By EMILY CORWIN • DEC 11, 2019
Vermont families who rely on eldercare homes often know little about their track records, despite state inspections that document problem after problem. Families make crucial care decisions in the dark.
Sherry Boudreau, a professional home-care provider, thought she was well qualified to make choices on behalf of her mother-in-law, Theresa Boudreau. The octogenarian agreed: As dementia was taking hold, she granted Sherry medical power of attorney.
Theresa, a resident of the Meadows at East Mountain in Rutland, began falling in 2015. She often tumbled from her wheelchair to the floor. In April 2018, the 87-year-old suffered a brain hemorrhage and broke facial bones in a fall that knocked her unconscious.