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'I feel very helpless' Residents scramble to find new homes after state orders shutdown of assisted living facility

Carole Anderson, who once admired living at Camino Real Senior Living, said people are crying and confused after learning of the notice to vacate on Oct. 15.

SAN ANTONIO — Residents of a San Antonio senior assisted living facility are being forced out after the state health department ordered the home to close due to unspecified health and safety concerns.

Texas Health and Human Services ordered the emergency closure of Camino Real Senior Living on the northeast side Oct. 15.

A department spokesperson could not provide immediate details about the health and safety concerns surrounding the facility’s shuttering.

Confused residents say they have 10 days to pack up and find somewhere else to live.   

“I feel very helpless. People are crying like crazy here,” said Carole Anderson.

“It’s like they’re bum rushing us out the door,” said Peggy Henry.

Anderson and Henry are both San Antonio natives who’ve lived at Camino Real Senior Living for several years. They’re among the more than 130 residents rushing to find other living accommodations after the announced closure order.

Anderson noted she’s admired for the most part her time living at Camino Real Living.

“I loved living here when it was Brookdale but when it changed ownership, everything started to go to pot,” Anderson said.

Unwelcomed residents would make frequent visits to the facility over the years.

“There were bedbugs and well I don’t know if you want to hear all that.”

KENS 5 reported on a roach infestation at Camino Real Senior Living in August.

One man shared the story of his father who was greeted by insects all over his room, including the bed, windows and bathroom surfaces.

Priority Life Care, the management company, claimed they were taking aggressive action against the insect invasion.  

Texas Health and Human Services has cited Camino Real Senior Living on several occasions, according to public online data going back to 2019.

One of the violations and enforcement actions occurred on Nov. 5, 2019 for failure to ensure residents were “free of abuse, neglect and exploitation.”

Another violation from the same year dealt with failure to “provide a safe and decent living environment.”

Anderson and Henry are now scrambling to gather their personal belongings and research new facilities to live.

KENS 5 observed multiple moving companies assisting with the loading of boxes and furniture onto trucks.

An onsite company spokesman could not provide an immediate statement as how to what prompted the closure and how residents are being helped as they transition into new homes.

“They don’t want us to bring any boxes. They want you to hang up clothes and you,” Henry said.

Henry may end up at an assisted living center in Lytle, which she stressed is not home for her since she grew up in the Alamo City.

“This has become my neighborhood. I grew up on the north side,” Henry said. “We may be old but we’re not done yet and I just really wish they would treat us like regular citizens.”

As for Anderson, she’s thankful for family and friends in helping her secure a new living situation amid the confused chaos. But she acknowledges not everyone has the same level of support.

“My cousin has found a few that are based on my income and the social worker also but they all have a waiting list,” she said.

“We may be old but we’re not done yet and I just really wish they would treat us like regular citizens,” Henry said.

 

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