Home Health Care

January 28, 2011

Elder Abuse in Spotlight After Pearl Harbor Survivor Found Living in Squalor

Max Bauer has no doubt seen a lot in his 93 years. Among his many experiences were those aboard the naval ship USS Vestal, moored in Pearl Harbor in December 1947 when the Japanese attacked. He was particularly proud of being a Pearl Harbor survivor, and placed a special Pearl Harbor Survivor license plate on his car.

In recent year, however, times have been tough for Max. A story in San Diego Union Tribune this morning reveals a man whose life has been on the decline since his wife of 62 years died in 2007. He had become so frail that he required the assistance of a caregiver, who moved into his home in El Cajon to help care for him. That’s when things got really bad.

Increasingly, friends and neighbors didn’t hear from Max, and after concern grew the Sheriff was called out to do a welfare check and were surprised by what they found. Sheriff’s deputies discovered that Max was living in squalor, his house filled with trash, rotting food and rat droppings.

December 10, 2010

San Diego Police Investigating Elder Neglect Related Death

by Walton Law Firm

Homicide detectives in San Diego were investigating the death of an elderly woman from the Palm City area. According to reports, the woman was being cared for by a professional “caretaker.” When a relative of the 83-year-old victim called police to check on the victim, police went to the woman’s home and found her dead in the bathroom.

According to police, there were no signs of trauma but that elder abuse was suspected. Police arrested caretaker Maria Moore on suspicion of elder abuse and booked her into county jail. A cause of death has not been determined.

News accounts do not state where Moore was employed by a home health agency or whether or she was working on her own. If is determined that the victim’s death was due to neglect, Moore and the agency she works with (if there is one) may face civil liability under California’s Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act.

November 3, 2009

New State Laws Impact In-Home Care Services

by Walton Law Firm

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 mandate from the state has been poorly explained, and most are unprepared to implement it.

“We’ve been working with the counties since the budget passed to talk through these very significant changes. We understand that the timelines are very aggressive,” said Lizelda Lopez, spokeswoman for the state Department of Social Services. “But we must comply with the law.”

August 30, 2008

Resource Fair in San Marcos for Caregivers

by Walton Law Firm

The City of San Marcos has partnered with Cal State San Marcos to put on the Because I Care resource fair. The fair will be held September 6, 2008 from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm at the San Marcos Senior Center located at 111 Richmar Ave., San Marcos, 92078.
The fair will hold 20 workshops on aging, family caregiving, and living healthy lives. Representatives from the Alzheimer’s Association, the Southern Caregivers Resource Center and the UCSD Shiley-Marcos Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center will be there.

For more information, and the agenda for the day’s events, click here.

July 15, 2008

Home Care Abuse and Neglect on the Rise

by Walton Law Firm

According to estimates, there are about 1.6 million people in the United States employed to provide home care for the elderly, and advocates for the elderly say the cases of abuse, neglect, and fraud by home caregivers is growing at an alarming rate. The increase is prompting calls for more government oversight as home-care assistance grows along side the aging baby boomers, and the desire of people to avoid nursing homes.

Because the bulk of home care is being provided by non-licensed or certified nurses, who are typically regulated under state, home caregiver frequently have no training, receive minimal pay, and loosely supervised. In California, home aides who do not provide medical care are not even required to pass a criminal background check.

To research the problem, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid funded a study that screened 214,167 people who held jobs provided assistance to the elderly and discovered that over 5,000 of them had criminal histories. Advocates for the elderly are advising consumers to verify background checks from any agency that offers home care services, and those who hire directly are strongly encouraged to check references.