Four Senior Citizens Suffered Elderly Abuse At Facility

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Four senior citizens are in Department of Children and Families care and the owner of the assisted living center where they were staying is behind bars after police received a tip claiming elderly abuse. ADVERTISEMENT Four elderly people that lived in Jeffery Baumer's Lake Park facility are in DCF care, allegedly after suffering long-running abuse. Baumer made his first appearance in court Thursday, charged with elderly neglect after a woman living in his Lake Park facility sparked the investigation. Police said a female resident called the DCF hotline complaining that she'd just gotten out of the hospital and hadn't received a bath or her pain medication in three days. Investigators said that it appears Baumer had not been licensed to run the home since last March. Police noted all four residents smelled of urine, and the residents also allegedly told them they were hungry. Investigators also report they found a 90-year-old man sweltering in an unairconditioned back bedroom. Betty Zalkenburg came to court on jeffrey baumer's behalf. She said both her husband and her aunt lived for years at Baumers Hibiscus home, and she has nothing but praise for the way Baumer runs it. Baumer was released on supervised release, but wasn't home yet when the WPBF news team checked the home. His live-in maintenence man wouldn't invite us in, though he did say that there is plenty of food in the house and a housekeeper prepares three meals a day. The man said that the place is clean and that the urine odor is from residents who wear depends. Also, the man said the 90-year-old man prefers the un-airconditioned part of the house because the frail man gets chilled easily. A deputy at the scene confirmed the elderly woman's prescribed pain medication was all gone, and the 90-year-old man was attached to oxygen and in approximately 90 degree heat. WPBF is currently awaiting final word from state licensing officials on Baumer's licensing status, which our investigation shows to be expired.