“They need to be human about what’s going on and be responsible and make some exceptions,” said Alecia Smith whose 84-year-old father is one of the residents.
DALLAS — Bankruptcy proceedings and a dispute over who can legally take over the operation of a group of assisted living homes in North Texas has 60 elderly residents facing potential eviction.
Silver Leaf Assisted Living operates multiple assisted living homes in Grand Prairie, Dallas, Plano, Frisco, and Denison. Several residents are cared for in each home located in single-family neighborhoods.
But 11 of those homes entered bankruptcy proceedings last year. A different health care company, Evergreen Assisted Care, says it agreed to operate the 11 homes after being contacted by two banks involved in the bankruptcy proceedings, with the goal of not disrupting the living arrangements for the residents.
Evergreen says it entered the new homes as an operator on March 4.
“We have been working fervently to ensure the residents have been cared for and the families have been communicated with,” said Evergreen Assisted Care chief marketing officer Samantha Hankerd. “We have partnered with the state every single step of the way and followed their guidance in regard to our approach to get the licenses transitioned.”
But in a statement to WFAA, Texas Health and Human Services spokesperson Thomas Vazquez explained why, instead, the residents and their families have been given 10 days to find new places to live.
“On March 26, HHSC simultaneously issued a cease-and-desist letter to Evergreen ordering it to halt operations and an emergency suspension and closure order for all SilverLeaf locations operated by Evergreen,” he said in the HHSC statement.
“HHSC issued these actions due to SilverLeaf’s state license remaining active while Evergreen took over operations at buildings where they do not have a state license to provide assisted living services.”
“Note, this is not a change of ownership (CHOW) situation. The current licensee, SilverLeaf, must agree to the CHOW and did not sign documents in agreement with one. Merely filing a CHOW application with the state doesn’t complete this change. Evergreen is licensed to provide care in other locations in Texas but that does not mean it can operate anywhere in the state. Licenses at other locations are not transferable.”
Hankerd says it is unprecedented in the State of Texas for a former owner not to sign over its license.
Alecia Smith’s 84-year-old father is one of the 60 patients now in limbo.
“They need to be human about what’s going on and be responsible and make some exceptions,” said Smith. “They need to change these rules.”
“And now for the state to say we’ve got to go find a new home is not just something that can be done just like that,” said Bill Holder, whose 93-year-old father is also among the residents.
Haley Thorne’s grandmother is a resident at one of the facilities in Grand Prairie.
“We had no idea what was going on. Somebody should have let us know,” Thorne said of the bankruptcy proceedings. “And that just goes back to how grateful we are for Evergreen for coming in and trying to handle this mess.”
Throne says she will do everything in her power to keep her grandmother where she is.
“It’s atrocious and the victims are the seniors and their care providers who deserve care from people they can trust and governmental officials who care about the outcome and implications of their decisions,” added Samantha Hankerd.
As for Dan Blackburn, the owner of Silver Leaf, his attorney, Robert Bucholz, would only tell WFAA that “due to pending litigation we cannot comment at this time.”
As of this writing, the residents and their families have seven days remaining in the HHSC order to find new accommodations. HHSC says its staff is working to find “alternative long-term care options of their choice.”
