A senior living facility in Los Angeles has been charged in connection with 14 deaths that happened within its walls during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced the charges Tuesday against Silverado Senior Living Management, Inc., and three administrators of its residential care facility in L.A.
The deaths happened in March 2020 at the company’s Beverly Place facility in L.A.’s Fairfax District. The DA’s Office said Silverado admitted a new resident from a psychiatric unit in New York City, which was a hotbed for COVID-19 cases at the time. The resident was allegedly not evaluated or assessed for COVID-19 or other conditions before being admitted.
The resident began displaying symptoms of coronavirus infection the next day and ended up testing positive for the deadly disease. Gascón alleged that Silverado did not place them into isolation to prevent the resident from infecting others.
Following the admittance of the infected resident, a 45-day outbreak began which lead to 14 deaths, including one person who was only 32 years old.
“The Silverado management team was aware of the risks associated with admitting a new resident from a high-risk area and failed to follow the appropriate procedures to protect their employees and the vulnerable people in their care,” Gascón said in a news release. “These careless decisions created conditions that needlessly exposed Silverado staff and its residents to serious injury and, tragically, death.”
Charges were filed against the Irvine-based company, as well as CEO Loren Bernard Shook, 72, Jason Michael Russo, 49, and Kimberly Cheryl Butrum, 67. The three facility administrators face 13 felony charges for elder endangerment and five felony counts of violation causing death.
Gascón’s office also alleges that the facility did not take steps to prohibit the entry of individuals who recently traveled internationally to areas of high coronavirus transmission.
In total, 105 people, including 45 employees and 60 residents, tested positive for COVID-19.
Those who died were identified by the DA’s Office as Brittany Ringo, Elizabeth Cohen, Joseph Manduke, Catherine Apothaker, Jake Khorsandi, Albert Sarnoff, Dolores Sarnoff, Myrna Frank, Frank Piumetti, Jay Tedeman, Luba Paz, Kaye Kiddoo, Richard Herman and Michael Horn.
Relatives of some of the deceased patients have already filed their own lawsuits against the company.
The three facility managers were expected to be arraigned Tuesday at the Foltz Criminal Justice Center in downtown Los Angeles.
