California Elder Abuse in the News
According to a recent press release from the Attorney General's Office, a settlement has been reached in a civil lawsuit filed against Pleasant Care Corporation, the second largest provider of nursing home care in California. It will result in court-enforceable improvements in the quality of care for elderly Californians at 30 facilities statewide.
The Attorney General announced "All Californians are entitled to know that they are not putting personal life or health at risk when they or an elderly loved one is placed in the care of a nursing facility." Further, "Despite dozens of warnings and fines, Pleasant Care was simply unable to provide an appropriate level of care for its residents." The Attorney General also indicated that the court sanctioned settlement will make sure that Pleasant Care complies with existing law and also provides the best level of care possible.
The basis for the civil suit was numerous allegations of elder abuse and criminally negligent care, including more than 160 citations that the California Department of Health Services (DHS) has issued against Pleasant Care facilities across the state over the last five years for regulatory violations.
In addition to civil penalties, Pleasant Care is required to pay $1 million in civil penalties and $350,000 to reimburse the state for investigative costs. Other terms of the settlement mandate the following:
> Mandatory Staff Training - staff must undergo training on proper patient care in such areas as wound treatment, accurate record keeping, and the prevention of malnutrition and dehydration;
> Abuse and Neglect Investigations - each facility is required to implement policies to ensure prompt reporting and investigation of any alleged act of abuse or neglect towards a resident, and staff persons reasonably suspected of committing abuse must be placed on administrative leave during the course of the investigation;
> Compliance Officer - Pleasant Care must hire a Compliance Officer who will be responsible for ensuring that each facility complies with the law, properly responds to state and federal investigations, and delivers proper levels of care to residents;
> Independent Monitor - Pleasant Care will pay for an Independent Monitor, selected in consultation with the Attorney General, who has broad authority to order statewide quality of care improvements, and will annually report its findings to the AG over the next five years;
> Nurse to Patient Ratio - Pleasant Care must maintain nurse staffing ratio of 3.2 hours per patient, per day, subjected to outside audits to ensure compliance, and ordered to pay stipulated fines for any failure to maintain the required nurse-to-patient ratio; and,
> Whistleblower Protections - Pleasant Care must establish and maintain a whistleblower program that allows employees, residents and other individuals to anonymously report suspected violations and mistreatment of residents. A log detailing all complaints made and investigation outcomes also must be maintained and made available to the Independent Monitor and the AG.
Other terms of the settlement provide that all 30 of Pleasant Care's skilled nursing facilities in California must comply with numerous conditions that will immediately and dramatically improve the quality of care provided to residents occupying the company's more than 4,300 skilled nursing facility beds and 30 skilled nursing facilities in 14 different California counties, including: Alameda, Butte, Kern, Los Angeles, Marin, Mendocino, Riverside, San Diego, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Sonoma and Sutter. Over the last five years, DHS has issued more than 160 citations and fines against numerous Pleasant Care facilities for violations of patient care regulations, with several citations involving violations which presented an imminent danger that death or serious harm would result.
Specific egregious examples were provided in a press release from the Attorney General's Office such as in 2004 alone, eight different Pleasant Care nursing homes in California were found to have delivered "substandard" care to residents in annual surveys conducted by DHS. In 2003, a resident at the company's Ukiah facility suffered a seizure and a blocked airway because the nurse was unable to effectively aid the resident because the facilities suction machines had not been kept in working order. The resident died from acute cardiopulmonary arrest stemming from his inability to breath. In 2004, a resident at Pleasant Care's Novato facility suffered from a pressure sore that was allowed to worsen so severely that the resident ultimately died. The coroner's report cited that the resident had been subjected to "abominable wound care management."
Our own investigation and experience with cases against Pleasant Care show that there has also been a consistent failure to staff their nursing homes at the rate of 3.2 nursing hours per patient, per day as required by California law. The failure to adequately staff its facilities with qualified nurses resulted in increased profits for the corporation at the expense of its residents' health and safety.
We receive numerous complaints against facilities owned and operated by Please Care Corporation which include nursing homes which different names such as: Emmanuel Convalescent of Alameda, Cypress Acres Convalescent Hospital, Emmanuel Convalescence of Parkview, Emmanuel Convalescent of San Joaquin, Pleasant Care Convalescent of Bakersfield, Atlas Care Enterprises, Inc., Ember Care Corporation in Pomona, Maclay, Glendale, Emmanuel Convalescent of West Covina, Emmanuel Convalescent of Norwalk, Emmanuel Health Care and Rehabilitation Center in Glendora, Emmanuel Manor of Glendora, Emmanuel Health Care Center - Pinecrest, Novato Convalescent Hospital, Pleasant Care Convalescent - Ukiah, Pleasant Care - Riverside, Pleasant Care Convalescent - Corona, Ember Care Health Center of Perris, Pleasant Care Convalescent - Vista, Pleasant Care Nursing and Rehabilitation Center - San Diego, Arbor Convalescent Hospital, Good Samaritan Rehabilitation Care Center, Emmanuel Convalescent Hospital - Millbrae, Emmanuel Convalescent Hospital of San Jose, Emmanuel Convalescent of Los Gatos, Pleasant Care Rehabilitation and Nursing Center of Santa Cruz, Pleasant Care Convalescent of Petaluma, Emmanuel Convalescent Center of Yuba City.
As California Nursing Home Abuse Attorneys and Elder Abuse Lawyers, we have litigated cases against Pleasant Care Corporation and can provide your loved ones with the best representation. If you suspect a loved is, or has been, abused at a nursing home in California contact us immediately. For more information you can visit our Elder Abuse Lawyer website for Signs of Elder Abuse in California, Discovering Abuse in Nursing Homes, California Nursing Home Laws and What You Can Do. We handle cases throughout California including but not limited to Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange County, Riverside, San Bernardino, Fresno, Bakersfield, San Francisco, Sacramento, Barstow and San Jose, California.
