Autopsy reveals cause of death for Twilite Manor resident who died in understaffed facility
A man who died last week at Cayce’s Twilite Manor assisted living facility had pneumonia, an autopsy by the Medical University of South Carolina found.
In sharing the findings, Lexington County Coroner Margaret Fisher said pneumonia is typically treatable.
“Pneumonia can be dangerous or life-threatening if untreated. Of course, pneumonia is usually treatable by a medical professional if diagnosed in time,” Fisher wrote in a statement on the findings. The autopsy results are preliminary, pending further tests to determine if other medical conditions were contributing factors, according to Fisher.
Twilite Manor had been understaffed Feb. 18, and residents had not been given medication or breakfast that morning, according to an inspection by the state’s Department of Health and Environmental Control released Tuesday.
Timothy Frank Catalano, 69, was found dead at Twilite Manor the morning of Feb. 18. An autopsy revealed he had severe pneumonia with abscesses in both lungs. When Cayce police arrived at the facility the morning of Feb. 18, they found one employee responsible for 16 residents and determined the situation was unsafe for those under Twilite Manor’s care. Police then took residents into protective custody.
State law requires that one employee be on duty for every eight residents during “peak hours” at assisted living facilities. Two employees should have been at Twilite Manor Feb. 18. The facility did not have a medical professional on duty, which Cayce police said was among the reasons for deeming the facility unsafe.
State agencies and an advocacy group for the disabled later rebuked Cayce police’s handling of the situation. State law does not require assisted living facilities to staff medical professionals. DHEC says despite being understaffed Feb. 18, the facility can serve residents, but the owners have reportedly not reopened. Property records show the facility is owned by Florida-based Seashar LLC, which is managed by Ronald and Ruby Gunraj. The business owners have been unavailable for comment.
Some of the displaced residents are now staying with relatives, while others were temporarily kept at Transitions Homeless Center, in a holding area the Department of Social Services uses in emergencies, according to a DHEC spokesperson. Now, 12 residents are being relocated “long-term.”
This story was originally published February 23, 2022 at 10:07 AM.
