OCOEE, Fla. — There are new questions after a 90-year-old wandered out of an Ocoee assisted living facility Wednesday night.
Ocoee police say the 90-year-old woman was found safe nearly 24 hours later.
This is after that massive search Thursday that Eyewitness News brought you live at 4. Law enforcement searched by foot and water near Inspired Living, the assisted living facility where Shirley Anderson was last seen.
Ocoee Police shared a photo from surveillance video showing Anderson leaving the facility Wednesday night. But, was there staff supervising the exit when she wandered away?
Inspired Living shared a statement reading in part, “We have been diligently investigating the circumstances that led to those events and collaborated closely with law enforcement to provide any and all information.”
The facility added “As a community dedicated to the safety, comfort, and wellbeing of our residents, we are taking this situation extremely seriously.”
“It’s not supposed to happen. And when it does happen, it becomes a matter for the regulators to come in and investigate. Often they will. They will be fined,” said Lindsay Peterson with the University of South Florida’s School of Aging Studies.
Peterson says assisted living facilities like Inspired Living have less regulation than a retirement home and less staffing. They’re only inspected about every two years, Peterson said.
However, she says, if a resident wanders out of the facility, like Shirley Anderson did, it typically triggers an investigation by the state’s Agency for Healthcare Administration (AHCA).
AHCA wouldn’t comment on any possibly investigation or incident, citing health privacy laws.
“Someone is always supposed to be there watching people as they come and go, very often in an assisted living. People have to be buzzed in,” Peterson said.
9 Investigates found this is not the first time inspired living has lost one of its residents.
In February 2022, Manatee County Sheriff’s Office says William Coleman walked away from Inspired Living Hidden Lakes location.
In May 2023, Palm Beach authorities say Brian Yoder, who suffered from dementia, was found dead in a nearby canal. Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office said Yoder wandered from the Inspired Living Delray Beach location the day before.
“This is probably one of the worst things that can happen at an assisted living community,” Peterson said.
“What questions do you. ask yourself when you hear of a situation.. where someone wanders away?,” Webb asked.
“My first thought would be, were there any staff around to see that this person was potentially leaving the facility, that someone was potentially putting themselves at risk,” Peterson said.
Inspired Living said they wouldn’t comment on the previous cases due to quote the privacy of our residents.
Full Statement from Inspired Living:
“First of all, we are so happy to report that the resident from yesterday’s events, who we care about deeply, is safe and well, and our team is excited to welcome her back home. And we extend our sincere and deep gratitude to the Ocoee Police Department for their swift and extensive response in conducting a full-scale search yesterday, as well as everybody else who assisted in the efforts. We also have been in close contact with the resident’s family throughout the efforts, and we are sending them our best wishes after a difficult day that we are so grateful ended with their reunion with their loved one.
As a community dedicated to the safety, comfort, and wellbeing of our residents, we are taking this situation extremely seriously. In yesterday’s events, we immediately conducted a full search of the building upon learning there was a possibility the resident was not in her room, and we contacted law enforcement once that was completed. We have been diligently investigating the circumstances that led to those events and collaborated closely with law enforcement to provide any and all information.
Our residents mean so much to us, and we are grateful that this resident is safe and well. Our residents and team members are paramount to our organizational mission. These kind of events are extremely unfortunate as we have imposed high standards of protocol to ensure the safety of all of our residents.”
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