Residents removed from group home

Authorities have visited the home due to previous complaints.
By PETER H. MILLIKEN
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
GREENE -- State and local authorities are investigating an unlicensed group home from which six elderly residents were removed and taken to St. Joseph Health Center in Warren for evaluation.
"What we found were elderly people in deplorable conditions behind locked doors with metal grates over the windows, medications in disarray, the place reeking of urine," said John Saulitis, long-term care ombudsman for the District XI Area Agency on Aging in Youngstown.
Acting on a complaint, Saulitis and two Ohio Department of Health inspectors went to the home at 10140 Higgens-Dorset Road Wednesday afternoon. The home, which has an Orwell mailing address, is on an unpaved road in rural northern Trumbull County near the Ashtabula County line.
Officials called
The inspectors called the Trumbull County Sheriff's Office, and Sgt. Donald Hyde went to the scene. Because of fire safety issues, Greene Township firefighters also were at the scene, Saulitis said. Residents locked in upstairs rooms with metal window grates would not be able to evacuate in an emergency, Saulitis explained.
Judge Thomas A. Swift of Trumbull County Probate Court ordered five women and a man removed to St. Joseph's for physical and psychological evaluation, followed by placement in the least restrictive available alternative setting. Some of that group were admitted to the hospital and others were discharged with family members late Wednesday, according to a probate court spokeswoman.
Those residents were taken from the home by ambulance or ambulette to St. Joseph's. Saulitis said three of the home's occupants had to be removed on gurneys. A seventh resident, a female, was removed to her family's care.
The seven ranged in age from their mid-to-late 70s to their mid- to-late 90s, Saulitis said. Some were confused, nonverbal, bed-bound or unable to walk, he said. But he said two of them "were less cognitively impaired and appeared to be well taken care of."
Two other female residents were away from the facility at the time of the inspection, and arrangements were being made for them to be cared for elsewhere, Saulitis said. Facilities that care for more than two people must have a state license, Saulitis said.
Owners
The home is owned by Anthony and Joanie Wroblesky, who reside on the premises and were present for Wednesday's inspection, Saulitis said.
Saulitis said he and ODH officials have been at the home several times over the past few years to investigate complaints. ODH ordered 13 people removed from the facility about five or six years ago because it lacked a license, he recalled.
Anthony Wroblesky declined to comment Thursday afternoon. "We're not in the mood for that, sir," he told a reporter who sought an interview by telephone.