San Diego County Personal Injury Lawyer - Nursing Home Elder Abuse and Neglect

Nearly Half of California Nursing Homes Do Not Meet Federal Standards

Randy Walton — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 14:46:40 GMT

Medicare and Medicaid released a report this week listing nursing homes and hospitals from around the country that have fallen below benchmarks set for patient restraints, bedsores, and surgical infections. Of the 1400 California nursing homes, 674 made the list.

The purpose in releasing the specific nursing homes was to hold accountable the private contractors hired by Medicare and Medicaid to monitor quality standards and health care facilities the receive Medicare payments.

San Francisco-based Lumetra has monitored quality standards at California health care facilities that receive Medicare payments since 1984. Medicare and Medicaid spokesman Peter Ashkenaz said his agency released its facility lists to hold companies such as Lumetra more accountable for the work they do
This list is a tool to manage the quality-improvement organizations," Ashkenaz said. "This is not about facilities. This does not mean these are bad facilities.

It may not mean the facilities are bad, but it clearly means that nursing home residents are being neglected to some degree. Like most standards, the Federal standards are meant to be the minimum standards; the hope being that facilities will not just meet them, but exceed them. The unfortunate reality is that most facilities use the prevailing standards as the standard of care they are to provide, and just barely meet them, when for some residents the minimum standards will not do.

For the names of all San Diego, Orange, Riverside, Los Angeles and San Bernardino nursing facilities that made the list visit Medicare's website.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Randy Walton

California Budget Cuts May Endanger Elderly

Randy Walton — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 15:53:26 GMT

Governor Schwarzenegger's proposed cuts of the California budget may increase the risk of elder neglect and abuse to the nearly 150,000 elderly residents of nursing and residential care facilities.

According to the California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform (CANHR), the proposed cuts will reduce inspections and will further cripple an already struggling program. Moreover, a reduction in the budget of the Department of Social Services Community Care Licensing Division - which currently is only required to inspected residential facilities once every five years - while assisted living care is growing rapidly is a set up for disaster.

"Inspecting RCFEs once every five years or less is a recipe for neglect and abuse," said Patricia McGinnis, CANHR's executive director. "Care standards and residents' rights become virtually meaningless when inspections are so rare. Issuing a license under these conditions deceives consumers who assume the state is conducting regular inspections or offering oversight and protection to residents."

Currently there are more than 7,500 assisted living facilities for the elderly in California, a 25% increase since 2000. Yet the state inspection system of these facilities, once the model for other states, has continually diminished.

An increase in oversight and enforcement is needed now more than ever. The present oversight system does not ensure the basic care and safety of elderly residents. At the very least, each RCFE should be inspected every two years. Facilities with poor compliance histories should be inspected annually or more often.

For more information contact Pat McGinnis at CANHR, (415) 974-5171.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Randy Walton

Fancy Nursing Home, Shocking Death

Randy Walton — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 15:32:26 GMT

Because part of my law practice involves representing seniors in nursing homes who have been subjected to abuse or neglect, I am frequently asked for recommendations for a "good" nursing home. I respond that I don't know any. But on the other hand, I tell the person asking, I don't necessarily know the "bad" ones either. One thing I have learned, in cases against fancy chain homes or the mom-and-pops - the price one pays for care is not necessarily indicative of the quality of care one receives.

Take this tragic elder abuse story in Los Angeles County.

When Elmore Kittower's wife placed him an upscale nursing home in Calabasas called Silverado Senior Living it was the first time in their 49 years together that they lived apart. The disabilities Elmore suffered because of a stroke made it too difficult for Rita Kittower to care for her husband at home.

And when Elmore died in the facility approximately two weeks after his 80th birthday, Rita had been told his death was a peaceful one. She believed his death was meant to be. Then she received a jolting phone call the day after Elmore's funeral.

She had bade a tearful goodbye to her mate of 49 years, who had passed away in an exclusive assisted living facility in Calabasas. "He just stopped breathing," Kittower said she was told by a staff member.
A woman claiming to be an employee of the nursing home told Rita that her 80-year-old husband's death had been anything but peaceful. She said Elmore Kittower had been beaten to death by someone on the staff.
"She just couldn't stand what she saw," Rita said. "She had to tell me what happened."
The woman said a staff member had punched Elmore in the eye and wrapped a towel around his head in an apparent attempt to suffocate him.
"I felt like I was going to throw up" Rita recalled. "I said I can't listen to this."
She hung up the phone, but not before getting the woman's number. Rita asked her son to call the woman back. He elicited more details from the caller. When Rita asked about it, he said, "You don't want to know."

The sheriff has investigated the matter, but the district attorney has decided not to prosecute the employee of the facility, who has since been let go for "policy violations." A spokesman for Silverado Senior Living said the company had completed its own investigation and "found nothing to substantiate any wrongdoing."

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Randy Walton

Riverside County Nursing Home Fined After Death of Resident

Walton Barber, LLP — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 10:58:09 GMT

Our firm represents individuals and families all over Southern California in cases involving nursing home neglect and abuse, and has seen first hand just how bad care can be in certain nursing homes. But I still get shocked at some of the carelessness that occurs by those taking care of some of our most fragile citizens. Take this story elder neglect just up the freeway in Fontana.

