Neglected to Death

  • Logout
  • Member Center

Emeritus at Crossing Pointe

NEGLECTED TO DEATH | Part 2: Case closed in woman’s death, but records tell another story

 

Caretakers failed to give Magdalena Marrone life-saving medication. But no one was ever held accountable in her death.

msallah@MiamiHerald.com

When Magdalena Marrone’s relatives gathered for her funeral in Central Florida, they were told the matriarch of the family succumbed to ravages of old age at her upscale Orlando group home.

What they didn’t know: Caregivers failed to give her life-saving heart medication for four days — and then gave her the wrong drugs.

Not until days later did family members learn the details of the 82-year-old grandmother’s final days.

“No one called the family until the investigation,” said grandson Kevin Marrone, 35. “We all assumed it was natural.”

Though state regulators found sweeping breakdowns and neglect leading to sanctions against Emeritus at Crossing Pointe, caretakers were never held responsible under Florida’s elder-abuse law.

Citing a lack of evidence, the state attorney general’s office dropped the case last year, even though state agents found caretakers failed to read Marrone’s charts and then gave her the wrong medication.

The attorney general’s office said the state was unable to pinpoint a specific person at fault. Records tell a different story: The Department of Children & Families found that three people committed medical neglect contributing to her death.

The attorney general closed the case, concluding problems had “been addressed” by regulators. Not so. The home went on to break the law a dozen more times, including a critical lapse that left a man without psychiatric drugs for 10 days — and a falsified report concealing the mistake.

Three decades after Marrone moved to Florida to spend her retirement years, her grandson said his family is still disappointed no one was held accountable in her death.

“My family never felt justice,” Kevin Marrone said in an interview last year.

Karen Lucas, a spokeswoman for Emeritus Senior Living, said she could not discuss details of the case because of a confidential settlement agreement between the ALF and Marrone’s family.

The problems began in August 2009 when the elderly grandmother returned to the facility from an extended hospital stay.

Marrone had been losing weight and suffering from complications of diabetes and other disorders, but after nearly two months at a nursing home, she appeared to be improving, DCF reports show. By the time she returned to the ALF where her husband, Anthony, was also residing, the fateful errors had begun.

At first, the home lost track of her chart, including orders from a doctor that she get crucial doses of medication, including Rythmol and Digoxin, every day to keep her heart beating regularly and reduce the risk of heart attack.

Four days later, a nurse realized Marrone had not gotten any drugs since she arrived, but then ordered the wrong prescriptions. Just hours after the first dosage was given, a medical technician found Marrone slumped in a wheelchair, foaming at the mouth, and her skin turning blue.

Minutes after she was rushed to the hospital, she was pronounced dead at 5:26 p.m., August 26, 2009. The cause of death: cardio-pulmonary arrest, records show.

Three weeks later, the case took another turn: A doctor working with the ALF declared Marrone died of ovarian cancer, hypertension, diabetes and dementia — without mentioning the critical mistakes by the home in the days before she died, records show.

AHCA inspectors concluded the errors at the home caused Marrone “to go without life-saving cardiac medications for 4 days.”

dealsaver
The Miami Herald: Subscribe now!

More from
Neglected to Death

  • New ALF reform effort stirs same doubts

    As state leaders launch two new efforts to improve troubled assisted living facilities, advocates blast lawmakers for killing previous reforms that could have saved lives.

  • To Our Readers

    A welcome affirmation of The Herald’s work

    The ALF series that helped reform a troubled industry was a finalist for journalism’s top prize.

  •  

Michael Sallah

    Miami Herald a Pulitzer finalist for ALF series

    A Miami Herald investigation revealing deadly abuses and poor oversight in Florida’s assisted living facilities was selected as a Pulitzer finalist for public service in the nation’s oldest and most prestigious journalism awards on Monday.

Join the
Discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

We have introduced a new commenting system called Disqus for our articles. This allows readers the option of signing in using their Facebook, Twitter, Disqus or existing MiamiHerald.com username and password.

Having problems? Read more about the commenting system on MiamiHerald.com.

Hide Comments

This affects comments on all stories.

Cancel OK
0 comments

  • Videos

  • Quick Job Search

Enter Keyword(s) Enter City Select a State Select a Category