Volunteer Fired for Facebook Criticism of NKY Care Center

A Volunteer’s Efforts to Improve Regency Manor

Rachel Paxitzis lived in the same neighborhood as the Regency Manor for years, but she didn’t pay much attention to the assisted living facility in Independence, Kentucky, until she saw a social media post earlier this month asking if anyone could help spruce up the place. Paxitzis, an artist who’s handy around the house, stopped by the next day. She said she quickly found plenty to do.

She power washed the patio, bought and planted flowers, painted rusting lawn furniture, and made plans to tackle an interior that she said was in poor condition. She recruited more volunteers on Facebook and launched a GoFundMe page for the 40 or so residents who live there.

“It’s worse than a homeless shelter,” she said.

Less than two weeks later, her volunteer work has drawn attention to more than the Regency Manor’s landscaping shortcomings. The place has for years been cited by state and local officials for myriad health and safety violations, including some that were deemed so severe that the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services attempted to shut down the facility in 2025.

Although a judge ultimately refused to close Regency Manor, finding the state did not provide enough evidence to take such action, the year-long fight in Kenton County Circuit Court brought forth numerous accusations from state inspectors. Those included mishandling narcotics, keeping incomplete medical records, allowing temperatures to get too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter, and failing to “maintain a clean, safe, sanitary, odor free environment.”

“The residents of Regency Manor’s rights are being violated daily,” the state claimed in its lawsuit.

Regency Manor’s owner, Eldercare Partners, could not immediately be reached Monday, but the company has denied the accusations about the facility in legal filings. A manager at the facility told The Enquirer on Monday that no one there could comment.

Paxitzis said managers at Regency Manor, who initially welcomed her volunteer work, informed her last week she’s no longer welcome there. She said they didn’t like her Facebook posts about the facility and suggested her GoFundMe page, which raised about $1,700, may not be legal. She said her recruitment of volunteers also became a problem, because some of those volunteers later complained to authorities about living conditions at Regency Manor.

“It’s really sad,” Paxitzis said. “I really wanted to help them.”

Concerns Raised About Resident Safety

Inspectors found some residents were ‘in immediate peril’

Officials with the Cabinet for Health and Family Services declined to discuss the center Monday, but they said in their lawsuit that inspectors at Regency Manor reported two incidents involving residents who were “in immediate peril.” One resident, they said, wandered away from the facility and was injured after being struck by a car, while another was a known suicide risk who twice was found with string or ribbon tied around her neck.

The state claimed Regency Manor should lose its license because managers failed to create and put into action a care plan for those residents. The facility’s lawyers, however, successfully argued managers were not required under state law to do so. The judge dismissed the lawsuit, allowing Regency Manor to remain open.

Other lawsuits have made similar claims. The family of Sherry Moore, who died in August 2022 after walking away from the facility, accused Regency Manor of failing to adopt or implement procedures for securing and observing residents with dementia or other disorders that require close attention. According to the lawsuit, police had been called to the facility 20 times in the previous year because of resident falls and injuries.

Moore, who was 67, was found dead in a wooded area about 300 yards from the facility, about a week after she walked away. “As a direct result of the Defendants’ conduct, (Moore) died a painful, laborious, and agonizing death, all of which was preventable but for the carelessness, gross negligence, recklessness, and indifference of the Defendants,” the lawsuit states.

In their response, attorneys for Regency Manor said they “dispute all of the Plaintiff’s allegations.” The case still is unresolved.

A more recent lawsuit, filed in December 2025 by a former employee, accused the facility of negligence, retaliation and creating a hostile work environment. The lawsuit claimed the facility suffered from pest infestations, malfunctioning alarms, unsafe temperatures and “insufficient dietary funding.” Regency Manor’s attorneys denied the allegations in court filings.

Fire Inspections Highlight Past Violations

Fire inspections found multiple violations

Paxitzis said the conditions she encountered concerned her, but her goal was to work with the facility to improve them. She said that’s why she used Facebook to recruit more volunteers and why she visited the facility every day for almost two weeks to help clean and beautify the grounds.

She said her social media posts also were intended to provide transparency to her GoFundMe page, so donors would know where their money was going. “I’m doing this on my own time,” Paxitzis said. “I’m trying to help these people.”

Independence Fire Chief Scott Breeze said he’s familiar with some of the issues Paxitzis raised about the facility, but he said Regency Manor currently is complying with fire code regulations. That hasn’t always been the case, he said. Fire inspection reports from the past several years show multiple violations and fines.

Last year, fire inspectors cited the facility for failing to maintain a fully operational sprinkler system and clear exit aisles. The fire department fined Regency Manor $800. Since 2022, the facility has been cited for holes in the walls and ceiling, exposed wiring, obstructed sprinkler system heads, malfunctioning smoke detectors, improperly stored compressed gas cannisters, and obstructions and “combustible materials” in exit aisles.

“We have had some issues with them in the past,” Breeze said.

Though she didn’t intend to get into a dispute with management, Paxitzis said, she hopes her volunteer work and social media posts about Regency Manor bring attention to neighbors in need. She said she’s less concerned about legal filings or inspections than she is about the daily lives of the people who live there.

In a long Facebook post before she was fired from her volunteer job at Regency Manor, Paxitzis explained why she got involved and urged her friends to join her. “We have so much,” she wrote. “Let’s give generously with our time, talents and resources … Let them know they are worthy of it. Look at their faces. These are the people who need you.”