Oregon family sues state, care facility after escape death of 83-year-old with dementia
PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — The family of a woman who died after escaping a memory care facility in Sandy - which was later found to be violating multiple care rules and standards in an official report - have filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit against the state of Oregon and the owners and managers of Mt. Hood Senior Living (MHSL.)
83-year-old Ki Soon “Harmony” Hyun was found dead in December after escaping the memory care facility. Her body was found in a heavily wooded area about half a mile from the facility.
On Wednesday, Hyun's family held a press conference for the filing. They said Hyun went missing just 24 hours after arriving at MHSL.
“We never got to have closure with her and we never got to tell her how much we loved her," Ki Soon's daughter Soo said to KATU. “She was the pillar in our family, a total centerpiece."
Hyun's family settled her into her room at MHSL on December 23. Her care costs at the facility would be $7,000-9,000 per month per the lawsuit. Hyun had diagnoses of Alzheimer’s, dementia, and heart problems, and her family felt that she needed to have "more eyes on her" and more intensive care.
The family claims that staff were warned about Hyun's wandering, and were assured that "the facility was adequately equipped with features and passcodes and a solid security system and cameras, and that there were many layers of protection for residents."
However, on December 24, Hyun was last seen around breakfast time. The family alleges staff did not call them or government agencies to report Hyun's disappearance until later that afternoon. She was found dead the next day.
The lawsuit claims that MHSL caused the wrongful death of Hyun via:
- Failing to provide competent licensed administrators and failing to determine the competency of and properly train staff.
- Failing to utilize electronic monitoring systems and GPS
- Failing to adequately secure exits
- Failing to fix issues with door locking systems and failing to have a door alarm
- Failing to have a care plan for Hyun despite being aware of her dementia and wandering
- Failing to properly notify Hyun's family and the government
The lawsuit also states that the owners of MHSL were operating the facility without proper experience or regulations.
"As a result of the above-described negligent conduct of defendants, Ki Soon Hyun suffered conscious pain and suffering, helplessness, fear, anxiety, terror, the pain of freezing, conscious pain, and suffering during the time the defendants’ negligence allowed her to leave the facility to the time of her death, the suit says.
Hyun's family also names the state of Oregon and the Oregon Department of Human Services as responsible for Hyun's death, claiming that they allowed the facility to operate without a full-time licensed administrator (who would maintain and enforce care standards), failed to require more staff, and failed to properly and regularly inspect the facility.
The family is asking for $41 million total in wrongful death damages from MHSL and the state of Oregon.
In January, a month after Hyun's escape and death, Oregon suspended the license of the facility and issued a closure after the Department of Human Services inspectors found several violations.
DHS noted violations such as "failing to provide a safe environment" in the case of Hyun, as well as an unsanitary kitchen, failing to properly train staff, and not properly managing medications for patients.
This abrupt closure meant that residents were given only a few hours' notice, causing a mass relocation that was "traumatic" for residents and led to even more issues in terms of care quality.
A subsequent report from the Oregon Long-Term Care Ombudsman further condemned MHSL as well as the DHS, alleging systemic failures from both parties.
“Mt. Hood Senior Living failed to lock and secure doors, as it is required in licensed memory care facilities. ... Mt. Hood Senior Living failed on multiple fronts to care properly for Ki Soon Hyun and the rest of the residents living there," Ombudsman Fred Steele wrote in his report.
The Ombudsman alleged that the DHS did not follow standard procedure for closing the facility, waiting almost a month after Hyun's death to investigate and then issuing an immediate closure when the process is intended to take around 30 days.
According to the LTCO report, the Oregon DHS is responsible for licensing long-term and residential care settings. The department also “provides an endorsement process” for licensing of care settings to provide state-approved memory care to those diagnosed with dementia.
Per the ODHS website, as part of licensing and endorsement, the ODHS makes sure the facility "meets requirements specified by Oregon Administrative Rules, State and Federal law. The department conducts routine inspections and investigates both licensing violations and allegations of abuse."
The investigation found that the Mt. Hood Senior Living Facility received its license to operate on February 7th, 2023 - despite its owners reportedly not having any experience running a care facility. The ODHS issued its endorsement for them to operate on the same day. These qualifications would include always locking and securing doors and routine ODHS inspections.
However, per the lawsuit and the LTCO report, these standards of operation were not fulfilled- which led to the death of Hyun.
The owner of MHSL has since appealed the closure of the facility. A hearing is scheduled for August 6-7.
A DHS spokesperson has told KATU on numerous occasions they aren't available for an interview due to "pending litigation."