DO YOU SUSPECT ABUSE OR NEGLECT? Contact Us for a Free Consultation

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Does the language spoken by a caregiver at a nursing home or assisted-living facility in Riverside County have an effect on the quality of care a resident receives? Do nursing homes and assisted-living facilities need to have caregivers on staff who speak the same language as the residents and who are familiar with the linguistic and cultural contexts from which residents have come to the nursing home or assisted-living facility? A recent report from McKnights Senior Living discusses initiatives to overcome language barriers for certified nursing assistants (CNAs) in California and in several other states across the country. Our Riverside County nursing home negligence lawyers can tell you more.

Language Barriers for Caregivers and Residents in Southern California Nursing Homes and Assisted Living Facilities

According to the article, there are currently significant language barriers impacting the ability of potential nursing home and assisted living facility employees to become CNAs due to language barriers. Indeed, “foreign-born workers account for 27% of the nation’s direct care workforce, but many states maintain strict, English-only testing and training requirements that can prevent some immigrants from entering the workforce.” Given that there is a significant need for more long-term care workers, efforts are underway in California and other states to make it possible for workers to pass CNA certification exams in foreign languages. In California, AB 2131 aims to allow workers to take the written and oral competency portions of the CNA exam in Spanish. 

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Whether an older adult with a chronic health condition is residing in a skilled nursing facility, assisted-living facility, memory-care facility, or other location in Los Angeles County, studies have shown that these seniors tend to be more vulnerable to abuse and neglect. In particular, older adults with dementia and other forms of cognitive impairment are often targets of elder abuse in nursing homes and related facilities, and their conditions frequently prevent them from recognizing or reporting the abuse themselves. Yet, according to a recent article in McKnight’s Long-Term Care News, a new study focused on the Comprehensive Older Adult and Caregiver Help (COACH) method might be able to reduce the likelihood of physical and emotional abuse. 

Could this method also be applicable to caregivers who are employed by nursing homes and assisted-living facilities in Southern California? Our Los Angeles County nursing home abuse and neglect lawyers can say more.  

Learning About the COACH Method

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Long before social media platforms entered into wide and nearly constant use by people of all age groups in the US, nursing home abuse and neglect were serious problems in San Bernardino nursing homes and in facilities across the state. In other words, social media has not caused a rise in nursing home abuse or neglect in Southern California, but it has made new forms of emotional abuse possible that can have serious psychological repercussions for nursing home residents. A recent report from Insider discusses the prevalence of “social media mistreatment” affecting nursing home residents throughout the country. 

What do you need to know about emotional abuse and its rise on social media? And what can you do for an elderly loved one who is being mistreated? Our San Bernardino nursing home abuse attorneys can tell you more. 

Understanding Elder Emotional and Psychological Abuse 

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Elder abuse and neglect in Orange County often result in severe and deadly resident injuries in nursing homes. Abuse can take many different forms, from intentional physical, emotional, or sexual abuse to passive neglect. To be clear, even when a staff member or other employee of a nursing home does not intend to cause harm, failing to attend to a resident’s health needs can result in serious harm for which the facility can be liable. Likewise, injuries resulting from intentional harm can also result in successful nursing home abuse and neglect claims against the facility, as well as the perpetrators. While studies underscore that nursing home abuse and neglect injuries occur with some frequency, they also highlight that abuse and neglect often go unreported.

To be sure, some studies suggest that the underreporting of nursing home abuse and neglect means that rates of harm are significantly higher than data currently indicate. Why is nursing home abuse and neglect underreported? There are many potential reasons that various studies have addressed, but a new study conducted by researchers at the University of Connecticut argues that fears of retaliation are central to understanding the problem. What do you need to know? Our Orange County nursing home negligence lawyers can say more.

Common Reasons for Abuse and Neglect Underreporting in Southern California Nursing Homes and Assisted-Living Facilities

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The nursing home industry, often perceived as a sector struggling with financial viability due to reported accounting losses, presents a conundrum when analyzed through the lens of recent financial activities and market trends. Despite these reported losses, the industry has seen a surge in private equity investments and high transaction prices, suggesting a disconnect between reported financials and the actual economic value of nursing home facilities.

One explanation for this paradox is the concept of profit tunneling, where businesses who own nursing homes engage in financial maneuvers to misreport or hide true profits, essentially obscuring the true financial health of the enterprise. This tactic not only complicates the industry’s financial landscape but also raises questions about the quality of care provided in these facilities. With staffing levels directly tied to the quality of care, the financial engineering within the industry can have real-world impacts on patient care and facility operations.

