The Sacramento Business Journal is out with an article accusing the State of California of exposing elderly nursing home residents to dangerous caregivers because state regulators have failed to implement a 2006 law that requires the creation of a centralized database for background checks on all long-term caregivers. According to…
Nursing home abuse and neglect lawyers in California often lament the state’s weak enforcement of bad nursing homes. The California Department of Public Health, due primarily to inadequate funding, rarely provides the strong oversight of California’s 1,200 or so licensed skilled nursing facilities. As a result, bad nursing homes operate…
George Washington once said: Discipline is the soul of an army. It makes small numbers formidable; procures success to the weak, and esteem to all. Letter of Instructions to the Captains of the Virginia Regiments [July 29, 1759]. The advocates of consumer rights, viewing the resources of defense firms and…
As America’s elderly population continues to explode (it will double by 2030), an important question that has received little attention in the national healthcare debate is how the U.S. will be able to deal with 78 million aging baby boomers. Those of us who practice elder abuse and neglect law…
Starting yesterday, new California regulations will require finger printing and a criminal background check for all new in-home caregivers before the caregivers can get paid. The law, enacted to help prevent fraud and elder abuse, is not being well received by many providers. Many counties have complained that the new…
Governor Schwarzenegger has vetoed SB 303, a proposed law that would require doctors to inform residents about the dangers of psychotropic medications, and require nursing homes residents to give consent before such drugs can be given. According to the California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform (CANHR), the use of psychoactive…
A report being released today by the Government Accountability Office finds that the federal program designed to identify and scrutinize the country’s worse nursing homes is missing many of the poor performers. The Centers for Medical and Medicaid Services has identified about 136 nursing homes nationwide that are considered “special…
In the 10 years since I took my first case against a nursing home for elder abuse, I have seen a growing number of homes going without liability insurance. While the uninsured problem used to be confined to the small mom-and-pop assisted living facilities with 6 to 12 beds, now…
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…
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…