Willow Crest Manor, a private assisted living facility in Pennsylvania’s Upper Moreland Township, has been closed down by the Department of Public Works after investigations into the suspicious deaths of two residents led to discoveries of negligence and rule violations on the part of its owner, Anand (aka “Dave”) Mittal.
After their investigation, DPW inspectors reported that Willow Crest neglected for several days to give a resident his twice daily medication, falsified medical records to cover up the mistake, and ignored a doctor’s recommendation to call 911 about a resident’s serious leg ulcers.
The DPW also found that medication at Willow Crest was given out by unlicensed and under-trained employees; that some residents received medications that had been recalled by the FDA; and that others were given meds without prescriptions. The facility neglected to get lab work done for one patient, and failed to report it when another patient fell down and required hospitalization.
Gross violations like these are tentatively being linked to the deaths of a 49-year old woman (the patient with leg ulcers, whose autopsy revealed widespread and deadly sepsis), and a 24-year-old man with cerebral palsy found dead in his bed.
According to the DPW, residents at Willow Crest were in “immediate and serious danger” due to lack of proper care at the facility. The agency ordered that all 51 residents, about half of whom are elderly and most of whom suffer from mental illness, be evacuated and relocated at once. Forty eight evacuated, and three stayed. Because facilities that house fewer than four residents are not under state jurisdiction, the DPW cannot force the remaining three to leave.
From the sound of it, Mittal’s facility (one of many he owns) should have been shut down long ago. For years, the DPW has been finding serious state violations at his other agencies—including Southampton Manor in Bucks County, and Diston Manor and Adelphia in Philadelphia—that have caused them to ban his operating licenses.
Over the summer, criminal charges were filed against Mittal for allegedly choking a Parkinson’s patient at Willow Crest. He’s now out on bail, but has been banned from his own property ever since.
We are so fortunate that the state has moved in to correct these horrendous wrongs. If you or a loved one were a victim of abuse at Willow Crest, please email Mike Ferrara at mferrara@ferraralawfirm.com. The Federal Government has found thousands of these types of violations around the country. It is a national disgrace. There are legal remedies for you if you suspect and kind of assisted living/nursing home abuse or nursing home neglect. The initial consultation with an attorney who handles nursing home abuse case is free.
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