Patient dumping lawsuit: gloria single’s story

Gloria and Aubrey Jones Gloria Single won a landmark legal victory against the illegal practice of patient dumping, but she didn’t live to see that victory. Instead, her son Aubrey Jones

carried the case on after his mother’s death because, as he puts it, “That’s what Mom would have done.” A ruling last January in the case, in which Gloria and her son were represented by

AARP Foundation and BraunHagey & Borden LLP, found that Gloria’s nursing facility had violated both California state and federal laws by refusing to let her come back to the place she

called home after an evaluation at a local hospital. The ruling reinforces the legal protection nursing facility residents across the country have against such evictions. Gloria’s story is

one of family, of strong relationships, of love for whatever place we come to call our home. You only have to talk to Aubrey for a few minutes to know how much he treasured her and the care

he and her brothers got from her well into their adulthood — and how difficult it was to see her lose so much in her final days. A DEPTH OF COMMITMENT  Gloria worked hard to raise her three

boys in the foothills of northern California. “She was a very loving, caring person,” says Jones. “My brothers and I always came first.” Widowed in her late 40s, Gloria found love a second

time with Bill, a family friend. Aubrey remembers Bill being a positive influence in their lives, helping cut trees and taking them fishing. And when Aubrey’s youngest brother, Kelly,

struggled with a drug problem, Gloria was the literal moving force that took them to a new home in Idaho as Kelly had wanted, to get him away from the temptations. It worked. Given that

depth of commitment, it was only natural that a number of years on, when financial strain became a problem for Gloria and Bill, Aubrey and his wife, Molly, moved them into their home in

Sacramento. “At that point, though, Mom’s health was really struggling,” Aubrey says. “She’d been a smoker; she couldn’t really get around, she needed to be on oxygen.” More importantly, he

says, Gloria and Bill wanted their own place. Aubrey found Pioneer House in the community, and Bill and Gloria moved to independent living there. After a while, Bill’s health took a turn,

and he was moved to skilled nursing within the same Pioneer House building. Eventually, Gloria moved to skilled nursing as well. Gloria and Bill in happier times. “MAYBE THIS IS NOT OUR

FAULT” But Gloria, who was 82 and had dementia, would often become agitated, and Aubrey would have to go calm her down. After one incident when Gloria allegedly threw plastic cutlery,

Pioneer House called emergency personnel to take her to hospital for a psychiatric evaluation. After an examination, Gloria was cleared by the hospital to return to her facility. It was then

that Aubrey learned that Pioneer House would not be taking Gloria back. Bill was, of course, still there, and Gloria’s angst was apparent to Aubrey. “She wants to be by Bill,” he says,

remembering the moment. “She wants to be there.”