State closes Lawrence Place

By Staff
Jonathan Willis
Family members trickled in and out of Lawrence Place assisted living on Tuesday, picking up remaining pieces of furniture left behind when the facility was quickly shut down Monday.
Franklin County Circuit Judge Terry Dempsey ordered that Lawrence Place be closed Monday morning. Family members of the 12 remaining residents had until midnight that day to find a place for the residents to live.
The judgment came early Monday after representatives with the state department of health asked that it be closed immediately.
Lawrence Place came under scrutiny last month when a report was issued giving the facility a health rating of 38 out of a possible 100 points.
The critical concerns at that time centered on the fact that Lawrence Place did not have a licensed administrator as well as issues related to resident care.
"This is absolutely one of the most egregious cases of elderly care that I've ever seen," said Rick Harris, director of health provider services for the Alabama Department of Public Health.
The state had reached an agreement with Lawrence Place owner Roger Jacobson earlier this month that gave Jacobson until March 7 to sell the business or be closed.
But health inspectors were back at Lawrence Place last week and found more violations that led to Monday's request that it be closed.
"We're pleased with the outcome and feel that (Dempsey) made the right decision," Harris said.
"It's the only decision that could be reached based on what was going on at Lawrence Place."
Jacobson said he had an agreement in place to sell the facility to Southern Rural Health Care Consortium, but state officials interfered with the process, resulting in Monday's forced relocation of residents.
Lawrence Place can house more than 30 people, but the numbers began to decline after questions arose last month about the facility's future.
Bob England was one of those forced to make plans to move his mother Monday morning. England said that although he had been pleased with his mother's care there, he had already planned to move her on Saturday because of the uncertainty of whether or not they would be closed.
"We expected this, but not now," he said as he packed his mother's belongings. "This caught us off guard."
England had already arranged for his mother to move into an assisted living facility in the Shoals area, but others were left scrambling Monday to make arrangements.
"I had talked to some other places but I hadn't made a decision," said Thomas Evans, who lived at Lawrence Place for almost eight years.
"I hate to go," he said, holding back tears.
"They have been real good to me here. I have no qualms about saying they did a good job on the whole."
Evans' family finalized plans to move him to a Florence facility late Monday, but he was concerned with how much more that would cost each month.
Jerry Groce, director of the Franklin County Department of Human Resources, said his office worked with state and Lawrence Place officials Monday to make sure that everyone was taken care of.
"We try to do what the family wants first," he said.
"But we do all we can to provide assistance and make sure that everyone is in a situation that is good for them."