California Nursing Home Situation Under Senatorial Investigation
November 15, 2005
AThe California Department of Health is under scrutiny by two CA state senators over nursing home abuse and neglect rates that are on the rise. The state of California looks after some 100,000 elderly patients in 1,400 nursing homes.
The contention is over whether the state is enforcing only lenient federal nursing home standards. California has passed several laws and nursing home reforms that are not being followed through, the argument states. In addition, only about 50% of nursing home abuse cases are even investigated in a timely manner.
California's most daring legal passage was a law stating that there must be 3.2 hours of nursing home care per patient daily. This is much higher than the federal levels, but is often neglected by nursing home facilities.
The chief of the Licensing and Certification Division, Brenda Klutz, has said that the law allowed the state to cease sending surveys in order to enforce nursing home procedures. Under the laws if a violation were found during the survey, then the nursing home would be cited. This led to many nursing homes not filling out the surveys and many potential citations going unrealized in the state.
Senetar Alquist called the laws “unconscionable” and said that stopping investigations into nursing homes by independent sources would lead to more abuses and unseen violations.
Brenda Klutz has responded that California lacks the budget and technology to keep up with nursing home investigations. Over 80 supervisory positions were cut over the past four years and government computer equipment is grossly outdated and ineffectual.
The elderly rights group Foundation Aiding the Elderly filed a suit last year in order to force investigations to take place within the 10-day time limit. The group has filed over 100 complaints to the state without response.
For more information on California's nursing homes, contact us to confer with a California nursing home abuse lawyer.
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