UPDATE: Brompton Heights has confirmed an elopement happened sometime last week. The facility will only say that resident who wandered is now "safe" and is not providing additional information.
ORIGINAL STORY: The New York State Department of Health confirmed to 7 Eyewitness News it is investigating Brompton Heights Assisted Living, on Brompton Road in Williamsville. The department is looking into allegations a resident left the facility.
Brompton Heights describes itself as a "luxurious assisted living and memory care residence".
Here is the full statement from NYSDOH:
"The New York State Department of Health takes the health and safety of assisted living residents with the utmost seriousness. The Department's investigation into an alleged elopement at Brompton Heights Assisted Living is ongoing. As this remains an active investigation, we cannot comment further."
"Elopement" refers to a resident in an assisted living facility wandering from the center unsupervised.
Brompton Heights is affiliated with Hamister Group, LLC., a healthcare and hotel management company. Hamister Group is based in Buffalo and also operates two other senior living facilities in the state: Orchard Heights in Orchard Park and Heather Heights near Rochester.
Hamister Group has hotels in several states including New York, Missouri, Tennessee, Indiana and Pennsylvania. It also has a senior living facility in Maryland, as well as the three in New York.
Brompton Heights apologized in a statement to 7 Eyewitness News, but it is still not clear for what the company is apologizing.
Staff are undergoing additional training related to the safety of residents.
Here is the full statement from Brompton Heights:
"Leadership of our facility has discussed this situation with the family of our resident and we have offered our sincere apologies. Recognizing that the safety and well-being of every resident is of paramount importance, we are carefully reviewing our policies and procedures. Staff members are undergoing additional training to make sure they clearly understand the importance of these policies and procedures. We have briefed the New York State Department of Health and will keep them updated."
Anybody with concerns or wishing to file a complaint about assisted living facilities can call the "Centralized Complaint Intake for Adult Care" at 1-866-893-6772. All complaints are reviewed and kept confidential.
