Consumer Federation of California

Update 7/29: Gov. Jerry Brown on July 23 signed CFC-supported AB 1572 (Eggman), requiring licensed residential care facilities for the elderly, on request, to assist residents in establishing and maintaining a resident council.

Ulrich Joho / Flickr

APRIL 11, 2014 – The first phase of an ambitious drive to protect seniors living in residential care facilities for the elderly (RCFEs) passed an important milestone April 8, 2014, when several bills tied to a reform package were approved in legislative committees.

The action was in Sacramento, but the impetus for the much-needed changes comes from families around the state whose parents, grandparents and other loved ones rely on RCFEs not just for a roof over their heads but for meals and minimum levels of professional medical care.

Too often, those services are delivered poorly—or not at all, as demonstrated by the owners’ abandonment of 14 sick and elderly patients in a Castro Valley assisted living facility last fall. The results can be tragic. The deaths of at least 27 seniors in San Diego County RCFEs since 2008 were documented in last year’s “Deadly Neglect,” a series of reports from the San Diego UT and the California Healthcare Foundation’s Center for Health Reporting.

Hazel Mensching was one of those victims. Her grandson, Aaron Byzak, testified before legislative committees that she died following poor treatment for injuries suffered in a fall from her wheelchair at the Emeritus Oceanside assisted living facility in northern San Diego County. It was one of many stories lawmakers heard April 8 that underscored the need for better regulation and oversight.

Consumer Federation of California (CFC) supports the efforts of California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform (CANHR) to write those needed changes into law. CANHR’s reform package is now making its way through the state Legislature. The Senate Human Services Committee approved four bills April 8, advancing them to other Senate committees for further action:

• SB 894 (Corbett) Suspension and Revocation
• SB 895 (Corbett) Annual Inspections
• SB 911 (Block) Administrator and Staff Training
• SB 1153 (Leno) Ban on Admissions

CFC supports the measures, and for good reason. On SB 895, for example, author Sen. Ellen Corbett, D-Hayward, told the committee that annual inspections—“a very important tool” to ensure RCFE residents’ safety—has been whittled away over the years.

“Once upon a time in this state we did have annual inspections of such facilities, but over the years those numbers of inspections have decreased. It was changed to two years by state law and then eventually five years by state law, and it turned out that we might not even have even been meeting our every-five-year standard.”

A parallel proceeding at the Assembly Human Services Committee took up one bill from the package—AB 1554 (Skinner), to strengthen and improve license suspension and revocation procedures—and another that CFC also supports: AB 1523 (Atkins), toughening RCFE liability insurance. Both were approved and sent on to other Assembly committees, along with two bills CFC is monitoring but has not yet taken a position on: AB 1570 (Chesbro), tightening training requirements for RCFE staff; and AB 1899 (Brown), making persons whose RCFE-related state licenses are revoked or forfeited for abandoning such a facility ineligible for reinstatement.

There are nearly 20 bills dealing with RCFEs in the current legislative session, introduced by both Democrats and Republicans. Many are supported by both CFC, and all are being monitored.

Read CANHR’s 2013 special report: Residential Care in California: Unsafe, Unregulated & Unaccountable.

Update 8/15: California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform have published an eye-opening list of citations issued against nursing homes in California in 2013. Arranged by county, the 52-page PDF summarizes the offenses, lists their classifications (from Failure to Report to Class AA – indicating a death was involved), and reports what fines assessed.

Summary: CFC-supported Assisted-care Bills

AB 1570 (Chesbro): Residential care facilities for the elderly
Signed by the governor.

AB 1572 (Eggman): Residential care facilities for the elderly: resident and family councils
Signed into law July 23.

SB 1153 (Leno): Residential care facilities for the elderly
Signed by the governor.

AB 2171 (Wieckowski): Residential care facilities for the elderly
Signed by the governor.

SB 895 (Corbett): Residential care facilities for the elderly: revocation of license
Signed by the governor.

SB 911 (Block): Residential care facilities for the elderly
Signed by the governor.

AB 1523 (Atkins): Residential care facilities for the elderly: liability insurance.
Signed by the governor.

AB 1554 (Skinner): Residential care facilities for the elderly
Location: Died in Senate Appropriations Suspense File

SB 894 (Corbett): Residential care facilities for the elderly: unannounced visits
Location: Died on Assembly floor Aug. 31

AB 1571 (Eggman): Residential care facilities for the elderly: licensing and regulation
Location: Died in Senate Appropriations Suspense File

Tags: Assisted Living, CFC, Senior Issues