Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Blog

Class AA: The most serious violation, AA citations are issued when a resident death has occurred in such a way that it has been directly and officially attributed to the responsibility of the facility, and carry fines of $25,000 to $100,000.

Class A: Class A citations are issued when violations present imminent danger to patients or the substantial probability of death or serious harm, and carry fines from $2,000 to $20,000.

Class B: Class B citations carry fines from $100 to $1000 and are issued for violations which have a direct or immediate relationship to health, safety, or security, but do not qualify as A or AA citations.

Posted by Walton Barber | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: CANHR , California Department of Public Health , Los Angeles Nursing Home , Orange County Nursing Home , Riverside Nursing Home , San Bernardino Nursing Home

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Yesterday the Bush Administration announced that it will create a nursing home rating system by the end of the year. The criteria for ratings has not yet been established, but will likely be a combination of state and federal inspection reports, staffing reports, and resident and family satisfaction surveys. The ratings would be placed on a government website.

"The fact a home has a lower rating will likely put them on the path to improvement," said Kerry Weems, acting administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. "I don't think we're going to see many people who are very anxious to put a loved one in a one-star home."

Those looking for information about California nursing homes already have a few options when looking at prospective homes. The California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform have a nursing home guide resource, and the California Healthcare Foundation has its own rating system. Both use the government surveys and staffing reports as a basis for the rankings, so the accuracy of the ratings is based primarily on the government's information, which can be notoriously unreliable.

As we have said in previous posts, the best way to choose a nursing home is to look at the government surveys, and to visit the home on more than one occasion and speak with current residents and their families.

The law firm of Walton Barber LLP represents victims of nursing home malpractice. It accepts cases in all Southern California counties, including Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Diego, San Bernardino, Ventura, and Imperial.

Posted by Walton Barber | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: CANHR , California Department of Public Health , Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect

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The California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform has issued its 2007 Nursing Home Citation Report. CANHR has prepared a citation summary, including the name of the nursing facility, the date, the level of citation, and a brief summary of the facts that led up to the citation. There is also an instructional key to help readers understand how the individual nursing home citations summaries are displayed. The report, which is broken down by California counties, can be found here. (.pdf)

In summary, a total of 651 citations were issued against nursing homes in California by the Department of Public Health in the year 2007, 22 of which were Class AA citations (violations caused a death), and 122 were Class A (violations present imminent danger and a substantial probability of death).

Posted by Randall Walton | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: CANHR , California Department of Public Health , Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect

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Since a significant part of my law practice involves cases of abused and neglected seniors in nursing home, I get asked frequently if I can recommend a good nursing home, or at least point out the bad ones. That is, of course, impossible because of the sheer number of nursing homes in California and the simple fact that every nursing facility, even ones with generally good reputations, have the potential for neglectful care.

When I am asked to recommend a home I typically refer people to the Nursing Home Guide. A web resource published by the California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform (CANHR) that provides detailed information about every licensed nursing home in the State of California, including information about prior complaints, citations, ownership, and the services provided. At the site you will also find a nursing home evaluation checklist, which provides a list of things to think about when looking for a nursing facility.

In addition, CANHR also now has a Residential Care Facility Guide which provides information about all licensed residential facilities in the state. The information there is limited, simply because public information about those facilities is not as available.

I encourage you to look at CANHR’s site. It is simply an awesome resource for nursing home, assisted living, and residential care information.

Posted by Randall Walton | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: CANHR , Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect , Residential Care Facilities

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Class AA: The most serious violation, AA citations are issued when a resident death has occurred in such a way that it has been directly and officially attributed to the responsibility of the facility, and carry fines of $25,000 to $100,000.

Class A: Class A citations are issued when violations present imminent danger to patients or the substantial probability of death or serious harm, and carry fines from $2,000 to $20,000.

Class B: Class B citations carry fines from $100 to $1000 and are issued for violations which have a direct or immediate relationship to health, safety, or security, but do not qualify as A or AA citations.

