In California, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed into law AB 1457. Under the new law, nursing homes are required to reveal the name and contact data of the persons responsible for facility operations and for a patient's care. If an assisted living facility changes ownership, the nursing home is required to notify residents and their primary contacts.
With 1,200 nursing homes and 14,000 residential care settings, California is the state with the the most long-term care providers. According to the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services, in 2007 94% of for-profit California nursing homes were cited for federal health and safety standards violations.
Nursing home negligence and abuse continue to be issues of concern California and the rest of the US. Many patients housed in assisted living facilities either end up becoming more ill or dying because of nursing home neglect or they sustain injuries caused by nursing home abuse, nursing home violence, nursing home sexual assault, or other negligent or abusive acts.
Nursing home abuse and neglect may consist of:
• Physical assault
• Rape
• Molestation
• Battery
• Unreasonable physical restraints
• Drugging a patient to control them
• Placing a patient in isolation without just cause
• Threatening a patient
• Verbal abuse
• Emotional abuse
• Intimidation
• Fear
• Financial exploitation
• Medical neglect
• Forcing a patient to live in unsanitary or dangerous conditions
• Ignoring a patient's calls for help
• Starving a patient or not giving him or her water or other liquids
• Not changing a patient's bedsheets or clothing
• Not bathing a patient
A nursing home can be held liable for Orange County, California nursing home negligence. While there are steps that you can take to ensure that your loved one is admitted into an assisted living facility where he or she can get the proper care, unfortunately there are nursing homes where patients do become the victims of abuse or neglect despite the family's best efforts.
It is important that you remove your loved one from any abusive situation immediately and speak with our Anaheim nursing home abuse and neglect law firm about your case.
New law imposes stricter transparency requirements on California nursing homes, McKnight's, October 14, 2009
Governor Schwarzenegger Signs Legislation to Ensure Quality Care in Nursing Homes, California Chronicle, October 13, 2009
Related Web Resources:
Nursing Home Guide, California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform
AB 1457 Bill Analysis, Sen.Ca.Gov
