DALLAS — A Texas Baptist multiservice benevolence agency announced Oct. 12 it will close a 75-bed facility Dec. 1 that offers assisted living, Alzheimer’s and hospice care, citing regulatory requirements for campus improvements administrators say they cannot afford.
After 57 years, the Mary E. Trew Home at Buckner Retirement Village will close doors to its assisted living, memory care and congregate living apartments. An independent-living facility on site will continue to operate. The announcement sends 51 current residents packing. Also affected are nearly 50 employees.
Affected families voiced disappointment about the closing, which was originally scheduled Nov. 9 but pushed back, in interviews with local media.
“It just seems incredibly insensitive, the timing and the callous way that it’s been prosecuted,” Brad Riza, who resides in the independent-living section 50 yards away from the Trew Home, told Dallas/Fort Worth TV station WFAA. “Does that sound angry? Well, maybe so. Am I emotionally involved? Darn right, I am. You are talking about my mom and dad.”
An inspection Aug. 11 by the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services (DADS) found five violations at Trew Home, including the door-locking arrangement in the memory-care unit and the lack of sprinkler systems in the facility. Affected families said they wonder why they weren’t informed at the time.
Buckner officials said the state has granted waivers in the past but this time ordered the problems fixed immediately, and that they had been working with the DADS for 30 to 45 days hoping to get the matter resolved.
Share with others: