When we trust the care of our elderly loved ones to skilled nursing facilities, we expect that they’ll receive proper treatment and won’t suffer unnecessary harms. Nobody anticipates nursing home abuse and neglect, but a recent article in ProPublica indicates that about one-third of patients in skilled nursing facilities suffer…
As lawmakers in our state continue to think about elder abuse and the salient problems with California assisted living facilities, some of these residences are being ordered to pay damages for the harms they’ve inflicted on the elderly. According to a recent article in the Long Beach Press Telegram, a…
Have California seniors been subject to financial abuse? A recent article in the San Francisco Chronicle reported that residents at an “exclusive continue-care community” for the elderly in Palo Alto might have been fraudulently cheated out of millions of dollars. In short, many of these older adults paid substantial fees—some…
California legislators have proposed assisted-living facility reforms across the state, and the nation-wide attention to elder abuse problems in our state has rallied a variety of advocates to the cause. A recent special report released by the National Senior Citizens Law Center, in conjunction with the California HealthCare Foundation, identifies…
Many Americans have heard that long-term care can be extremely expensive and that it’s important to begin saving, or alternately to invest in long-term care insurance, as soon as possible. But is long-term care insurance really all it’s said to be? Are there other options for elder care? A recent…
Over the last year, California assisted living facilities have been under intense scrutiny by elder care advocates and the public alike. Just last month, California legislators appeared at a press conference in Sacramento to unveil plans for new bills that will encourage assisted living facility reforms throughout the state. The…
What happens when elderly adults spend some time in the hospital but aren’t officially admitted? In these situations, patients are typically classified as simply being under observation. This “observation only” status can limit older adults’ chances for Medicare nursing home coverage once they’re discharged from the hospital, according to a…
It’s clear that many hospice centers have become part of a profit-seeking industry in the United States. Indeed, the recent article in the Washington Post concerning illegitimate marketing and hospice overuse may be plaguing many parts of the country. But what about seniors who are admitted to hospice care and…
Profiting from Bad Hospice Ethics Last week, we discussed a recent phenomenon in the hospice care industry that’s quickly becoming an elder abuse concern. Specifically, hospice—a form of care designed to allow “patients to die at home or in other familiar surroundings,” according to an article in the Washington Post—has…
In California, people who are in need of custodial care, whether it’s due to age or some other disability, often seek out care homes licensed by the State of California. To be licensed, a home or facility must follow stringent state regulations that cover all aspects of care and safety,…