California Attorney General Rob Bonta has filed a lawsuit against Sweetwater Care, a San Diego-based operator of 19 skilled nursing facilities across the state, for gross violations of elder care standards. The lawsuit, filed under California’s Unfair Competition Law, alleges that Sweetwater endangered vulnerable residents by repeatedly failing to meet…
Articles Posted in Skilled Nursing
When Private Equity Buys Nursing Home, Residents Lose
“Cost-cutting is to be expected in any business, but nursing homes are particularly vulnerable. Staffing often represents the largest operating cost on a nursing home’s ledger. So, when firms buy a home, they cut staff. However, this business model has a fatal flaw. “Nurse availability,” Gupta and his colleagues wrote,…
New Law Requires Minimum Number of Hours With Nursing Home Patients
Whether nursing home patients reside at a skilled nursing facility in Escondido or elsewhere in California, they now have greater protections against elder abuse and neglect. According to a recent article in the Los Angeles Times, a new California state law requires that patients receive a minimum number of hours…
Staffing Shortages at Skilled Nursing Facilities
When does a staffing shortage at a nursing home or assisted-living facility become grounds for an elder neglect case? According to a recent article in the San Francisco Examiner, staffing levels at skilled nursing facilities and other residences for elderly Californians “is an ever-expanding problem.” The need for support services continues to grow…