DO YOU SUSPECT ABUSE OR NEGLECT? Contact Us for a Free Consultation

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When your elderly parent or another elderly loved one needs to move into a nursing home in Orange County for care, it can be difficult to know how to choose the right facility. While safety records, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ Five-Star Quality Rating System, and personal nursing home visits can help families to make informed decisions about nursing homes in Southern California, there are also other factors that you should consider. A recent study conducted by researchers at the University of California, Irvine, suggests that staffing instability may be among the most important factors in identifying the quality of care a nursing home can provide. Our Orange County nursing home neglect attorneys can tell you more.

Staffing Instability Impacts the Quality of Care in Nursing Homes

Consistent staffing may be among the most important factors that families should consider when deciding on a nursing home for a loved one, the recent study from UC Irvine suggests. That research, published in the journal Health Affairs Scholar, “showed that nursing homes either gained or lost a quality star when the staffing instability measure was included in the Five-Star metric,” a news release from UC Irvine reported. 

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At Nursing Home Law Group, we’re committed to protecting the rights of vulnerable seniors. That includes speaking up when proposed changes in federal policy threaten access to the long-term care so many elderly Americans depend on. Right now, a quiet but dangerous proposal in Congress could put essential nursing home care out of reach for people like Owen Allen — and thousands of others across the country.

Owen, a 64-year-old man with muscular dystrophy, lives in a Medicaid-supported nursing home in Georgia. With help from skilled staff, he works to regain his strength through therapy and daily activities. His care, like that of more than 60% of nursing home residents nationwide, is paid for by Medicaid. Without it, he simply wouldn’t be able to stay.

What’s Happening in Congress?

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Is it a good thing if there are more cameras in nursing homes and assisted-living facilities in Orange County and throughout Southern California? According to a recent article in The New York Times, cameras are becoming more prevalent in eldercare facilities across the country — both in common areas as well as in residents’ rooms. As that article emphasizes, this issue of cameras in private and semi-private rooms in nursing homes and assisted-living facilities “remains a contentious subject,” yet it is a practice that is “gaining ground” across the country. 

What should you know about cameras in nursing homes and assisted-living facilities in Southern California if you have an elderly loved one residing in one of these places? Our Orange County nursing home neglect attorneys can tell you more.

More States Allowing Cameras in Nursing Homes, Including California

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Older adults in Riverside County can experience nursing home abuse or neglect regardless of the status of their mental or physical health, but older adults with cognitive impairment tend to be at greater risk of sustaining harm as a result of abuse and neglect. Sometimes cognitive decline occurs gradually, and family members do not realize that an elderly loved one is more vulnerable until it is too late. In other circumstances, an elderly nursing home resident may have already been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia, and may be particularly vulnerable depending on the degree of their cognitive impairment.

Our Riverside County nursing home abuse and neglect attorneys can tell you more about why cognitive impairment makes older adults particularly vulnerable to abuse, and we can begin working with you as soon as you have concerns about an elderly loved one’s safety.

What is Cognitive Impairment?

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How often does elder abuse and neglect occur in San Diego County nursing homes and assisted-living facilities? According to new data reported by the National Council on Aging (NCOA), as many as one out of every five older adults in recent years — or 20% of the older adult population — may have been subject to some form of abuse or neglect. And that information still coincides with estimates that only about one out of every 24 cases of elder abuse are actually reported. As such, it is possible that far more than 20% of the elderly population experiences some form of abuse at least once. How often do subsequent acts of abuse or neglect occur? That information is not especially well documented, but according to a recent article in McKnight’s Long-Term Care News, a new program could help to prevent repeat acts of abuse and neglect in various long-term care settings.

New Hospital-Based Program Helps Seniors Who Have Experienced Elder Abuse

Older adults who have suffered harm as a result of nursing home abuse and neglect may experience abuse again — especially those who are particularly vulnerable, such as older adults with dementia or cognitive impairments. The article in McKnight’s discusses a new program specifically designed to identify seniors who have experienced mistreatment and to intervene effectively.

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Any family assessing nursing homes in San Bernardino County for an elderly loved one should be thinking about safety ratings and histories of abuse or safety violations at the facility. These numbers certainly do not tell the entire story and any nursing home — even one with a spotless record — can be a place where elder abuse occurs, or nursing home negligence results in an accidental injury or death. However, ratings and reports can provide a portion of information that should be taken seriously. At the same time, a study reported in McKnight’s Long-Term Care News suggests that there may be another factor to consider: whether the nursing home is unionized. 

Nursing home employees who are unionized are more likely to report workplace injuries, according to the report, and that information is important for a key reason: workplace injuries often occur in healthcare facilities due to employee burnout. Accordingly, a lower rate of workplace injuries could suggest a lower risk of negligence-related injuries among elderly residents. Our San Bernardino County nursing home neglect lawyers can tell you more. 

Unionization, Improved Staffing, and Less Burnout

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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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Realizing that an elderly parent needs to move into a nursing home to receive the level of care they need can be difficult — both emotionally for their adult children and other family members and in terms of finding a safe and high-quality facility. When you are looking at potential nursing homes in Orange County or elsewhere in Southern California, it is important to consider a wide range of factors. You should think about indicators of good care and safety at a facility just as carefully as potential red flags that arise during a visit. It is always important to visit ahead of time and to be sure that you have a chance to see a facility before staff members can fully plan ahead for a visit. In other words, it is important to be able to see any potential facility as it operates normally on an everyday basis. 

Once you visit a facility, you should then pay attention to signs of quality care, as well as signs that safety could be an issue.

Indicators of Quality Care in a Nursing Home

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CANHR-300x283Is there any right more fundamental than the freedom to leave a place where you do not wish to stay? For nursing home residents in California, this right is often disregarded—sometimes in direct violation of the law. Fortunately, the California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform (CANHR) has recently updated its guide for long-term care residents who are being held against their will. This guide outlines the legal protections available and provides practical steps to challenge illegal restrictions on a resident’s right to leave.

The Right to Move Freely

Imagine you live independently in an apartment, making your own choices and living life on your own terms. One day, your landlord locks you inside, installs alarms on your doors and windows, and tells you that you’re not allowed to leave. He insists that, for your own safety, you must remain inside indefinitely. When you call the police for help, they tell you that your situation is a “civil matter” and that you need a court order to be able to leave.

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