The Fallbrook Hospital District Skilled Nursing Facility was fined $90,000 by the California Department of Health in a case involving the fall and subsequent death of a resident. The citation was the most severe of its kind arising from inadequate care leading to the death of the resident. Although the…
At the end of last week, a Medicare rate adjustment that cuts $16 billion in nursing home funding went into effect. That cut, combined with state cuts, is creating conditions that are likely to put nursing homes in a state of crisis. In fact, the president of the American Health…
On a fairly regular basis I get telephone calls asking for a recommendation to a “good” nursing home or assisted living facility. I have to refrain from answering, because though I have brought legal actions against many nursing homes for abuse and neglect, I also know there are plenty of…
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…
State investigators issued a $100,000 fine to nursing home Aviara Healthcare Center in Encinitas after finding that a resident’s death was caused by neglect. The resident died of blunt force trauma after a fall. According to reports, the resident was at the nursing home to rehabilitate a broken hip, and…
A report published by the National Nursing Home Survey finds that between 1999 and 2004 the number of nursing home beds and nursing home residents declined in the United States. The number of nursing home beds dropped more than 10%, or 200,000 beds, and there are approximately 100,000 fewer nursing…
This list contains the issuance of citations to Southern California nursing facilities by the California Department of Public Health over the last six months. All the citations listed are issued for reasons related to patient care. For verification of the citation, please contact the local department office or Walton Law…
A conservatorship is a protective court proceeding which is held in the Probate Division of the San Diego Superior Court. A general conservatorship can be a critical vehicle used to assist someone who has suffered a debilitating accident or injury that impairs their ability to care for themselves physically or…
A study of bed sore rates in nursing homes with a high concentration of Hispanic residents found that Hispanics were more likely to have bed sores (or pressure ulcers) than nursing homes with less Hispanic patients. The researchers looked at two data sources, the Minimum Data Set, federally mandated health…
Escondido Nursing Center received the state’s most severe citation – a AA – after the choking death of an elderly resident. According to reports, the 180-bed facility failed to modify the resident’s nutrition plan after his physician placed him on a special diet because of chewing and swallowing difficulties. During…