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

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Southern California elder abuse occurs with surprising frequency, affecting thousands of area seniors. Unfortunately, in many ways it remains a hidden problem because most cases of elder abuse and neglect are never reported and wrongdoers are rarely held accountable for their conduct. This sad reality was brought home in an SF Weekly post on Monday which explained how fewer than one in one hundred cases of elder abuse ever result in a criminal conviction.

A comprehensive report conducted by the area police department uncovered the infrequency of punishments for elder abusers. The data mirrors similar research by state agencies which also highlighted the infrequency with which this conduct is ever brought to light. For example, the state’s Department on the Status of Women found that only one in five cases of California elder neglect are even reported to authorities.

Elder care advocates explain that many seniors do not report mistreatment because of what they call the “fatigue factor”—where seniors are reluctant to engage in a legal battle following poor care. In the nursing home context, unfamiliarity with their rights is also a factor in the underreporting of neglect. Many vulnerable residents of long-term care facilities are unaware of the level of care to which they should be entitled. Therefore, if a nursing home employee fails to provide them with the assistance they need many seniors are unlikely to share the situation with concerned friends or family members. Similarly, most nursing home residents are not familiar with more nuanced forms of nursing home neglect, such as the failure to properly supervise residents or allowing resident-on-resident attacks.

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A skilled nursing facility in Montrose was indicted for criminal abuse and neglect after a committed suicide by discharging a fire extinguisher down his throat. A grand jury indictment asserts that the facility, Wellness Centre, and its former administrator were complicit in the death of 34-year-old patient Charles Morrill. It was the third time Morrill attempted suicide.

“On and between January 22, 2009 and February 28, in the County of Los Angeles, the said Verdugo Valley Skilled Nursing Wellness Center and Phyllis Paver did, under circumstances and conditions likely to produce great bodily hard and death, knowingly and willfully cause and permit Charles Morrill, a dependent adult, to suffer, and inflicted theron, unjustifiable physical pain and mental suffering and, having the care and custody of said person, willfully caused and permitted him to be placed in a situation in which his health was endangered, and knew and reasonably should have known that said person, Charles Morrill, was a dependent adult.”

The indictment came after an investigation by the California Department of Public Health, which had a long history with the facility. Glendale Police told reporters that over the last few years it had received numerous calls about residents wandering away from the facility, 911 hang ups, and accusations of assaults at the nursing home.

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Iris Ramirez owns four residential care facilities for the elderly in San Diego called Ambassador Senior Retreat. Those facilities, like all licensed RCFE facilities in California, are overseen by the California Department of Social Services – Community Care Licensing (CCL). That means licenses can only be issued by CCL, inspections are made by CCL, and in the event of a complaint, investigations are performed by CCL. In short, CCL is the regulatory agency that gives residents of these facilities (and their families) the assurance that laws will be followed, regulations enforced, and that proper care will be provided.

Ramirez apparently didn’t want to take any chances with CCL investigators, and, according to news accounts, offered bribes to the very people charged with overseeing her assisted living facilities. The investigators have been identified as Conchita Valero, Lydia Williams and Christina Nepomuceno.

A search warrant executed this month alleges that Ramirez purchased airline tickets for Valero and Williams to travel to the Philippines for a vacation, and also gave Valero cash in the sum of $2,800. In exchange for the tickets and the cash, the CCL employees fast-tracked Ramirez’s licenses to operate her facilities. Apparently you don’t need brains to operate a residential care facility. According to the news accounts, Ramirez told investigators that she was “probably” getting preferential treatment because of the bribes.

In addition to Ramirez, the investigation has focused on Selma Teer, the owner of the Eternal Sunshine Care assisted living facility on Quince Street in San Diego. According to court documents, Teer wanted to open another facility, and offered investigator Nepomuceno a $3,000.00 bribe to expedite the process. Like Ramirez, Teer made no effort to conceal her expectation of a quid-pro-quo. When Nepomuceno went on medical leave and did not return Teer’s calls, Teer left her a rather incriminating message on Nepomuceno’s state-issued cell phone:

“(You are) not returning my call. You are not paying my money back. You want a bribe for my application for my license. You lied. You are such a liar. You want a bribe, do your job. You don’t do your job; you give me my money back.”

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blalock_t593.JPGA patient at the San Diego Health Center nursing home wandered away from the nursing facility on Wednesday and police have been unable to locate her. Verna Blalock, 76, who suffers from dementia was last seen at the facility located on Meadowlark Drive near Starling Drive. San Diego Health Center is one of San Diego County’s largest nursing homes, with over 300 beds, and includes a secured section for people with memory impairment like Ms. Blalock.

Ms. Blalock is described as 5 feet 4 inches in height and weighs approximately 135 pounds. She was wearing a pink and white striped shirt at the time of her elopement, which the nursing home says was the first time she has wandered away from the facility. It is currently unknown how she was able to escape from the building.

Anyone with any information about her whereabouts is asked to call San Diego Police at 619 531-2000, or the nursing facility at (858) 277-6460.

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Attorney Randy Walton was invited by the Intertribal Court of Southern California to speak on the issue of elder abuse and nursing home abuse and neglect. The event took place on June 15, 2011 and was hosted by the San Pasqual Band of Indians. Approximately 100 people attended.

