An Arizona woman endured an unimaginable horror when she discovered her elderly uncle’s decaying body left unattended in his assisted living facility for nearly a week. This shocking neglect raises critical questions about the care standards at LifeStream at Sun City.
Angela Boorn, who regarded her 75-year-old uncle, Gerald McClellan, as a second father, found him slumped in a chair on October 16. Having visited with her usual positive greeting, she was met with silence that turned into a nightmare.
Upon entering his room, she was faced with what can only be described as a grotesque scene. “It looked like a skeleton in a chair,” Boorn stated, horrified by the sight. A simple visit turned into a traumatic discovery of neglect that no family should ever have to experience. She forcefully confronted the staff about their lack of checks, only to learn that no one had looked in on him for four days.
Boorn, who had entrusted her uncle’s care to this facility after his wife passed away, now grapples with overwhelming guilt. She paid $1,700 monthly with the belief that LifeStream had adequate safeguards against such tragedies.
The facility had a daily check-in system, meant to ensure residents signal their well-being each morning. Boorn faithfully believed that a staff member would reach out to her uncle by 10 a.m. every day. However, after failing to receive a response when they attempted to call him, the staff neglected their duty to personally verify his safety. The result? Four agonizing days without any intervention.
Local authorities later confirmed that McClellan had been deceased for three to four days before the assisted living center finally contacted emergency services. This profound lapse in care demands accountability.
In a generic response, LifeStream at Sun City expressed sadness over McClellan’s passing, extending “heartfelt condolences” to the family. But such statements repel scrutiny when juxtaposed against the stark reality of negligence that allowed this tragedy to occur. The public deserves assurance that facilities are held to the highest standards of care—because no one should have to suffer a fate like Gerald McClellan’s.
