Family of patient at troubled care facility in Oakland speaks out

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — The family of a woman who lived in a troubled assisted-living facility is speaking out after discovering the facility may have been operating without a license.

The family said their mother was not properly cared for, and they filed a police report on Thursday.

“We explained to them that my mother was in a wheelchair on oxygen,” said Becky, who did not want to give her last name.

A year ago, Becky’s 85-year-old mother had a fall that forced Becky and her siblings to place the matriarch in an assisted living facility.

After glowing recommendations and positive first impressions, they sought help from the people living in an Orange County mansion in Oakland on Tidenville School Road near State Road 50.

They found out later the home is under state and local investigations for allegedly running an unlicensed care facility.

Becky said at first, the facility was treating her mother well, but that changed over time.

She said during one of her visits, she found her mother in the care of teenagers and even alone.

“We could look for the staff and found them in the backyard by the pool,” Becky said.

She said she also found her mother hooked to empty oxygen tanks.

By June, her mother had to be hospitalized, but not before caretakers demanded a $2,500 payment.

Becky’s mother passed away, and now Becky is hoping the state will shut down the facility to spare another family her pain.

“She was a very gracious lady, very kind, very forgiving,” Becky said.

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