Adult family home owner gets one-year sentence in mistreatment case

In a conviction with broad implications for those who provide care to the aged, the former owner of a Kirkland adult family home was sentenced to a year in jail on Friday for the preventable death of Jean Rudolph, 87, who died from untreated pressure sores.

Patricia Goodwill, 62, was sentenced for second-degree criminal mistreatment. As part of her guilty plea, she admitted to creating an "imminent and substantial risk of death" by failing to ensure proper care for Rudolph at Houghton's Lakeview adult home, according to court records.

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.

Complications from the wounds ultimately killed her, said King County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Page Ulrey.

Adult family home owners are rarely charged with neglect, state records show.

This conviction is also unusual because Goodwill did not live in the adult home. Instead, she delegated day-to-day care to an unlicensed caregiver. King County Superior Court Judge Mary Yu noted, however, that Goodwill had daily contact with caregivers and was "ultimately responsible."

The Seattle Times detailed Rudolph's neglect in September as part of a continuing series, Seniors for Sale.

The Times found hundreds of seniors who had been injured or died prematurely from substandard care inside adult homes, usually at the hands of scantly trained caregivers.

Rudolph's death casts a spotlight on the role of the state Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS), which oversees adult homes.

The home was cited more than a dozen times for serious violations since 2005, state records show.

DSHS investigators determined that several caregivers had disqualifying felony convictions such as child abuse, assault and drug possession.

One caregiver forged a training certificate; another caregiver forged a nursing-assistant license.

Goodwill told the court Friday that she made a "tragic decision" to trust her caregiver, Effie Tutor, while she provided care to her 3-year-old grandson who later died from cancer. She apologized to the Rudolph family.

Tutor, 40, was sentenced to 31 months in prison in September for first-degree criminal mistreatment involving Rudolph's death.

Goodwill's adult homes in Kirkland and Marysville have closed. The Rudolph family has filed a civil suit against Goodwill and DSHS.

In arguing against a jail sentence, Patricia Goodwill's husband, Jerry, warned that incarceration would have a chilling effect on other adult home owners who dedicated their lives to helping the aged.

"If it happens to us, it can happen to anyone," he said.

Michael J. Berens: mberens@seattletimes.com or 206-464-2288