Articles Posted in Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect

November 26, 2014

Lack of Oversight from the California Department of Public Health?

Earlier this month, the Sacramento Bee ran a story that exposed the lack of oversight from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) when it comes to nursing home abuse allegations. What is going on? According to the article, the CDPH is “weighed down by a backlog of more than 11,000 open complaints” with “no clear path to dig its way out.”

Evidence of this serious problem became clear after an audit report was released toward the end of October 2014. In short, the CDPH appears to have failed elderly adults in nursing homes and assisted-living facilities by failing to manage its investigations of elder abuse complaints received.

Numerous Problems “Up and Down the State”

November 21, 2014

Translation Issues in Elder Abuse Cases

by Walton Law Firm

Did you know that Southern California is home to the largest Latino and Asian populations in the country? According to a recent article in the Los Angeles Times, elderly persons within these populations may not be getting a fair deal in elder abuse cases. When claims go to court, it is important for a judge or a jury to understand a plaintiff’s injuries and to grasp the extent of the nursing home abuse or neglect that took place. However, when your first language is not English, it is sometimes extremely difficult to make your way through the justice system.

Language Barriers to Legal Forms, Filings, and Testimonies

In California alone, the Los Angeles Times estimates that there are about seven million “limited-English proficient speakers,” and for those people, the civil court system is “practically impenetrable.” What is the problem?

November 14, 2014

New Elder Care Protections on the Way in San Diego County

by Walton Law Firm

First Nursing Home Facility Rating System in California

As the population of California continues to age, and more baby boomers find themselves thinking about San Diego assisted-living facilities and nursing homes, it is becoming more important than ever to ensure that seniors in the San Diego area are protected from nursing home abuse and neglect. According to a recent story San Diego CBS 8, San Diego County leaders currently are in the process of developing an elder care facility rating system that is aimed at preventing elder abuse.

file0001867553256 According to the news story, the new rating system will be the first of its kind in California. The ratings will be based on several different factors, and the Board of Supervisors hopes that the system will allow families to make informed decisions about the care of their elderly loved ones. The system is still in its early stages, but the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved its creation, emphasizing the need to protect older adults from physical, emotional, and sexual abuse in Southern California facilities.

October 22, 2014

Grant Funding to Combat Elder Abuse

by Walton Law Firm

Elder abuse is much too common across the country, and nursing homes and assisted-living facilities in California have proven particularly prominent offenders of nursing home abuse and neglect. What do we need to prevent elder abuse in our state? Many elder rights supporters believe that policy changes might help, and a recent grant aims to help with this kind of advocacy work.

Southern California Center Receives Advocacy Grant

According to a recent news release from the University of Southern California, the Keck School of Medicine became the sole grant recipient to fund the National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA). The NCEA is, according to the article, “a vital clearinghouse created by the Administration on Aging,” which is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

October 15, 2014

Class Action Against California Nursing Home Owner

by Walton Law Firm

Changes are on the way for nursing homes and California assisted living facilities. In the midst of shifts to the law, victims of nursing home abuse are filing a class action lawsuit against the owner of 57 skilled nursing facilities in the state, according to an article from Courthouse News Service. The owner, Schlomo Rechnitz, owns more facilities in the state than any other, with nursing homes in nine different California cities, according to a recent report in the Long Beach Press-Telegram. Rechnitz’s facilities are accused of “chronic understaffing” with allegations of “Actual or suspected abuse or neglect.”

Details of the Class Action Lawsuit

The lawsuit was filed after several years of investigation into the practices at many of Rechnitz’s facilities. Rechnitz owns Brius Management and Brius LLC, and he owns nursing homes in Inglewood, Los Angeles, Norwalk, Pasadena, San Gabriel, and several other California cities.

October 8, 2014

Fines to Increase at Assisted-Living Facilities

by Walton Law Firm

New Bill Raises Penalties for Elder Abuse and Neglect

Is the state of California taking seriously the problems with nursing home abuse and elder neglect at assisted-living facilities? According to a recent article in UT San Diego, Governor Jerry Brown just signed into law a bill that will impose “a 100-fold increase in the top fine for violations of state regulations at assisted-living homes for the elderly.” Before Governor Brown signed the bill, the highest fine for a violation that results in the death of a resident was only $150. Now, the top fine rose drastically to $15,000.

Fines for elder abuse and neglect resulting in the death of an older adult are not the only penalty increases. To be sure, the bill will also raise the maximum fine for “violations leading to serious injury or abuse from $150 to $10,000.” And the new law will not just apply to assisted-living facilities, as was originally proposed in the bill co-authored by Assemblyman Brian Maienschein of San Diego. It will “apply to all community care facilities in the state.”

October 1, 2014

Nursing Homes and Federal Reporting Requirements for Elder Abuse

by Walton Law Firm

Are nursing homes in California abiding by federal regulations for reporting allegations of elder abuse or neglect? According to a recent report released by the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), not all facilities are reporting incidents of nursing home abuse.

Reporting Requirements and Increasing Rates of Elder Abuse

The HHS report emphasized that about five million elderly Americans (or ten percent of the elderly population) sustain injuries from physical abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation. However, these crimes are not always reported.

September 17, 2014

Northern California Nursing Home Sued for Overmedicating Residents

by Walton Law Firm

Nursing homes in California should take note of the negative publicity surrounding elder abuse and assisted-living facilities in our state. A recent article in the Santa Cruz Sentinel described serious nursing home abuse allegations that point to fraudulent Medicare claims and poor patient treatment. In Watsonville, located in Santa Cruz County, the owners of two nursing homes are facing a lawsuit. According to the report, federal prosecutors sued the owners “alleging that leaders made fraudulent Medicare claims” and “persistently and severely overmedicated elderly and vulnerable residents.”

Overmedication and Fraud Allegations

The two nursing homes at issue are Country Villa Watsonville Easy Nursing Center and Country Villa Watsonville West Nursing Center, both in Santa Cruz County. The owners have been linked to serious crimes connected to nursing home abuse and neglect.

September 3, 2014

Behind the Medicare Star Rating System

by Walton Law Firm

History of the Star Rating System

A recent New York Times article discussed the danger of trusting the Medicare star rating system, providing as an example a five-star nursing home facility in California with a history of elder neglect violations. Last week, we discussed the star rating system and the Rosewood nursing home in the Sacramento area. In sum, the rating system is not helping consumers in the way it claims. How did this rating system rise to prominence, and why are so many Americans willing to trust it without additional investigation?

According to the article, the five-star rating system began in 2007, when Oregon Senator Ron Wyden posed the following question at a congressional hearing: why is it easier to shop for washing machines than to select a nursing home? Two years later, Medicare officials developed the star rating system, “a move that was applauded by consumer groups, who hope that more transparency would lead to greater accountability.”

August 27, 2014

Medicare Star Ratings and Quality of Care

by Walton Law Firm

Five-Star Nursing Homes May Not the Best Indicator of Care

Are Medicare star ratings good predictors for the quality of care at nursing homes? According to a recent article in the New York Times, a facility with a five-star rating may not be what one would expect. In fact, many five-star facilities have received fines for injuries related to nursing home neglect.

Rosewood Post-Acute Rehab, a nursing home located in a Sacramento suburb, received a five-star rating from Medicare. The nursing home “bears all the touches of a luxury hotel, including high ceilings, leather club chairs, and paintings of bucolic landscapes.” According to the article, getting a five-star rating—the highest possible—is not easy. Only about one-fifth of all nursing home in the U.S., about 3,000 total, hold this distinction.

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