California Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog

May 5, 2015

Proposed Legislation for RCFE Reform and Excluded Persons Lists

In California, elder abuse isn’t limited to nursing homes. To be sure, residential care facilities for the elderly (RCFEs), which are also known as assisted-living facilities, retirement homes, and board and care homes, have been cited for numerous instances of elder abuse and neglect. And given that RCFEs only provide incidental medical services, these facilities aren’t subject to the same regulations as nursing homes. Which ones are safest for your elderly loved one? And which facilities haven’t been implicated in recent nursing home abuse allegations? Proposed legislation seeks to help Californians with these important questions.

New Bill Aims to Provide Access to Elder Abuse Information

Many RCFEs exist throughout the state of California. According to the California Department of Social Services, they offer services ranging from personal supervision and assistance with activities of daily living to medical services that are incidental to personal care. How can consumers know which of these facilities will provide the best care to their elderly loved ones?

May 1, 2015

Senate Committee Approves Unscrupulous Elder Care Referral Agencies Bill

by Nursing Home Law Group

Did you search for a nursing home or assisted-living facility in California through an elder care referral agency? In some cases, unfortunately, older adults end up in facilities that have financial arrangements with these referral agencies, and those elderly residents become the victims of nursing home abuse or neglect. Now, according to a recent article in California Newswire, Senate Bill 648 aims to provide greater protection to seniors who seek referrals through these agencies.

Proposed Legislation to Protect Seniors from Bad Business Practices

How will Senate Bill 648 help elderly Californians and their families when it comes time to select a nursing home or assisted-living facility? In short, if the proposed legislation passes, it will strengthen the licensing and financial disclosure requirements for elder care referral agencies. The bill, according to the article, is on its way to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

April 22, 2015

Rising Costs of Elder Care in California Prompt Additional Scrutiny

by Nursing Home Law Group

Given that reports concerning nursing home abuse and neglect have made clear that such crimes simply don’t discriminate based on the cost of a facility, should Californians be concerned about the link between the rising costs of long-term care and the risks of elder abuse?

In short, it’s possible that, due to the rising costs of this type of care, facilities could try to cut back on budgets in certain areas in order to attract elderly residents and their families. But could this type of attention to pricing lead to inadequate staffing, for instance?

Need for Vigilance at Long-Term Care Facilities

April 17, 2015

California Begins Clearing Nursing Home Complaint Backlog

by Nursing Home Law Group

Over the past year, elderly California residents and their family members have been made all too aware that, if they file elder abuse complaints, the Department of Public Health isn’t likely to respond in a timely manner. However, according to a recent article in California Healthline, testimony given in a joint legislative hearing emphasized that “progress has been made in clearing a huge backlog of nursing home complaints, and steps have been taken to ensure it won’t happen again.”

Department of Public Health Discusses Progress

Last October, a report from a state auditor revealed that the California Department of Public Health had a backlog of about 11,000 complaints concerning elder abuse in nursing homes and related facilities. According to Elaine Howle, the California state auditor, “many of them were urgent and serious complaints, and others were designated as high priority.” Of those complaints, Howle indicated that around 40 percent of those in the backlog fell into the category of “immediate or non-immediate jeopardy designations.”

April 8, 2015

Learning More About San Diego Elder Abuse Investigations

by Nursing Home Law Group

How, exactly, do elder abuse investigations work? After national news that Harper Lee, the famous author of To Kill A Mockingbird, might have been the victim of elder abuse, an article in Slate provided an in-depth look into investigations concerning reports of elder abuse and neglect. While each state has its own methods for looking into reports of nursing home abuse and other violations, it’s important for Californians with elderly parents and loved ones to understand the basics of an elder abuse inquiry.

The Allegedly “Murky Field” of Elder Abuse and Competence

What does elder abuse look like, and how can we be certain when we see it? According to Rosalie Kane, a professor of health policy and management at the University of Minnesota, “the concept of elder abuse is a murky field.” Kane explained that “sometimes there’s too much branding of older people as incompetent,” and that can complicate conceptions of elder abuse. In other words, Kane believes that investigations into elder abuse allegations often aren’t taken seriously because of suspicions about the victim’s mental capacity.

