An assisted living home in St. George is in danger of losing its license and has been fined more than $10,000 by the state after a female resident with dementia was found with hypothermia and frostbite in a kitchen freezer and later died.
According to a report from the Utah Department of Health and Human Services as well as the family of the deceased, 75-year-old Rickie Rubick was found by staff inside a locked kitchen freezer of The Meadows at Escalante assisted care facility at 950 S. 400 East on Jan. 18.
According to Rubick’s family, when she was found her body temperature was 79 degrees. She died four days later at St. George Regional Hospital.
St. George Police said there will not be a criminal investigation, but the state health department has placed The Meadows on a conditional license through June 30 – meaning the provider is “at risk of losing their license because compliance with licensing rules has not been maintained.” During this period, state inspectors are doing several additional, random monitoring inspections at the facility’s expense.
“A complaint investigation on Jan. 25, 2024 found that a resident became trapped in the facility’s commercial kitchen freezer and later died,” Katie England, a spokesperson with the Utah Department of Health and Human Services, told St. George News. “Our deepest condolences are with the person’s loved ones as they grieve this loss.”
Read more at stgeorgeutah.com.
This article is published through the Utah News Collaborative, a partnership of news organizations in Utah that aim to inform readers across the state.