ST. GEORGE, Utah, Feb. 14, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — An assisted living center in St. George has been fined $10,000 and its license placed in jeopardy after a resident found her way into a freezer, causing her death.
The Utah Department of Health and Human Services has fined The Meadows at Escalante and placed its license on a provisional status according to its Jan. 25, 2024, investigative report.
“It was discovered that a resident accessed the kitchen through unlocked doors, became trapped in the facility’s commercial kitchen freezer and later expired,” reads the UDHHS report.
The report cites numerous violations of regulations regarding monitoring of residents, supervision of employees and the lack of record keeping relating to the fatal incident. The provisional period for the license at The Meadows at Escalante extends to June 30, according to the department.
UDHHS advised the facility is in danger of losing its license, depending on the coming increased monitoring and spot inspections. The department also noted it was restricted by federal privacy laws from releasing any more details on the incident.