Regulators from the California Department of Health Services issued a AA citation and a $100,000 fine against Citrus Nursing Center in Fontana. The citation and fine came after a 91-year-old resident was dropped on her head and died last March. The AA is the most severe citation given.

According to reports, last February a nursing assistant negligently tried to transfer the resident from her wheelchair to her bed with a portable lift. The woman fell, striking her head on the floor. She died nine days later of blunt force trauma to her head.

It's unclear why it took eight months for the state to complete its investigation.

Mike Connors, spokesman for the consumer watchdog group California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform, said Friday he doesn't understand why it took the state so long to fine Citrus Nursing Center after inspectors finished their investigation.
"That's totally unacceptable, especially for a death," Connors said. "The state is not working for consumers when it takes eight months to issue a citation in a death."

This wasn't the first time Citrus Nursing Center has been subject fines. In 2006, inspectors issued the nursing home two A citations and fine totaling $25,000.

For more information on this subject, please refer to the section on Nursing Home and Elder Abuse.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Walton Barber, LLP

Elder Abuse: Woman Dies After Leaving Palomar Heights Care Center

Scott Barber — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 07:00:03 GMT

A 94 year-old resident of Palomar Heights Care Center in Escondido died early Thanksgiving morning after wandering out of the facility and being struck by a car. To compound matters the resident, Maria Cobian, was wearing a bracelet intended to alert staff if she attempted to leave the facility. According to Escondido Police, the only door the bracelet doesn't trigger an alarm. "Either she went out a door and set off an alarm that wasn't heard or she went out the front," said Escondido Police Officer Mike Garcia. Repoertedly, staff told Ms. Cobian's grandson that they were distracted with another resident at the time. This is not the first time Palomar Heights has been hit with allegations of elder abuse or neglect.

According to an article by the San Diego Union-Tribune, this is not the first time Palomar Heights has been the subject of scrutiny. Last year the facility was hit with a $100,000 fine from the California Department of Health Services after a 66 year-old patient died after being left alone while smoking a cigarrette while connected to an oxygen machine. That resident burned for for six minutes and eventually succumbed to his injuries. In addition, while under previous ownership, the facility was hit by a sting operation by the State Attorney General resulting in the arrests of 12 staff members for elder abuse.

This appears to be yet another sad case in which a nursing home is short-staffed and it is the residents who pay. There should have been enough staff in the facility to take care of the other resident and still have someone watching the front door or listening for alarms.

For more information on this subject, please refer to the section on Nursing Home and Elder Abuse.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Scott Barber

Seniors Fear Nursing Homes More Than Death

Randy Walton — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 14:14:19 GMT

Studies show that elderly people fear moving into a nursing home and losing independence more than they fear death. Are you surprised to read this? I'm not.

A study called "Aging in Place in America" found that seniors, when asked feared losing their independence most [26%], and second moving into a nursing home [13%]. Only 3% of seniors said that death was their greatest fear.

Here are some interesting findings from the study:

89% of seniors want to age in place - or grow older without having to move from their homes - and more than half (53%) are concerned about their ability to do so.
82% of Baby Boomers fear their parents will be mistreated in a nursing home and 89% fear their parents will be sad.
Seniors living at home are determined to maintain their independence, reporting that they require - and receive - limited support from their children or other caregivers.
63% Boomers say they are providing some kind of help or support their parents.
Half of seniors are open to using new technologies to enable independence, including having sensors installed in their homes to monitor their health.
Baby Boomers have not turned to technology to assist their aging parents. Only 14% have actually looked for solutions that would help them ensure the health and safety of their parents.

The research for the study was conducted by an independent research company, polling over 800 seniors and Baby Boomers.

For more information on this subject, please refer to the section on Nursing Home and Elder Abuse.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Randy Walton

Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against California Nursing Homes

Randy Walton — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 14:41:41 GMT

A class action lawsuit for substandard nursing home care was filed in Orange County Superior Court against S&F Management Company, Inc.; S&F Management Company, LLC; Windsor Healthcare Management, Inc.; and its 15 skilled nursing care facilities around the state of California.

Stephen Garcia, attorney for the plaintiff, alleges in the complaint that Windsor promotes itself in a misleading way, claiming to provide superior care to the elderly, when in fact that Windsor-owned facilities have a substandard track record.

"The Windsor facilities make great claims, but they don't deliver. In fact, I believe they are an elder abuse case in the making," says Garcia. "We know they aren't providing what they promise -- excellent care -- because the 15 facilities have a long record with the California Department of Health Services of repeatedly receiving citations of deficiencies that found the facilities consistently provided their residents substandard care and violated their rights."

