Residential care facilities for the elderly (RCFE), or assisted living facilities, are typically board and care homes for individuals age 60 or older who can no longer live by themselves, but do not need 24-hour nursing care. Typically, a RCFE will provide a bed, all meals, and assistance with certain…
About four years ago I had a very interesting case involving the death of a developmentally disabled adult in a San Bernardino care facility. In my case, the thirty-year old severely disabled man was found barely breathing on the floor next to his bed just after midnight. Medics were called,…
Dehydration in the nursing home can lead to significant complications, including death. If the human body is deprived of necessary fluids, several symptoms may appear, including an increased heart rate, decreased sweating, decreased urination, extreme fatigue, headaches, cramps, and tingling of the limbs. The causes of dehydration are several. The…
Living in a nursing home or assisted living facility continues to get more and more expensive. For a fifth consecutive year, the average annual cost for a private room in a nursing facility rose to $76,460. The costs varied dramatically state by state. The costs for living in an assisted…
Since a significant part of my law practice involves cases of abused and neglected seniors in nursing home, I get asked frequently if I can recommend a good nursing home, or at least point out the bad ones. That is, of course, impossible because of the sheer number of nursing…
Last week President Bush signed into law the Safety of Seniors Act, a bill dedicated to preventing injuries of the elderly inside the home. According to the CDC, one in every three Americans over 65 will suffer a fall their home, and nearly a third of those will require medical…
People frequently ask for a recommendation to a “good” nursing or residential care facility. It’s a question that is difficult to answer, other than to state that the style of the building or the cost of the care is rarely a good indicator of quality of care. I have sued…
Budget cuts proposed by Governor Schwarzenegger could cripple California’s oversight of Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly. Further damage to the already struggling oversight program could put thousands of RCFE residents at risk. According the California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform (CANHR), the proposed cuts come at a time when…