Family of 83-year-old woman found dead asks for more control

SALEM, Ore. — The family of Ki Soon Hyun spoke to lawmakers in Salem Wednesday morning, calling for more oversight and accountability for long-term care facilities across the state. Their testimony comes six months after her 83-year-old mother was found dead after running away from a dementia care facility in Sandy.

Less than 24 hours after Ki Soon’s family brought her to Mount Hood Senior Living, she disappeared. On Christmas Day, her body was found in the woods, half a mile from the facility.

“I never imagined I would be here today,” said Tim Hyun, Ki Soon’s grandson. “That anything that happened last Christmas would ever have happened. My grandmother did not die of old age. She did not die because her time had come. She died because those who were supposed to be trustworthy, who we trusted, did not care for her and look out for her, completely and utterly failed.”

Ki Soon’s daughter, Alex Smith, called on the state to do better — specifically, for the Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS) to do better through policy changes. She suggested screening and security audits of all long-term care facilities, as well as increased monitoring to ensure other vulnerable seniors don’t fall through the cracks.

“I miss her very much. Our mother deserved better,” she said. “We must hold DHS accountable to tighten licensing requirements and reduce safety risks by providing much more rigorous oversight, regulation and training of all long-term facilities in Oregon.”

The director of DHS’s Office of Seniors and People with Disabilities was also in the committee room and informed the families that she was limited in her testimony on this specific case due to pending litigation.

“I want to start by thanking the families here. I’m at a loss for words… I’m at a loss for words,” said Dr. Nakeshia Knight-Coyle. “It may seem like I don’t want to cooperate or share, but that’s just not the case. I take safety and the events that are happening very seriously, extremely seriously.”

Last month, Ki Soon Hyun’s family filed a lawsuit in Multnomah County against DHS and the facility, seeking tens of millions of dollars in damages for personal injury and wrongful death.

When the family learned of Ki Soon’s disappearance, Mt. Hood Senior Living did not notify them until late afternoon and did not call police to inform them of the situation, the lawsuit says. The Hyun family did not learn of their mother’s disappearance until shortly after 3 p.m., when a police officer called them.

Before Ki Soon moved in, the family informed the facility of the danger of her wandering. The facility assured them it had the necessary safety measures in place, the lawsuit says. However, the Hyun family said that turned out to be completely untrue.

An ombudsman’s report following Ki Soon’s death concluded that not only did Mt. Hood Senior Living fail to care for her and the other residents, but the facility’s owner and many of its employees and managers lacked experience in the field.