April 2, 2015

Pilot Program for Elder Abuse Victims

by Nursing Home Law Group

When older adults become victims of elder abuse in their own homes, do they have any options to escape the violence? According to a recent article in the Orange County Register, more elderly adults are reporting that they’ve been the victims of physical abuse in Southern California, and the Orange County Elder and Dependent Adult Abuse Registry received more than 9,000 such reports last year alone.

Elder Abuse on the Rise in Orange County

Over the last 10 years, the Orange County Elder and Dependent Adult Abuse Registry has received a 74 percent increase in reports of abuse. Between 2013 and 2014 alone, the reported cases of abuse rose by nearly 14 percent. Of those calls, more than 75 percent involved seniors aged 65 and older. Yet experts suspect that the number is actually much higher. In other words, numerous cases simply go unreported.

March 26, 2015

Felony Elder Abuse Charges in Castro Valley Case

by Nursing Home Law Group

Back in 2013, a number of elderly residents in a Castro Valley facility were abandoned, “left without proper staffing or care for two days,” according to a recent article in the San Jose Mercury News. Now, the owner and administrator from the facility, Valley Springs Manor, “have been charged with felony elder abuse and could face up to 17 years in prison if convicted.”

Indictment for Felony Elder Abuse

Who can be held liable for the serious allegations concerning nursing home abuse in Castro Valley? Based on an announcement from California Attorney General Kamala Harris, both the owner of Valley Springs Manor, Herminigilda Manuel, as well as a top administrator, Edgar Babael, have been indicted on 14 felony counts of elder abuse. Manuel was arrested by agents from the Department of Homeland Security at San Francisco International Airport, and a warrant has been issued for the arrest of Babel.

March 17, 2015

Court Prohibits California Health Department from Hiding Nursing Home Citations

by Nursing Home Law Group

According to a recent report from CBS Sacramento, a California court made clear that “health officials may no longer hide from public view all the relevant details about citations issued to hospitals and nursing homes.” To be sure, the California Supreme court unanimously decided that “only the names of patients may be omitted when the California Department of Public health releases records describing the sanctions it imposed on long-term care facilities for providing improper care or endangering clients.”

Will this decision help to address issues of nursing home abuse and elder neglect across the state?

Background of the Center for Investigative Reporting Case

March 11, 2015

Protecting Our Most Vulnerable: Confronting Sexual Abuse in San Francisco Bay Area Nursing Homes

by Nursing Home Law Group

When we discuss nursing home negligence, the conversation often centers on slip-and-falls, bedsores, or medication errors. These are tragic and far too common, but there is a darker, often silenced reality within the long-term care industry: sexual assault.

A harrowing case out of Greenbrae, California, recently brought this issue into the spotlight. A female resident of Kindred Nursing and Transitional Care filed a lawsuit alleging she was sexually assaulted twice within an eight-month span. The details are chilling—one incident involved an assailant dressed in medical scrubs and a surgical mask who removed the resident from her bed to commit the assault.

Perhaps more disturbing than the act itself was the facility’s response. Reports indicate that the Director of Nursing allegedly told staff there was “no need to inform the police” because the attack had occurred 12 hours prior. While the California Department of Public Health eventually launched investigations, the resident passed away at age 89 before seeing full justice in a courtroom.

March 4, 2015

Nursing Home Cameras and Elder Abuse Prevention

by Nursing Home Law Group

Many Californians have loved ones in nursing homes or assisted-living facilities. While we want to put our trust in these facilities and to believe that they are treating our elderly parents and relatives properly, many of us worry about the risks of nursing home abuse and neglect. According to a recent article from NBC San Diego, local families want to install cameras in patient bedrooms, “but they are facing a roadblock from the state.”

Documenting Elder Neglect in Southern California

Why wouldn’t the state want to use video cameras in patient rooms to monitor for elder abuse or neglect? According to Joe Balbas, the co-owner of Vista Gardens, “elderly patients in nursing facilities should have the option of having security cameras in their room[s].” Vista Gardens is a residential facility for patients with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. Balbas believes that installing cameras in rooms—at the request of patients and their families—could help to prevent serious injuries.

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