Hospice Sued For Shocking State Of Elderly Woman's Body

AURORA, IL — A woman's estate has filed a lawsuit against an Aurora hospice center, saying the elderly woman was found dead, malnourished and maggot-ridden in 2018. Barbara Kessler was in the care of The Neighbors Next Door when the incident took place, according to Daily Herald.

The Estate of Barbara Kessler has filed a wrongful death and negligence lawsuit against the hospice center, which is run by Sheila M. White, a registered nurse.

The suit claims that Kessler weighed 71 pounds at the time of her death and that her autopsy ruled that malnutrition and dehydration played a part in her death, the Daily Herald reported. According to the lawsuit, Kessler had more than a dozen bed sores that were being fed on by maggots.

Neighbors Next Door has three hospice homes in Aurora. According to its website, Neighbors Next Door provides "round-the-clock care for individuals with moderate to good physical health and mobility" in a "homelike environment."

The website continues to say that Neighbors Next Door's "caring staff provides supervision of daily living activities such as eating, bathing, dressing, personal grooming, and taking medications ... We are here to assure that the individual needs of each resident are met round-the-clock!"

Neighbors Next Door's website said it is licensed by the Illinois Department of Public Health. Patch was unable to find a license using Illinois License Lookup, but did find a valid nursing license for White.

White did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Patch Thursday afternoon.

Kessler's estate seeks at least $50,000 in damages.