Less than a year after a woman died from heat exposure in the courtyard of Aspen Ridge Memory Care in Bend, the facility has met all its licensing requirements and has been given a clean bill of health.

The Oregon Department of Human Services on June 4 conducted a full licensing inspection of the memory care facilities and found the facility to be in “substantial compliance” with licensing requirements, including correcting deficiencies that were found earlier. 

Still awaiting decisions are open investigations of Aspen Ridge by the department’s Adult Protective Services division, according to the human services department. When suspected abuse is substantiated, the Adult Protective Services unit determines sanctions or fines to be issued. 

The Department of Human Services removed the most severe of licensing limits that had been placed after the death of Celia Hess, 76. Those limits restricted the facility from accepting new residents. But as safety improvements were made, and restrictions were amended that allowed the facility to accept one resident a month. That restriction was lifted on Monday, according to the human services department. 

As of Thursday morning, the state’s licensing website, still shows a warning that the facility is under a license restriction. 

“Receiving a deficiency-free state survey (inspection) is a true testament to the dedication and compassion of our entire team,” said Mariah Tennison, Aspen Ridge Memory Care executive director. “Every day we strive to provide the highest level of care, dignity and support for our residents and their families. 

“This recognition affirms our unwavering commitment to excellence in memory care.“

Oregon law requires residential care facilities to be inspected every two years. Inspections are also done after a change of ownership. The inspection results are public and can be found on the department’s website.

Tennison and her team also are new. Since February the facilities — Aspen Ridge Memory Care and Aspen Ridge Assisted Living, across the street in east Bend — have been under a new management team. 

When Hess died on Aug. 30, the memory care unit was managed by Frontier Senior Living. Arete Living, a nationwide senior living company managing facilities, now manages the day-to-day operations at the two Bend facilities. The facilities have been owned by Arcus Healthcare Partners, a private investment firm that owns 31 senior living facilities across the country, since 2023. 

Arcus handles the budget and financial operations, said Tennison in an email to The Bulletin. Day-to-day management was left to Frontier and now is in the hands of Arete to implement policies and procedures for health licensing, staff management and quality oversight, she said. 

At the time of Hess’ death, staffing was identified as a problem, as well as alarms on the doors leading to the courtyard. On the day Hess died, several staffers called in sick and the decision was made not to call in replacements, according to documents provided by the human services department. Hess, dressed in multiple layers of winter clothes on a day when temperatures were in the 90s, wandered outside to the courtyard and was out there for an unknown amount of time. 

“While many facilities still struggle with adequate staffing, we are pleased to say we are well  overstaffed for our resident needs,” Tennison said. “Not only do we boast about this on site, but the state licensing team was very complimentary about our posted schedule and staff attitudes during their (visit) last week.”