Tag Archives: Elder Abuse
The nursing home industry’s war to deny patients their day in court
by F. Paul Bland, Jr., The Legal Examiner
Arbitration is nothing like going to court. Arbitration takes place outside of a courtroom, without a judge, without a jury, and with limited opportunity to seek or present evidence. What’s more, the proceedings are entirely confidential and are often presided over by arbitrators paid for by the defendant. Read More ›
CFC supports AB 859
AB 859 (Eggman) will protect seniors abused in nursing homes and discourage facilities from destroying legal evidence in violation of the law. Read More ›
SB 648: Regulating Residential Care Referral Agencies
As the least-regulated long-term care facilities, RCFEs are easy targets for greedy referral agencies seeking to dump seniors in under-supervised environments. Some 7,800 RCFEs operate in California now, with roughly 175,000 beds available, and their numbers are expected to grow as the ranks of the elderly swell. Read More ›
Perilous Quarters: Deaths, Serious Injuries Highlight Longstanding Concerns Over Staffing Ratios In Assisted-Living communities
by Paul Sisson, San Diego Union-Tribune
In California, assisted-living facilities and memory-care centers are not technically medical establishments. They are not required to employ medically trained experts. Read More ›
Abandoned Nursing Home Residents Live Months In Hospital, Waiting
by Anna Gorman, KQED
Nursing home residents are entitled to hearings under federal law to determine whether they should be readmitted after hospitalization. The state Department of Health Care Services holds the administrative hearings, but has said it is not responsible for enforcing the rulings. But the state Department of Public Health, which oversees nursing homes, neglects to enforce the rulings and sometimes disagrees with them, according to advocates and court documents. … And since many nursing home residents have publicly-funded insurance, it means taxpayers are on the hook for hospital stays long after the patients are ready for discharge. Read More ›
Consumer Federation Of California Releases 2015 Scorecard For State Lawmakers
The Consumer Federation of California (CFC) has released its 2015 Scorecard for State Legislators, which rates lawmakers on the votes they cast on key issues, including privacy, automobile safety, household toxics, truth in advertising, living wages, reform of the California Public Utilities Commission, and other consumer protection … Read More ›
Con Artist Exploits A Grandmother’s Love Of Family
by Nancy Peverini, commentary in The Sacramento Bee
Even though the plot was foiled, it destroyed my mother’s sense of independence. She felt guilty and embarrassed – a common reaction that allows these scams to continue because many of our elderly do not want others to know that they fell for a scam. … We need to ring the bell more so our parents will be protected. According to some estimates, seniors account for 30 percent of all financial fraud. Consumer groups have tips to avoid getting ripped off. …Definitely don’t provide your credit card information. Read More ›
California’s Largest Nursing Home Owner Under Fire From Government Regulators
Since 2006, [Shlomo] Rechnitz and his primary company, Brius Healthcare Services, have acquired 81 nursing homes up and down the state, many of them through bankruptcy court. His chain has grown so quickly that he now controls about 1 in every 14 nursing home beds in California, giving him an outsized influence on quality of care in the state. … Between October and January, three of Rechnitz’s facilities, including South Pasadena, were decertified by the federal government, an economic kiss of death that is extremely rare. The punishment strips a nursing home of its crucial Medicare funding until it can demonstrate improvement, or is closed or sold. Read More ›
CFC Sponsors Bill To Protect Seniors From Unethical Long-Term Care Referral Agencies
SACRAMENTO – The Consumer Federation of California (CFC) is sponsoring Senate Bill 648 (Mendoza, D-Artesia) to increase disclosure requirements and strengthen oversight of private placement agencies that refer seniors to residential care facilities for the elderly (RCFEs). Read More ›
Castro Valley: Two Charged With Felony Elder Abuse In Abandoned Care Home Case
by Katie Nelson and Karina Ioffee, Contra Costa Times
The charges come after the shocking Valley Springs case and other incidents around the state shined a light on the state Department of Social Services’ oversight of such facilities. … The Department of Social Services, which oversees the licensing of senior care facilities like Valley Springs Manor, admitted that they had a “complete breakdown” in communication and that the closure forced them to re-evaluate their closure process as well as update training for state employees who monitor facilities. Read More ›
Nursing Homes Rarely Penalized For Oversedating Patients
by Ina Jaffe, Robert Benincasa, National Public Radio
NPR’s analysis [of federal data] found that harsh penalties are almost never used when nursing home residents get unnecessary drugs of any kind. … The agency’s new goal for nursing homes is an additional 15 percent reduction in antipsychotic drug use by the end of 2016. But even if that goal is met, it will mean that after a five-year effort, almost a quarter of a million nursing home residents will still be getting largely unnecessary and potentially lethal antipsychotic drugs. Read More ›
Unmasked: How California’s Largest Nursing Home Chains Perform
by Marjie Lundstrom and Phillip Reese, The Sacramento Bee
Knowing who owns what can be critical for fragile patients seeking long-term care, according to a Sacramento Bee investigation, which analyzed thousands of federal and state records detailing the ownership of the state’s 1,260 nursing homes. In addition to identifying owners with at least a 5 percent stake in any California-based facility, The Bee also examined government and industry data to determine how the largest owners and their facilities performed on 46 measures, including quality-of-care indicators, staffing, complaints and deficiencies found during inspections. Read More ›
Gov. Brown Toughens Rules on Senior Residential Care Facilities
by Patrick McGreevey, Los Angeles Times
Gov. Jerry Brown on Sunday approved sweeping new rules for residential care facilities aimed at protecting senior citizens from substandard conditions. The governor approved nine bills that his office said in a statement are meant to “protect the health and safety of seniors residing in assisted living facilities across the state.” Read More ›