On a fairly regular basis I get telephone calls asking for a recommendation to a “good” nursing home or assisted living facility. I have to refrain from answering, because though I have brought legal actions against many nursing homes for abuse and neglect, I also know there are plenty of…
A bill that will increase fines from $6,000 to $10,000 for individuals found guilty of placing an elderly person (over age 65) or a dependent adult in a situation where death or great bodily harm is likely has been signed by Governor Schwarzenegger. The bill, which will take effect January…
When Georgia Fitsos was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia in 2006, her family came to the sad realization that Georgia could no longer live alone. Too healthy for skilled nursing care, the family chose to place their mother in Broadstone Residential Facility after reading a fancy brochure that promised…
Los Angeles – The death of an 88-year-old nursing home resident has resulted in an AA citation and a $100,000 fine, the most severe penalty that can be imposed by California regulators. The California Department of Public Health issued the penalty after it concluded that nursing home resident’s death was…
The Del Rosa Villa nursing home in San Bernardino received the state’s harshest citation after investigators concluded that inadequate care led to a resident’s suicide. The California Department of Public Health issued a AA citation and a fine of $90,000. According to reports, on June 11, 2009 a 52-year-old resident…
The North County Times had a good column on the cold reality that elder abuse or neglect can happen anywhere. Susan Reichel, CEO of Advanced Home Health Services in San Diego says that an estimated 2 million elderly Americans are victims of elder abuse, whether its physical, mental, emotional, or…
Last Friday, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed Assembly bill 392, which provides funding for California’s long-term care ombudsman programs. The bill does not restore entirely the cuts that were made last year, but the $1.6 million appropriation to approximately 36 agencies throughout the state will provide sorely needed money to programs…
Researchers analyzing 82 different studies on nursing home care found that nursing homes that are run as not-for-profit businesses offer better care than their for-profit counterparts. In the United States, less that one-third of all nursing homes are non-profit. The 82 studies were from both the U.S. and Canada, and…
SANTA BARBARA – Sheriffs have arrested a 35-year-old man in the alleged rape of a 36-year-old developmentally disabled woman. Christopher Coates was arrested last Wednesday and is being held on $100,000 bail. According to new accounts, Coates was a caregiver at a residential care facility in Santa Barbara County (the…
Unlike nursing homes, residential care facilities or assisted living facilities are not subject to the same regulation and government oversight. One can’t simply log on to the myriad of nursing home evaluation websites to look at the latest inspection reports or complaint investigation. So how do you adequately evaluate a…