Posted by Randall Walton | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: CANHR , Elder Abuse , Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect

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The quality of care provided by California nursing homes has declined by almost every measure since the implementation of a new Medi-Cal rate system that increased funding the nursing facilities according to a new study by the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Meanwhile, nursing home complaints and the issuance of deficiencies have grown dramatically since the rate hike.

Critics contend that the nursing home industry crafted the rate hike on the basis that it was necessary to improve care. And while staffing levels improved under the new law, nursing home staff turnovers increased. The study reveals that 144 nursing homes in California failed to meet state minimum staffing requirements (.pdf).

According to the California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform:

The rate system's most controversial provision is a profit component that pays nursing homes 8 percent of their labor costs to spend or pocket as they wish. Estimated to cost Medi-Cal and taxpayers about $150 million per year, it is deceptively labeled as a "labor driven operating allocation." Every freestanding skilled nursing facility certified by Medi-Cal receives profit payments, no matter how poor its care. No other Medi-Cal providers are guaranteed a profit.

The entire UCSF study can be found here (.pdf). If you have any questions about nursing home quality of care, call Walton Barber LLP at (866) 607-1325.

Posted by Randall Walton | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: CANHR , Elder Abuse , Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect

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Budget cuts proposed by Governor Schwarzenegger could cripple California's oversight of Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly. Further damage to the already struggling oversight program could put thousands of RCFE residents at risk.

According the California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform (CANHR), the proposed cuts come at a time when assisted living care is growing at a rapid rate. There are more than 7,000 assisted living facilities in the state, an increase of more than 25% over the last decade. Current law requires an inspection of RCFEs only once every five years, a dramatic decline from the 1980s when such facilities were subject to inspections twice a year.

Inspecting RCFEs once every five years or less is a recipe for neglect and abuse," said Patricia McGinnis, CANHR’s executive director. "Care standards and residents’ rights become virtually meaningless when inspections are so rare. Issuing a license under these conditions deceives consumers who assume the state is conducting regular inspections or offering oversight and protection to residents.

In my practice, I have seen more and more RCFEs retaining residents that should be moved to a higher level of care, but are retained in the assisted living facility for questionable reasons. This trend, combined with an unthreatening state oversight program is not good news for California seniors.

Posted by Randall Walton | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Assisted Living Facilities , CANHR , Elder Abuse , Residential Care Facilities

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The Nursing Home Complaint Investigation Improvement Act (AB 399), authored was approved last week in the Assembly Health Committee by a vote of 10-0. The legislation would fight abuse and neglect by improving the quality and timeliness of nursing home complaint investigations. AB 399 has over 30 registered supporters including the AARP, Congress of California Seniors, Gray Panthers, and Bet Tzedek Legal Services. There is no registered opposition.

According to the California Chronicle, AB 399 would require the Department of Health Services (DHS) to complete investigations within 40 working days; send complainants a written summary of findings about their complaint; investigate facility-reported complaints of abuse and neglect within the same time frames as public complaints; and extend the number of days a complainant has to seek an informal conference from five business days to 15 days after receipt of the determination.

"Today's vote is an important step toward restoring public confidence in California's nursing home oversight system," said Michael Connors of California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform (CANHR). "Timely DHS investigations will help ensure that nursing home residents are protected from further neglect and abuse once it's been reported."

Supporters of the law are urged to write Governor Schwarzenegger as soon as possible and urge him to sign AB 399 into law.

Posted by Randall Walton | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: CANHR , Elder Abuse , Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect

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The California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform (CANHR) in San Francisco has been fighting for the rights of long-term nursing home residents for more than 20 years. Through community education, legislation and litigation, it has been CANHR's goal to remind decision makers of what needs to be done about long-term care; that this "forgotten population" consists of our mothers and fathers, our husbands and wives, our brothers and sisters, and that their suffering is our shame. CANHR has received numerous awards for its work.

Walton Barber is proud to support the work of CANHR, and is now participating in its 2007 Campaign for Justice, an effort to continue the great work of this valuable organization. If you are interested in providing your support to the cause, and helping to give a voice to the voiceless, please visit our contribution site and contribute. Any contribution you can make will be appreciated.

Thank you.

Randy / Scott / Kim

Posted by Randall Walton | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: CANHR , Elder Abuse , Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect

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