On Tuesday, Steamboat Springs attorney Mark Fischer sent a letter of grievance and appeal on behalf of two people he represents who live at Casey’s Pond Senior Living and have received notices of involuntary discharge in the past month.

“I have a duty as a lawyer to look after those most vulnerable people that are being pushed around by the power brokers — which are the bondholders and the bondholders’ lawyers — that are forcing this down the throats of the most vulnerable,” said Fischer, who is working pro bono.

The letter was addressed to Bellann Raile with Cordes & Company; Leah McMahon, the state long-term ombudsman; and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. The letter was also a direct complaint to the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing.

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Also included were Jeanine Woosley with Casey’s Pond and Jill Vitale with Capella Living Solutions, which is working with other community groups to raise money they hope to use to purchase the facility.

On June 30, the Routt County District Court appointed Raile as the receiver to oversee the sale and day-to-day operations of the senior living community in Steamboat Springs.

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Residents living in the Doak Walker Neighborhood, which offers skilled nursing, were given 90 days’ notice on July 29 that they would have to leave. Residents of the assisted living community were told Aug. 15 that they have 90 days to relocate.

The real estate firm Coldwell Banker Richard Ellis placed the property on the market July 25, but a price point will not be determined until qualified bids are formally reviewed after the first round of bids are submitted on Sept. 9. The property is slated to be auctioned to the highest bidder Oct. 29.

“We’ve received formal grievance and appeal notices on behalf of a resident living in our skilled nursing and one living in our assisted living neighborhoods,” Raile responded in an email Tuesday. “We are working our way through the filing and will respond to each within the required time frame. We have followed all federal and state requirements with our processes. Receiving such grievance filings is not unexpected during this difficult situation, we will continue to work towards the best outcome possible for all residents, families and team members.”

Fischer said the notices received by residents go on to say the residents will be discharged to another facility of their choice or into the care of the person that holds the resident’s power of attorney.

“They’re saying, if you can’t find a facility to put your loved one in, then you have to take responsibility, care, custody and control,” Fischer said. “I’m saying that is nonsense. It is not the duty of an agent under a power of attorney — it’s not their responsibility.”

Fischer said that, to his understanding, residents, their families and agents have been told that if the residents have not found alternative placements, then their care becomes the obligation of the agent or the family. However, he contends the language of the court order puts that burden on the facility, and thus the receiver.

“I think that is a gross violation of their duties,” Fischer said. “That’s what I put in the letter and that’s kind of the bottom line.”

Fischer added that he believes this does not live up to the standard for a safe and orderly discharge that the court order mandates.

Rather, Fischer is arguing it is the facility’s responsibly to provide sufficient preparation for the residents to ensure a safe and orderly transfer of discharge. He also states that a nursing home resident at Casey’s Pond cannot be transferred to a lesser service-providing facility.

“What I am submitting and arguing is that when the bondholders took a mortgage on a facility that had assisted living and skilled nursing that are subject to a license by the State of Colorado, that license comes with rules and regulations governing that facility, and those rules and regulations have the rights of residents within them,” Fischer said. “The bottom line is that the attorney general, who represents Health Care Policy and Finance and the Colorado Department of Health and Environment, steps in and files an intervention action in district court … and says that these residents’ rights are not being protected in this foreclosure by the receiver.”