Former caregiver sentenced in death of patient

In a rare conviction involving elder neglect, a former caregiver at a Kirkland adult family home was sentenced to 31 months in prison on Friday for the preventable death of Jean Rudolph, 87, who died from untreated pressure sores.

Rudolph’s mistreatment at the Houghton Lakeview adult home was detailed two weeks ago in The Seattle Times’ continuing investigation into adult family homes. The Times reported that hundreds of seniors have been injured or died prematurely from substandard care, usually at the hands of scantly trained caregivers.

Rudolph, a retired nursing educator, languished for 22 days without proper care in 2008 before her family was notified that bedsores had burrowed to the bone; the sores ultimately killed her.

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