The event was entitled Know Your Rights, Benefits & Laws, and was produced to benefit tribal elders and seniors from all the San Diego County Indian tribes. Topics included Identity Theft, Medicare, Elder Abuse, Health and Well Being, and Social Security Benefits, and included a variety of speakers.

Mr. Walton addressed the issue of abuse and neglect in the custodial care setting, including nursing homes and assisted living facilities, and advised what to do to avoid abuse and neglect, and what to do if it occurs.

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Many elderly people use them in nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and the product in their own homes. They are “bed handles,” manufactured and sold by a company called Bed Handles, Inc, a bedside rail of sorts created to allow users easier ingress and egress from bed. Now, Public Citizen, the non-partisan consumer advocacy group, is announcing that the bed rails are dangerous to consumers.

“Contrary to the manufacturer’s claim that the Bedside Assistant bed handles make any bed a safer bed, data previously provided to the FDA demonstrate that these devices can turn a bed into a death trap for patients who are physically weak or have physical or mental impairments,” said Dr. Michael Carome, deputy director of Public Citizen’s Health Research Group.

The bed handles, which look similar to bed rails, can trap elderly or frail individuals, and can even cause strangulation or asphyxiation. According to Public Citizen, a review of public records has revealed that four people have been killed using the device since 1999 after the handles slipped out of place, creating a gap where the user can slide into.

Last week, Public Citizen has submitted a petition to the US Food and Drug Administration asking the agency to order a recall of the bedside device, and to issue a ban of all further sales. [Click Here to Read the Petition .pdf]
Click here to read the entire Public Citizen press release.

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The family of an 84-year-old nursing home resident was stunned to learn the cause of their father’s death – an overdose of morphine. They were doubly stunned when then also learned that there was no order by a physician prescribing the drug.

The case is the focus of a criminal prosecution of the nursing home’s director of nursing, Penny Whitlock, who faces charges of criminal elder neglect for allowing an employee at Woodstock Residence Nursing Home to overmedicate nursing home patients with morphine. According to reports, it was common knowledge that Whitlock was administering morphine without a doctor’s consent, and was even warned by other employees about the risks, but continued the practice, which is suspected to have contributed to several other deaths.

Whitlock faces three years in prison.

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The County of San Diego has agreed to pay $2 million to the family of Alton Stovall Sr., who died in the county-run skilled nursing facility Edgemoor Hospital. The payment was the result of a lawsuit brought against the facility for the neglect of Stovall, who died under very suspicious circumstances (to say the least).

According to news accounts, in the early hours of May 30, 2010 the 50-year-old Stovall, who had a preexisting leg wound, fell out of his bed and on to the floor. His leg began to bleed profusely while on the floor, but he could not reach his call light. His roommates were alerted by his fall, and began using their own call lights to summon help. The nurses on duty did not respond. A half-hour later, a nursing assistant entered Stovall’s room and found him on the floor in a pool of blood and with labored and erratic breathing.

Even after being discovered, Stovall did not receive appropriate care. It was nearly 15 minutes later that the nursing assistant called a supervisor, who, after assessing the situation, told the nursing home staff to call 911. When medics arrived an hour-and-a-half after Stovall’s fall from bed, it was too late. He died minutes before they arrived.

The Stovall family hired attorney William Berman to investigate and prosecute a civil lawsuit against the County of San Diego for Stovall’s death. Berman’s investigation revealed a cover-up at the facility, which no doubt contributed heavily to the County’s decision to pay such a large settlement.

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Prime Healthcare Services is a Southern California company well known for turning around troubled hospitals. It also happens to be the subject of a federal investigation for possible overbilling in relation to an outbreak of septicemia. Last week’s release of an investigation by the San Diego Union Tribune and California Watch brought more bad news to the hospital chain.

According to the investigation, eight of the top 10 hospitals for malnutrition rates are owned by Prime Healthcare Services. Why such high rates of malnutrition at these hospitals? It depends who you ask. Prime will tell you it’s because of the patient population they typically serve; very sick patients who generally do not have any health insurance or primary health coverage.

“We agree we’re going to be higher than others because we have a focus on malnutrition and because of our patient mix,” said Mike Sarrao, attorney for Prime. “Because of our business model without managed care contracts, we see more emergency room cases.”

Others suggest the high rates give the hospital a financial benefit. A diagnosis of malnutrition brings with it higher reimbursement rates from Medicare. Remarkably, in 2009, Prime reported that 25 percent of its Medicare patients had some level of malnutrition, while the state average was 7.5 percent.

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Law enforcement officers from the California Department of Justice arrested a San Jose nursing home employee on suspicion of elder abuse after it was learned the employee, according to new accounts, “yanked on the elderly man’s genitalia.” Two other employees were arrested for knowing about the abuse, and failing to report it. The three face misdemeanor charges of elder abuse and battery and failing to report.

According to a press release from the CDO, agents from the Bureau of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse received a report about “sexual misconduct” at the Idylwood Care Center. The report came from the California Department of Public Health in January after it received a tip from an anonymous source that certified nursing assistant Arnold Sampson was witnessed grabbing the testicles of a male resident and making crude comments. A criminal investigation was then commenced.

The investigation revealed that Sampson had abuse the resident on other occasions, and had threatened to continue to touch him to “torment him.”

A spokesman for the nursing home issued a statement saying that, “Idylwood has always placed the highest priority on ensuring the most responsible level of care for our residents. We have cooperated fully with the attorney general in this investigation and will continue to do so.”

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