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Livonia Mayor Says Abrupt Closure Of Assisted-Living Home 'Sure As Hell Didn't Work'

LIVONIA (WWJ) -- The abrupt closure of a senior living center in Livonia this week -- which left dozens of families scrambling to make arrangements for loved ones -- has led to questions about how this type of situation could ever happen.

Two days later, residents of the Ashley Court assisted living center are still wondering why such little notice was given.

"You've got six hours, basically, to get them out of here. It was not a reasonable solution to the problem," said James McCann -- a former member of the Livonia City Council -- whose mother was among the 80 or so residents living at he center on Seven Mile Rd. east of Farmington Rd.

Five residents whose families couldn't get them moved out in time have actually become wards of the state. Adding to the chaos, local police and fire officials were not notified of the situation.

Livonia mayor Dennis Wright said it's a situation that simply cannot happen again.

"There's gotta be a better way, because it sure as hell didn't work," Wright said. "The owner and management should be ashamed of this facility."

Members of the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, which ordered the immediate closing over a building code violation and allegations of patient neglect, have not said why such little notice was provided.

In one case, a resident who had fallen was left on the floor overnight and developed kidney and circulation problems as a result. They say staff falsified documents claiming they had checked on the patient, but surveillance video shows not only did they not check on the fallen resident, but on no one else that night, reports WWJ's Stephanie Davis.

"I arrived at about 4:30 p.m.," Wright said. "I talked to a lot of people who were upset and panicky and trying to pick up their confused parents and grandparents. This is not how this should have been handled."

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