The California nursing facilities named identified in the lawsuit are:

Windsor Gardens Convalescent Center of Anaheim
Windsor Palms Care Center of Artesia
Windsor Manor Rehabilitation Center of Concord
Windsor Park Center of Fremont
Windsor Gardens Care Center of Fullerton
Windsor Gardens Convalescent Center of Hawthorne
Windsor Gardens Care Center of Hayward
Windsor Convalescent Center of North Long Beach
Windsor Convalescent Center of Long Beach
Windsor Gardens Convalescent Hospital of Los Angeles
Windsor Gardens Convalescent Center of San Diego
Windsor Gardens Healthcare Center of North Hollywood
Windsor Gardens Rehabilitation Center of Salina
Windsor Gardens Convalescent & Rehabilitation Center of Golden Hill
Windsor Terrace Healthcare Center

For more information on this subject, please refer to the section on Nursing Home and Elder Abuse.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Randy Walton

Nursing Home Advocates Rip Governor's Veto

Randy Walton — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 10:11:23 GMT

Advocates for nursing home residents were stunned by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's veto of a bill that would have required state nursing home inspectors to complete complaint investigations of abuse and neglect in a timely manner. The bill, which required that investigations be completed in 40 days, had broad support in Sacramento.

"I think its garbage," said Pat McGinnis, executive director of California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform (CANHR), a nonprofit consumer advocacy group. "Obviously, he hasn't looked at the bill. We had to file a lawsuit to get them to do what they were supposed to do."
Last year, McGinnis' group sued the Department of Public Health's licensing division to force it to begin consumer complaint investigations as required by state law. The division was ordered to start chipping away at thousands of backlogged complaints, plus begin investigating new complaints within 10 days as required.
The licensing division's policy is to complete investigations within 45 days. No state-mandated deadline exists.

Without the law, it's impossible to determine whether investigations are being completed in a timely manner, or whether wrongdoing is being found.

Department data indicates the Public Health Department's inspectors are following the law, said Mike Connors, of the nursing home reform organization. No one knows how long the investigations last or how many consumer complaints are validated because that information doesn't have to be reported.
"We don't know if it is conducting timely investigations of facility-reported incidents of abuse and neglect, which outnumber public complaints," Connors said. "The court order doesn't address facility-reported incidents of abuse and neglect because current state law doesn't establish investigation timelines for them."

Incredibly, California's state auditor recently found that of the approximately 17,000 nursing home complaints filed in the previous two years, fewer than 40% were completed in an acceptable amount of time. The problem with slow complaints is self-evident. Evidence gets lost or stale, witnesses disappear, and, sadly, residents die.

The failure to promptly investigate complaints of nursing home abuse and neglect is a growing problem and Californians should be thankful a group like CANHR is working hard to protect this vulnerable segment of our society.

For more information on this subject, please refer to the section on Nursing Home and Elder Abuse.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Randy Walton

A Ghoulish Story of Dependent Adult Abuse

Randy Walton — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 11:21:51 GMT

This Halloween a San Luis Obispo transplant surgeon is accused of dependent adult abuse after allegedly prescribing excessive painkillers and sedatives to expedite the death of a 25-year-old patient with the hope of harvesting his organs.

Prosecutors say Dr. Hootan Roozrokh ordered massive doses of drugs to speed the death of 25-year-old Ruben Navarro last year. Navarro was taken to Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center last winter after suffering cardiac arrest. He was later taken off a ventilator and prepared for organ donation. However, his kidneys and liver were never harvested because he did not die within the time when the organs would have been viable.

Dr. Roozokh has pleaded not guilty to the allegations, and his lawyer M. Gerald Schwartzbach says his client did nothing wrong.

For more information on this subject, please refer to the section on Nursing Home and Elder Abuse.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Randy Walton

Bill to Protect Nursing Home Abuse Victims Vetoed

Randy Walton — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 20:22:38 GMT

Only hours before it would become law, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed AB 399, a popular assembly bill that would have required the California Department of Public Health to complete investigations of nursing home neglect and abuse complaints within reasonable time limits and to notify complainants of findings.

According to the California Advocates of Nursing Home Reform (CANHR), abuse and neglect have reached crisis proportions in California nursing homes. We currently have several elder abuse cases in our office that support this belief.

Complaints and facility reports of abuse and neglect have more than doubled in recent years and continue to grow at double-digit rates each year. More than 15,000 complaints and facility reports are expected to be investigated this year.
The California Department of Public Health's longstanding failure to conduct timely and effective investigations of nursing home complaints is a serious problem. The failures are well documented in a series of government reports, including an April 2007 report by the California State Auditor. It shows the Department failed to timely complete more than 60 percent of 15,275 investigations conducted between July 2004 and April 2006, and that more than 500 complaints remained open for more than one year.
For nursing home residents, the broken investigation system is a matter of life and death. The slow investigations subject residents to continued mistreatment and also compromise the Department's ability to collect evidence. Most nursing homes face no consequences for abuse or neglect because the Department substantiates so few complaints (only one in six according to a 2007 study by the California Healthcare Foundation).

This is a serious problem folks. In my practice I have seen it again and again - horrendous acts of neglect in the nursing home setting verified by an "official" investigation, but no citations issued.

Thanks to CANHR for all there hard work on this issue.

For more information on this subject, please refer to the section on Nursing Home and Elder Abuse.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Randy Walton