Teens put in charge at Lehigh Acres senior home

LEHIGH ACRES, Fla. — The owner of a senior care facility operating out of a house placed her 11-year-old daughter and 17-year-old nephew in charge of patients on multiple occasions, a state investigation showed.

The Florida Agency of Health Care Administration revoked the license of the five-patient adult family care home at 510 Lincoln Ave. Owner Sylotte Pierre’s numerous violations included refusing to let a chaplain visit a patient because he was Catholic, the state agency said.

Pierre also failed to complete background checks on staff members or give them required training, according to the agency. Pierre denies the allegiations.

“I never left them one day without food,” she said of her patients. “I always made sure they had food, always made sure they were taken care of.”

Pierre, who was fined $2,500 as part of a settlement with the state, has no plans to try to get her license back.