TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — The son of a Tampa nursing home resident said the rent is up, but the quality of care has gone down.
The Fiore family is hands-on and involved with their 84-year-old mother’s care at Sodalis Senior Living in Tampa. They fear other residents don’t have advocates to step in to do the same.
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They don’t want the facility to be shut down, they want Sodalis to make good on their promises.
84-year-old Patricia Fiore’s family moved her into Sodalis Senior Living in Tampa in December 2023 for some extra care and social interaction.
“I didn’t put her in the facility so I would have to go over there and deal with these situations,” said William Fiore, Patricia’s son. “I put her in there, so she was being taken care of, and I could go visit and not have to visit with the staff and things like that and check on what’s going on.”
Fiore is not claiming the facility to be negligent. Instead, he’s raising concerns in the hopes of seeing positive change and stability.
Fiore pays $3,000 a month for his mother’s assisted living care. According to its website, Sodalis Senior Living manages 36 independent living, assisted living and memory care communities in Florida, Texas, and Georgia.
“They’ve been through a lot of people, and there’s a lot of things going on, so a lot of the stuff that was happening in there because it wasn’t being managed right,” Fiore said.
8 On Your Side spoke with the company’s chief officer of operations, Dennis Knapp, who said: “Sodalis takes the concerns of our residents very seriously, and issues brought to our attention will be investigated.”
In the meantime, Fiore said there have been times where the services are lacking, especially following the hurricanes, and then the holidays.
“People started calling in sick,” Fiore said. “They don’t have back up so now my mother didn’t get her shower. She went a week without a shower.”
Patricia documents everything on a white board, including the one day she wasn’t served dinner.
So Fiore turned to the vice president of operations at the time, Sean Nelson who wanted to “schedule an in person care plan review.”
In October, Nelson sent out an email notifying Fiore how he was implementing a plan to better communicate with residents and their families about their experience at Sodalis. The company told 8 On Your Side the meeting never happened because Nelson’s position was eliminated.
On top of that, Fiore said rent recently increased by 8%, which he knew about when he signed on, so it came as no surprise.
“I don’t have a problem with the increase, if the services are there,” Fiore said.
Fiore said it hasn’t all been bad. The facility is well maintained. There are nurses and staff members who go out of their way to care for his vulnerable mother, but he fears there is a larger problem at hand with alleged theft of missing items, turnover of staff and leadership, including the recent resignation of the facility’s executive director leading to inconsistency and stress on residents.
“Family members need to be involved with what’s going on with these facilities, and they need to be on top of the people and the best way to reform,” Fiore said. “It is to get more of the families involved.”
The company’s chief officer of operations said Sodalis’s team has set up a family’s meeting to hear concerns firsthand. 8 On Your Side was also told the former executive director quit without notice, and the woman who will fill that position is a familiar face for residents and families. Her name is Michelle Goodreau.
Records show the state Agency for Health Care Administration, which inspects and oversees these facilities, fined Sodalis Tampa $1,000 for not having an emergency plan approved by the county’s emergency management back in 2022.
8 On Your Side also found during an inspection last April, Sodalis was cited for 20 deficiencies including: six staff members not having a background screening.
The facility did not provide at least one staff member with the proper training and an inspector found the facility did not have three day emergency supply of non-perishable foods to support its residents. AHCA reported a month later, those deficiencies were corrected.
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