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Nagasawa Park and Fountaingrove Lake in Santa Rosa's
Fountaingrove neighborhood where Varenna is located.

A recent lawsuit is alleging neglectful caregiving and elder abuse at one of Santa Rosa's most well-known retirement facilities.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of 91-year old Virginia King, against management at Varenna, a retirement community in Fountaingrove.

King has Alzheimer's disease, and has lived in a detached 'casita' at the upscale senior residential care facility since 2008.

The lawsuit was initiated by King's trustee, close a family friend. Ellen Leonidas is one of the attorneys representing King.

"Ms. King is now in a position where she needs assistance with activities of daily living such as bathing and using the toilet," Leonidas said.

A major cause of the lawsuit, Leonidas said, is a dispute over care giving.

"She hired caregivers to provide her assistance with these activities and they are skilled, they're able, they're willing to do that," Leonidas said.

King's attorneys allege that Varenna isn't allowing her hired caregivers to assist her with activities of daily living, and instead is requiring she pay extra for care provided by in-house staff.

"Particularly this becomes cruel when you consider that one of the activities she needs assistance with is using the toilet," Leonidas said. "So Varenna has taken the position that when this 91-year-old woman has to use the bathroom, she has to wait for Verena staff to come and assist her, which sometimes has taken in the past up to 30 minutes and on occasion even longer."

Gallaher Signature Living, the management company for Varenna at Fountaingrove, has denied the allegations.

In a statement, Gallaher Signature Living CEO Page Ensor said the company has been working with Ms. King, her representatives and California's Department of Social Services for several months. Ensor said they, "remain committed to working collaboratively with the Department to address the defendant’s concerns while continuing to uphold all regulatory requirements and provide the high level of care, services, and campus amenities our residents and families expect and deserve each day." 

Leonidas said because of the physical and emotional distress and embarrassment King has suffered, "we are seeking an injunction that directs Varenna to let her caregivers help her use the toilet, when she needs to use the toilet to help her shower when she needs to shower."

In addition to the caregiving concerns, a March 30th inspection report from the state Department of Social Services found Varenna violating state law for residential care facilities for the elderly by housing non-ambulatory seniors - those unable to walk independently - on the third floor.

Varenna was assessed an immediate $500 fine for the violation. A follow-up inspection on May 14th found that Varenna had addressed the issue and moved all non-ambulatory residents off the third floor before April 7th.

Varenna, Gallaher Signature Living, and the Gallaher Companies, which are all named in King's lawsuit, are registered to Sonoma County developer Bill Gallaher or his family members.

After staff abandoned residents during the 2017 Tubbs Fire, Varenna was placed under a five year injunction in September 2020 by California's Department of Justice and Sonoma County's District Attorney. It required them to create evacuation plans and not violate state code for elder care facilities, which includes getting proper clearance to house non-ambulatory residents.