Nursing Homes Los Angeles County

Residents of nearly one in five nursing homes in Los Angeles County are beset by such problems as unsanitary conditions, untreated bedsores and improper use of restraints, according to a congressional staff investigation to be made public today. Eighty-three homes serving more than 8,000 people violated federal standards, placing patients at risk of serious injury or death, said the report by the Democratic staff of the House Government Operations Committee. The study will be released by Rep.

Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer said Wednesday that a Hollywood nursing home has been charged with elderly abuse and Medi-Cal fraud, and that the owners stole more than $39,000 from a Holocaust survivor. He also said that a Glendale nursing home has been charged with Medi-Cal fraud, adding that the actions are the first their kind by his office.

Larry Pierce says he couldn't believe what was happening to him when he was forced kicking and screaming from his nursing home bed, shoved into a wheelchair, rolled down a hallway and put into the back of an open pickup truck at the rear door. "I thought, 'What are these guys going to do to me?' It was like a bad dream," recalls Pierce, who suffers seizures and has difficulty walking and talking.

Residents of nearly one in five nursing homes in Los Angeles County are beset by such problems as unsanitary conditions, untreated bedsores and improper use of restraints, according to a congressional staff investigation to be made public today. Eighty-three homes serving more than 8,000 people violated federal standards, placing patients at risk of serious injury or death, said the report by the Democratic staff of the House Government Operations Committee. The study will be released by Rep.

A residential care facility for the elderly and disabled in Littlerock was closed this week after state investigators determined that operators failed to supervise their clients. One client died of exposure in the desert two days after leaving the facility this month. The Sunshine Home was served with a temporary suspension order Wednesday, and a dozen clients staying there were transferred to other facilities, said Liz Brady, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Social Services.

Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer said Wednesday that a Hollywood nursing home has been charged with elderly abuse and Medi-Cal fraud, and that the owners stole more than $39,000 from a Holocaust survivor. He also said that a Glendale nursing home has been charged with Medi-Cal fraud, adding that the actions are the first their kind by his office.

The television offers the image of an old man, bedridden, silent, eyes in motion. A health inspector is telling the nurse that the patient needs to be bathed, then they debate whether he is being turned properly to avert bed sores. Then the inspector asks the man a question: "How do you like it here?" The old man weakly flails his arms and makes a soft roar.

Patients and visitors at California nursing homes will be greeted with something new come the new year: publicly posted ratings of each facility. The federal ratings give facilities one to five stars depending on quality of care, much like restaurants display letter grades evaluating health and safety compliance. The new law is intended to ensure that patients and their families are aware of the evaluations. Nursing home officials also must post information explaining the ratings and how to obtain information about the nursing home's state licensing record from the Department of Public Health's website.

Prosecutors filed criminal charges Monday against a minister and one of his church members, accusing them of operating an unlicensed senior care facility in South-Central Los Angeles and neglecting the center's elderly residents. The Los Angeles city attorney's office alleges that, among other violations, the facility took in a man partially paralyzed by AIDS and several mentally disabled residents without providing trained employees to care for them.

Use your eyes, ears and nose if you're looking for a nursing home, says Ralph Lopez, chief of the Los Angeles County Health Facilities Division. But don't stop there, he warned. Anyone in need of a nursing home for a relative or loved one should scrutinize each potential facility's record of inspections, said Lopez, whose office is under contract to the state to inspect nursing homes in Los Angeles County--which contains one-third of such facilities in California.

Larry Pierce says he couldn't believe what was happening to him when he was forced kicking and screaming from his nursing home bed, shoved into a wheelchair, rolled down a hallway and put into the back of an open pickup truck at the rear door. "I thought, 'What are these guys going to do to me?' It was like a bad dream," recalls Pierce, who suffers seizures and has difficulty walking and talking.

A residential care facility for the elderly and disabled in Littlerock was closed this week after state investigators determined that operators failed to supervise their clients. One client died of exposure in the desert two days after leaving the facility this month. The Sunshine Home was served with a temporary suspension order Wednesday, and a dozen clients staying there were transferred to other facilities, said Liz Brady, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Social Services.

Medically oriented day-care centers for adults, once hailed as a promising way to care for the disabled and elderly, have failed to achieve the growth and popularity that Los Angeles County health officials predicted just four years ago, state and county officials said. But new state legislation providing up to $1.5 million in start-up funds may help more centers to open, the officials said.

Several vital programs that help the elderly in Los Angeles County--including a venerable watchdog agency that guards the rights of nursing home patients--are being hamstrung by the ongoing federal budget deadlock and by pending congressional funding cuts, according to officials of agencies serving senior citizens.