Articles Posted in Los Angeles Nursing Home

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Nursing homes in Los Angeles County and throughout the state of California are already subject to staffing requirements — something that is true for nursing homes in only about 20 states. However, last spring, the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized a rule that would require all long-term care facilities to have staffing requirements, including the standard of 3.48 hours per day or more for each resident, which includes requires of at least 0.55 hours per day of direct care from a registered nurse (RN), as well as at least 2.45 hours per day of direct nurse aide care. The additional 0.48 hours per day of care required, according to the finalized rule, can come from RN, licensed practice nurse (LPN) care, licensed vocational nurse (LVN) care, or nurse aide care.

The rule was finalized on April 22, 2024, yet a recent report in McKnight’s suggests that a high percentage of nursing homes across the United States are unlikely to be able to meet the requirements in the final rule. And further, the report suggests, the staffing requirements in the final rule could be undone by Trump administration actions. Will the new nationwide staffing requirements, or the possibility of a pulling back of those requirements, impact nursing home care and safety in California?

Staffing Requirements in California Nursing Homes

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As recent wildfires began to spread quickly in various parts of Los Angeles County and throughout Southern California, many residents of nursing homes and assisted-living facilities in affected areas were evacuated. According to data from the California Department of Public Health, nearly 1,000 residents of nursing homes and residential care facilities for the elderly (RCFEs) were evacuated as a result of fire risks. At the same time, not all facilities took steps to evacuate residents or to account for resident safety. 

Indeed, a recent report from NBC Los Angeles described a 96-year-old nursing home resident in her room who could see the Eaton Fire burning nearby, outside her window. The facility where that resident lived had been evacuated, but she was left in her room. Other similar news stories told of residents in Southern California left behind in nursing home evacuations, or unable to leave nursing homes where evacuations did not occur properly. What duties do nursing homes and assisted-living facilities owe residents in the event of wildfires or other environmental hazards? Consider the following information from our Los Angeles County nursing home negligence lawyers.

Nursing Homes Must Have Preparations for Safe Evacuations

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Elderly nursing home residents are at increased risk of certain injuries due to age-related factors, as well as medical conditions that are common among older adults. In addition to dealing with reduced bone health and fall-related fracture risks, as well as risks for injuries like bed sores among older adults with mobility issues, choking deaths have become a significant problem in nursing homes and assisted living facilities in Southern California. No choking death should ever occur, and these deaths are preventable when nursing homes maintain safety procedures and ensure that every resident receives the level of care they need based on their individual condition. However, nursing homes and assisted living facilities are often negligent, and residents suffer serious and deadly injuries that include choking deaths. 

According to a recent report in the Los Angeles Times, a particular Mission Hills nursing home was cited for two separate resident choking deaths in a span of fewer than three months. What should you know about the risks at this particular facility, and how does the facility’s negligence speak to the larger issue of choking deaths in nursing homes and assisted living facilities? Our Los Angeles County nursing home negligence lawyers can tell you more.

Choking Risks in Nursing Homes and Assisted Living Facilities

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Serious and fatal injuries can happen at nursing homes and assisted living facilities in Los Angeles County for many different reasons. Some of those reasons involve intentionally bad acts, including physical, emotional, and sexual abuse toward elderly residents or willful deprivation of elderly residents. Under other circumstances, older adults can sustain serious harm as a result of negligence. A staff member or the facility itself may not intend any harm, but because of issues like understaffing or employee burnout, the elderly residents might not receive the oversight and care they need to stay safe and healthy. The latter is often how choking injuries and deaths occur in nursing homes and other residential care facilities for the elderly in Southern California.

When a choking injury or death occurs, who is liable? Our Los Angeles nursing home negligence lawyers can explain in more detail.

Nursing Home Duty to Understand Choking Risks and to Take Precautions

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When a resident falls at a nursing home or assisted-living facility in Los Angeles County, who is accountable? And, perhaps more importantly, who is liable if the fallen resident does not receive quick and effective assistance, ultimately resulting in their injuries worsening? According to a recent report in The Washington Post, new data suggests that employees at nursing homes and assisted-living facilities across the country often refuse to lift residents who have fallen to avoid liability, instead calling emergency medical responders to lift the resident. By the time an emergency medical responder arrives, injuries from the fall may have worsened.

