November 28, 2012, 12:05 AM
State regulators allow nursing home companies to siphon money away from patient care to pad corporate profits, alleges a lawsuit filed by a longtime foe of the industry. Glendale attorney Russ Balisok, who has made a career of suing nursing homes, brought the suit seeking to invalidate parts...
+ read more
May 15, 2012, 12:05 AM
Gov. Jerry Brown announced a state budget yesterday that relies on hospitals and nursing homes to achieve nearly $400 million in savings – a week after a far smaller proposal prompted concerns about patient care. The governor's revised budget is the starting point to...
+ read more
March 7, 2012, 12:05 AM
California nursing home inspectors fall short in following up on their own investigative findings, possibly enabling sustained neglect or lax practices that can injure residents, according to a new federal report. The Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General,...
+ read more
October 18, 2011, 11:30 AM
As the nation’s elderly population increases, nursing homes across the country have seen a demographic shift in their residents. More Hispanic, black and Asian seniors are moving into nursing homes, while white seniors choose other options. A study by Brown University researchers...
+ read more
June 13, 2011, 12:05 AM
California nursing homes dodged the 10 percent rate cut hitting doctors and most other Medi-Cal providers approved by the Senate on Friday, angering advocates who hoped to see funding aligned to reward top-notch care. Nursing homes carved out a deal carried by Assemblyman Bob Blumenfield...
+ read more
May 11, 2011, 12:05 AM
A federal audit found widespread and costly prescribing of antipsychotic drugs to seniors in nursing homes, often in "off-label" uses that can be deadly for elderly patients with dementia. The report released Monday by the Health and Human Services Inspector General's Office...
+ read more
March 31, 2011, 12:51 AM
A group of local elder-care ombudsmen have found an ally in the Legislature in their quest to give the state’s top ombudsman more autonomy by creating an independent nonprofit. The local groups, which investigate abuse allegations involving seniors in care facilities, grew disillusioned...
+ read more
March 11, 2011, 12:05 AM
Citing the difficulty in prosecuting elder abuse, state and local officials are proposing reforms that will streamline the reporting of cases and make it easier to obtain convictions. Assemblywoman Mariko Yamada, D-Davis, recently introduced AB 40, which would require mandated reporters...
+ read more
March 7, 2011, 12:06 AM
More than 90 percent of nursing homes employ at least one person with at least one criminal conviction, and nearly half of facilities have five people on staff with a criminal conviction, according to a report by the federal Health and Human Services Inspector General. Among those convicted,...
+ read more
January 10, 2011, 12:05 AM
In the months since a Humboldt County jury leveled a $671 million verdict against a nursing home chain, five similar lawsuits have been filed throughout California. Each case alleges that nursing homes are providing too few staff to meet resident needs. Last July, the Humboldt County jury...
+ read more
October 26, 2010, 12:06 AM
The state will be taking a closer look at how nursing homes care for patients, scrutinizing staffing levels and playing a role in evaluating patient satisfaction and staff turnover under a law signed last week by the governor. The changes are part of a package of “quality and...
+ read more
June 18, 2010, 5:22 AM
Since 2004, the state has refunded nursing homes some of the legal fees they've shelled out to fight regulatory penalties. That means that state pays for lawyers and inspectors to crack down on errant facilities, and also pays to help the facilities to fight back. But now, California...
+ read more
May 28, 2010, 4:59 AM
Assembly Budget Subcommittee Chairman Dave Jones, D-Sacramento, put the brakes on a nursing home reform proposal by the Schwarzenegger administration during a hearing yesterday. Jones, who is a candidate for insurance commissioner, asked a conference committee to consider one-year changes to a...
+ read more
May 24, 2010, 12:08 AM
The Schwarzenegger administration has proposed hiring scores of new regulators to conduct surprise audits of nursing homes after a California Watch investigation found some troubled homes had trimmed their staffs below the minimum number required by law. The governor’s plan includes...
+ read more
May 17, 2010, 5:43 PM
State officials plan to dock pay to California's nursing homes that fail to meet staffing standards set by the state. The move is one in a series of changes meant to make nursing homes more accountable for the taxpayer money they receive. The reforms are part of a larger spending plan for...
+ read more
