An assisted living facility in Minnesota is facing accusations of neglect after giving a resident 18 shots of liquor in the 24 hours leading up to a doctor’s appointment. The resident, Don Brambrink, was found to have a blood alcohol level of 0.23%, nearly three times the legal limit.

Investigation Finds Neglect

State investigators from the Minnesota Department of Health concluded that Covered Bridge Assisted Living in Holdingford was responsible for neglect after supplying Brambrink with a substantial amount of alcohol before his doctor’s appointment.

The facility’s registered nurse told investigators that Brambrink was given 2 shots of alcohol at 6:54 p.m., 2 shots at 8 p.m., and 2 shots at 9:20 p.m. the night before the appointment. The morning of the appointment, staff gave him 2 shots at 3:55 a.m., a beer at 5 a.m., and additional shots throughout the morning.

Brambrink’s primary care physician requested that he be sent to the emergency room, where he was found to have a blood alcohol level of 0.23%. The facility had a typed-out ‘alcohol plan’ for Brambrink, which stipulated that he receive two shots per hour because he was ‘trying to drown out the voices’ due to his mental health diagnoses.

Facility Defends Actions

The facility’s owner, Trista Barstow, defended the facility’s actions, stating that they are one of the few facilities that will take in ‘extreme alcoholics’ and that monitoring and trying to help them space out their drinking is a step in the right direction.

Barstow also stated that the facility respects the rights of competent adult residents to make lawful personal choices, including consuming alcohol, and that their responsibility is to educate them about the risks and respond appropriately when intervention is needed.

Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.