Attorney General Ellison holds assisted-living facility accountable for breaking promise to residents

APRIL 2, 2021 (SAINT PAUL) — Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced today that his office has held an assisted-living facility accountable for not delivering promised services to its residents. Continental Gardens Senior Living, LLC doing business as Yorkshire of Edina Senior Living, advertised that it provided monthly “Wellness Visits” by licensed nurses — yet despite charging residents $300 per month for that service as part of a larger package, the facility failed to deliver on its promise. Of the facility’s 21 residents enrolled in its Wellness Package from May through August 2020, 20 of those residents did not receive a visit from a nurse or physician in at least one of those months, outside of any COVID-19 screen that may have been completed by a registered nurse. The facility advertised that its Wellness Visits provided a greater depth of monitoring and services to residents than its COVID-19 Screen.

Under the terms of an Assurance of Discontinuance filed in Ramsey County District Court yesterday, the assisted-living facility agreed to provide Wellness Visits as advertised, to not further engage in false advertising, and to pay $10,000 in settlement funds to be distributed to residents by the Attorney General’s Office or remitted to the general fund of the State of Minnesota. The facility has resumed providing Wellness Visits.

“Minnesotans of all ages deserve to afford their lives and live with dignity and respect. We trust nursing homes and assisted-living facilities with some of our most vulnerable citizens, and if those facilities violate that trust by failing to deliver services they’ve promised, I will make sure our seniors are protected,” Attorney General Ellison said. “This assisted-living facility cooperated with our investigation, and we are pleased with the outcome.”

“Protecting Minnesota’s seniors is a priority. I encourage everyone to remain vigilant and to report suspected elder abuse, scams against the elderly, or other lawbreaking to this Office,” Attorney General Ellison said. Minnesotans concerned about elder abuse can provide information either through an online complaint form or by calling the Attorney General’s Office at (651) 296-3353 (Metro) or (800) 657-3787 (Greater Minnesota).