not spotting indicators of nursing home abuse sooner at Lakeside Health Center, a local elder care facility.

She has recently filed a nursing home abuse lawsuit in Palm Beach County Circuit Court. She wants to ensure no other senior is so horrifically neglected as her grandmother.

According to the lawsuit, on May 27, 2017, Eva Mae R. was rushed to the emergency room of St. Mary’s Medical Center after being found sunburned, blistered and unresponsive in the early afternoon. Emergency medical personnel diagnosed her with heat stroke and dehydration.

She had an internal temperature of 103.2 degrees and the sunburn on her shoulders, arms, and mouth regions were diagnosed as second-degree.

According to the article, the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) investigated the alleged incident of nursing home abuse and concluded that Lakeside Health Center was to blame for not providing basic supervision to a level called for by the senior’s age and health status.

Despite this finding of nursing home abuse through lack of supervision, Candace has been unable to determine if there have been any efforts to suspend the elder care facility’s license or hold them accountable in any way.

She hopes to ensure that there are steep consequences for Lakeside Health Center, owned by parent company Life Care Centers of America.

A spokesperson for the Florida DCF indicated that their investigation concluded even before the demise of Eva Mae R., who died of sun-exposure-related hyperthermia according to the local medical examiner.

Information gathered was purportedly passed on to a trifecta of authorities to act upon—the West Palm Beach Police, the Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office and the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA).

After further inquiry regarding the nursing home abuse incident with these authorities, according to the article, a common theme of “ongoing investigation” was heard. The police claimed that there work on the case was not completed.

ThePalm Beach County State Attorney’s Office indicated that until the police conclude that there is enough evidence for the elder care facility to be charged with a crime, their hands are tied. Attempts to reach the defendant’s counsel or AHCA for comment were unfortunately unsuccessful.

DCF Investigator vs. Lakeside Health Center Management

The DCF Investigator, Janice Elliott,  concluded that Eva Mae R. was horribly sunburned and blistered when she was found. The elder fainted and was unresponsive after that, at which point she was transported to the hospital.

In contrast, the executive director of Lakeside,Amy Saayman, painted a picture of Candace’s grandmother as fully independent despite her age and capable of moving herself out of harm’s way in her wheelchair.

The director pointed a finger at the responding paramedics, believing that a drug intervention produced an extreme allergic reaction in their resident. Candace, who was raised by her grandmother, remains convinced of nursing home abuse and is filing this lawsuit in her memory.