From liability to initial falls in nursing homes and assisted-living facilities to injuries worsened by a lack of quick response time, it is important to know that the facility itself could be accountable. Our Los Angeles County nursing home neglect lawyers can tell you more.

Fall Hazards in Nursing Homes and Assisted-Living Facilities

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Residents in Los Angeles County nursing homes and assisted-living facilities should never have to worry about getting hurt because of acts of violence perpetrated by staff members or fellow residents. However, as a recent study discussed in The New York Times reveals, violence is much more common than many people suspect, and it is certainly not an uncommon occurrence. When violence occurs in a Los Angeles County nursing home or assisted living facility and a resident is injured, it is important to seek legal advice. The facility itself may be liable since it has a duty of care to residents. Our experienced Los Angeles County nursing home abuse and neglect lawyers can tell you more and can assist you if you have concerns about an elderly loved one.

Violence and Injuries Caused by Other Residents

Often, when we think about nursing home abuse or neglect and injuries resulting from it, we think about injuries caused by the intentional or negligent behavior of a staff member or employee at a nursing home. Yet, as the article in The New York Times underscores, violence caused by other residents is actually extremely common. The article explains that, in nursing homes, assisted-living facilities, and other types of “long-term care facilities, residents sometimes yell at or threaten one another, lob insults, invade fellow residents’ personal or living space, rummage through others’ possessions and take them,” and “they can swat or kick or push.”

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Whether an older adult with a chronic health condition is residing in a skilled nursing facility, assisted-living facility, memory-care facility, or other location in Los Angeles County, studies have shown that these seniors tend to be more vulnerable to abuse and neglect. In particular, older adults with dementia and other forms of cognitive impairment are often targets of elder abuse in nursing homes and related facilities, and their conditions frequently prevent them from recognizing or reporting the abuse themselves. Yet, according to a recent article in McKnight’s Long-Term Care News, a new study focused on the Comprehensive Older Adult and Caregiver Help (COACH) method might be able to reduce the likelihood of physical and emotional abuse. 

Could this method also be applicable to caregivers who are employed by nursing homes and assisted-living facilities in Southern California? Our Los Angeles County nursing home abuse and neglect lawyers can say more.  

Learning About the COACH Method

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If you have an elderly parent or other loved one in a nursing home or assisted-living facility in Los Angeles County, you should always pay close attention so that you can identify possible signs of elder abuse or neglect. In Los Angeles County and across the state of California, protections for elderly adults are far behind those available to seniors in other states, according to a recent report from KTLA news. Indeed, that report cites a recent study conducted by WalletHub that shows California ranking at the very bottom — number 51 — in terms of protections against elder abuse and neglect. 

Our Los Angeles County nursing home neglect lawyers can tell you more and can speak with you today about any concerns you have.

Study Addresses California’s Poor Record Concerning Elder Abuse Protections

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Nursing homes and assisted-living facilities in Los Angeles County can provide necessary care and supervision to older adults, but these locations can also be places where elderly loved ones sustain serious and life-threatening injuries. According to data from Becker’s Hospital Review, the highest rate of elderly injuries occurs in skilled nursing facilities, followed by assisted-living facilities and other types of residential care facilities for the elderly (RCFEs). Nursing homes are distinct from assisted-living facilities or RCFEs because they provide medical care, and residents usually need more supervision and health care. 

What causes most of the injuries that older adults sustain in nursing homes? The following are some of the leading causes of nursing home injuries due to abuse and neglect in Los Angeles County.

Inadequate Supervision

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Do nursing homes in Los Angeles County have the capacity to provide appropriate care to residents with mental illnesses, or are facilities that house large populations of residents with mental illnesses more likely to be sites where injuries arise out of nursing home negligence? According to a recent KQED podcast, while nursing homes are typically thought of as spaces for older adults who need assistance with care due to physical incapacitation or cognitive impairment, “a new LAist investigation finds that thousands of people with serious mental illness are living in California’s nursing homes,” and it could potentially be a violation of federal law. In addition, nursing homes with high rates of residents with mental illness could put other residents at risk of abuse or could take necessary care time away from residents who need assistance with various activities of daily living (ADLs).

What should you know about mental illness and nursing home negligence in Southern California? Our Los Angeles nursing home neglect lawyers can tell you more. 

Nursing Homes Not Designed to Care for Residents With Serious Mental Illness

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