Furthermore, the practice of engaging in related party transactions—where businesses make deals within a network of interconnected entities—complicates the financial transparency of nursing homes. Such transactions can mask the true profitability of these facilities, affecting everything from investment decisions to policy regulations concerning the industry.

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Older adults who reside in nursing homes or assisted-living facilities in Riverside County or elsewhere in Southern California should be able to expect that the facility where they live has taken sufficient safety precautions to prevent resident injuries. However, nursing homes throughout the state, and indeed across the country, often have safety issues that can result in resident injuries. Depending on the particular hazard, injuries can range from minor to severe. In many of these cases where an injury does occur, it may be possible to hold the nursing home accountable by filing a nursing home neglect claim. Our Riverside County nursing home abuse and neglect attorneys can assist you, and in the meantime, we can tell you more about common safety issues in Southern California nursing homes.

Fall Concerns

Nursing homes have a duty to ensure that their facilities are safe and do not prevent fall hazards, including those that could result in dangerous slips and falls or trips and falls. Common fall hazards, according to the AHRQ, include a lack of grip bars in bathrooms, slick flooring, torn or damaged carpeting, lack of handrails in stairwells, and liquid spills that go uncleaned.

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From nursing homes in San Diego County to those elsewhere in Southern California and across the country, staffing shortages can lead to serious resident injuries as a result of passive neglect. In short, when a nursing home does not have a sufficient number of employees to provide appropriate care for residents based on individual resident needs, residents can sustain injuries like bed sores because they are not moving or broken bones in falls when they try to get out of bed or make it to the restroom themselves despite requiring assistance with these activities. According to a recent article in The New York Times, the significant staffing shortages that were identified at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic are persisting in nursing homes throughout the United States, along with problems concerning infection control measures and protocol.

Staffing Problems Could Be “Monumental”

A new report on nursing home safety, discussed by the Times, was recently prepared by the inspector general’s office at the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The report cited how the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is responsible for overseeing about 1.2 million nursing home residents nationwide, and for many of those residents at facilities in California and elsewhere, staffing issues are “monumental.” To be sure, the report identified “high levels of burnout, frequent employee turnover, and the burdens of constantly training new employees, some of whom fail to show up for their first day of work.”

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If you have an elderly parent or other loved one in a nursing home or assisted-living facility in Los Angeles County, you should always pay close attention so that you can identify possible signs of elder abuse or neglect. In Los Angeles County and across the state of California, protections for elderly adults are far behind those available to seniors in other states, according to a recent report from KTLA news. Indeed, that report cites a recent study conducted by WalletHub that shows California ranking at the very bottom — number 51 — in terms of protections against elder abuse and neglect. 

Our Los Angeles County nursing home neglect lawyers can tell you more and can speak with you today about any concerns you have.

Study Addresses California’s Poor Record Concerning Elder Abuse Protections

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Nursing homes in San Bernardino County and throughout Southern California must comply with state and federal laws concerning resident care. Those laws require nursing homes to provide a particular level of care based on the resident’s needs, to comply with residents’ rights, and to ensure a certain level of safety at the facility. In recent years, questions and concerns about transparency in nursing homes have become particularly important as residents have experienced injuries due to nursing home abuse and neglect, have been transferred unlawfully to hospice facilities, and have been evicted for inexplicable reasons. 

As of January 1, 2024, a new law is in effect that requires nursing homes to provide detailed information to residents upon eviction. Our San Bernardino County nursing home abuse and neglect lawyers can tell you more.

Risk of Forcible Discharge or Eviction at California Nursing Homes

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Falls can result in severe injuries for people of any age in Orange County, but they are particularly dangerous for older adults who may live in nursing homes or assisted living facilities in Southern California. Indeed, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 20 percent of all falls among the elderly result in a debilitating injury such as a traumatic brain injury (TBI) or a broken bone, and approximately three million older adults need to be treated in emergency departments every year for injuries they have sustained from falls. Of those seniors, about 800,000 need to be hospitalized because of the severity of the injury, which is usually a TBI or a hip fracture. In total, around 300,000 elderly people need to be hospitalized due to hip fractures every year.

When falls happen in nursing homes or assisted living facilities and residents sustain hip fractures, TBIs, or other serious injuries, the nursing home may be liable. Our Orange County nursing home negligence lawyers can explain.

Preventing Nursing Home Falls

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