By Chronicle Staff
The controversy between Village Shalom and a resident regarding the senior living community’s decision to involuntarily discharge him is continuing. A hearing that was set to take place March 13 before a Kansas administrative law judge was expected to resolve the issue. However, an official ruling was never made as Village Shalom withdrew their request for the involuntary discharge. Village Shalom plans to refile the involuntary discharge, with additional evidence, with the State of Kansas sometime in the next couple of weeks, according to Village Shalom President and CEO Matt Lewis.
Norman Bresel, the resident appealing Village Shalom’s plan to involuntary discharging him, was represented by his daughter, Aliza Katz, who lives in Naples, Florida, and his daughter’s ex-husband, Steve Horak, who is a semi-retired lawyer (due to health reasons) living in Glenview, Illinois. Village Shalom was represented by their team of attorneys. Bresel did not attend the hearing.
Village Shalom provided The Chronicle with a written statement that said Village Shalom decided to postpone the discharge process with Bresel when they learned that the judge would not consider all additional incidents which have occurred since Village Shalom filed the involuntary discharge. The judge ruled that incidents that occurred more than 30 days after the November 2019 filing could not be included.
The judge denied a motion filed on behalf of Bresel, which asked the judge to rule that there was no evidence to support the involuntary discharge notice.
Bresel’s family was disappointed the hearing didn’t take place.
“We never got to the point to show how wrong, in my opinion, (Village Shalom) is,” Katz said. She added witnesses were in Topeka prepared to discredit Village Shalom’s allegations.
Katz said they are fighting Village Shalom to keep him in a Jewish environment where he wants to live and to preserve the “80-year-old’s good name.”
President and CEO Matt Lewis told The Chronicle the organization was also accompanied by witnesses. He said, “We came prepared to present all of our evidence and I think it’s important to know that the regulations aren’t always clear and there are different interpretations (of the regulations),” Lewis said. “He (the judge) acknowledged that in the hearing publicly.”
Lewis explained Village Shalom withdrew their involuntary discharge, which led to the case being dismissed, “So that we can provide more information and evidence.”
Throughout this process, and again in the most recent written statement, Village Shalom has reiterated its commitment to the safety of its residents, staff, families and guests as well as providing a welcome environment for them.
Matt Lewis said that operational changes have been made to better monitor Bresel’s behavior.
According to Village Shalom, this situation is behavior-based and related to one person. “It’s not about money. It’s not about Medicaid. It’s not about national stories that are going on in other communities,” Lewis said.
According to Village Shalom’s written statement, “As we have indicated before, all residents, including Mr. Bresel, will continue to receive the high level of care and compassion they have come to expect from Village Shalom.”
According to Aliza, her father said, “This is the only place I want to live. This is my home. These are my friends.”
“We feel very confident in our case and all of the evidence that we’ve submitted to the judge. We’ll be providing him with more evidence as well,” Lewis said.
Steve Horak said, “We just want him (Bresel) to be happy.”