Discussions about the use of cameras in nursing homes in Orange County and throughout Southern California have become common as lawmakers, safety advocates, and family members seek innovative solutions to prevent nursing home abuse and neglect and to gain evidence to hold perpetrators accountable. Yet, are cameras in residents’ rooms…
Oceanside nursing home residents and their families should consider learning more about therapy animals and how they could help to improve the general health and quality of life for seniors who reside in nursing homes and assisted-living facilities in Southern California. According to a recent article in U-T San Diego,…
How much decision-making power does a Chula Vista nursing home resident get when it comes to his or her quality of care? According to a recent article from Kaiser Health News, seniors in Southern California and across the country may be able to have more autonomy through shifts in federal…
View Larger Map Peer-on-peer abuse in the nursing home setting is a problem that gets very little attention, but occurs with more and more frequency. A horrific example of this occurred two weeks ago at Chino Valley Health Care Center in Pomona. On November 23rd, John Lazzaro, a 91-year-old resident…
As California starts to overhaul the regulation of its 350,000 registered nurses, one of the nursing board’s most promoted and trouble programs is under the microscope. The nursing drug diversion program, which seeks to help nurses maintain their licenses while they kick addiction to drugs, has apparently not been the…
Elder abuse cases are rarely reported, and even more rarely prosecuted. “Elder abuse cases, for whatever inappropriate reason, are not considered as severe,” said Riverside County District Attorney Rod Pacheco. The reasons for the low reporting and prosecuting are varied. There is the embarrassment of being a victim, and in…
The Walton Law Firm elder abuse and neglect lawsuit filed against Vista Hospital of Riverside was the subject of a front page story in the Press Enterprise newspaper today. The lawsuit arises out of the improper care provided to 78-year-old Shirley Buffa, who died after the hospital failed to administer…
Southern California legislators are supporting a proposal that would require nursing homes to post their ratings on the front door, much like health grades are posted at restaurants. Yesterday, Assembly Bill 215 was introduced in the California legislature to require that any nursing home that receive federal money to prominently…
Nursing Home Compare, a five-star rating system used to rate nursing homes nationwide, has been updated and upgraded by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The updated website (click here) is intended to make choosing a nursing home easier for searching, and will hopefully have the effect of “outing”…
The California Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program is the state program responsible to investigate and resolve complaints made by individuals (or their representatives) residing in long-term care facilities such as nursing homes. Last week, when the California budget was signed by Governor Schwarzenegger, he cut state funding for the ombudsman program.…