Alzheimer's patients forced to move again after tornado damaged Rowlett facility

After a month of living in limbo, 43 Alzheimer's patients displaced by last month's tornado in Rowlett are being forced to move again

The women were moved to Winters Park Assisted Living Facility in Garland on Dec. 26, after a tornado damaged their rehab center in Rowlett. Both facilities are owned by the same company.

The state said it would allow the women to stay if certain conditions were met. The facility instead opted to discharge the patients, leaving some family members scrambling to find them a new home.

The Garland facility would have needed to address concerns about overcrowding and add things like a push call-button in rooms to satisfy state officials.

Tina McMillan-Sweat said she can't afford the $4,000 to $6,000 monthly premium to put her mom in a private memory care facility, so her options are limited.

“We are struggling,” McMillan-Sweat said. “Everyone is struggling to try to find a place that's Medicaid and Medicare funded.”

McMillan-Sweat is normally at work on Friday, but she took the day off in order to find her mom Joyce a new place to live out the rest of her life.

“You just have to trust God to take care of things,” McMillan-Sweat said. “That's what my dad said -- we just put it in God’s hands and do the best we can."