A spokesperson for Atria Senior Living told McKnight’s Senior Living that the provider is offering “sincerest condolences” to the family of a 93-year-old resident who died after mistakenly being served dishwashing liquid instead of juice. The San Mateo County Coroner’s office has identified the deceased resident as Trudy F. Maxwell.
Two other residents of the San Francisco area assisted living and memory care community remain hospitalized following the apparent accidental poisoning.
The San Mateo Police Department said Monday that it had responded Sunday to Atria Park of San Mateo after a report of poisoning. An investigation revealed that three residents had been hospitalized after ingesting toxic chemicals. Detectives are actively investigating the case jointly with the California Department of Social Services Ombudsman and indicated that Atria is cooperating in the investigation.
“When this occurred, our staff immediately contacted authorities, and the residents were transported to the hospital for evaluation and treatment,” the spokeswoman told McKnight’s Senior Living. “We are conducting our own internal investigation, and the employees involved have been suspended until this investigation concludes.
“We will continue working with the police and Department of Social Services to fully review and assess the incident, after which we will take additional actions as needed.”
Not the first time
Dishwashing liquid has been involved in other tragic incidents at senior living communities.
The widow of a 95-year-old senior living resident who died in 2021 after mistakenly drinking dishwasher liquid recently filed a lawsuit against Sunrise Senior Living.
According to the lawsuit, Elmer Wisecarver, who moved into the memory care unit at Sunrise of Lenexa in Kansas in 2020, drank what he thought was cranberry juice from a cup left in the kitchen by an employee, the Kansas City Star reported. An employee allegedly poured detergent containing sodium hydroxide into a cup with the intention of adding it manually to a dishwasher that was not dispensing dishwashing liquid properly.
A Sunrise Senior Living spokesman told McKnight’s Senior Living that the company does not comment on ongoing legal matters.
In 2015, a jury awarded $5 million to the family of a Michigan senior living resident with dementia who died after ingesting dishwashing detergent. And in 2017, the Minnesota Department of Health found a memory care community responsible for the death of a resident who was left unattended and drank a lethal amount of dishwasher detergent.
