Despite California Nursing Abuse Allegations Offending Nurse Assistants Were Still Hired, Says Senate Report

According to a California Senate report released today, a computer tracking loophole within the state's Health and Human Services Agency allowed nursing assistants who had committed nursing home neglect, abuse or theft to get hired as caregivers even after they had lost their certification. A Senate subcommittee intends to hold a hearing on this matter next week.

While criminal background checks are routine, not all prospective employers check administrative actions. The state discovered 20 incidents involving nursing home assistants whose certification were taken away by the Department of Public Health but were then cleared for work by the Department of Social Services.

According to the Los Angeles Times:
• One nurse assistant's certification was revoked after she threw a softball at one client's stomach and used a puzzle to strike a developmentally disabled, blind person.

• A nurse assistant that stole from nursing home patients was approved by Social Services to work as a housekeeper in another California nursing home

Unfortunately, not all of California's approximately 140,000 caregivers and 197,000 nurse assistants have the training, experience, skills, or desire to provide their patients with the proper care. You may have grounds for filing an Orange County, California nursing home neglect lawsuit if you were abused or neglected by a nursing home worker. If your loved one was abused or neglected by a private professional caregiver, your relative may have grounds for a Los Angeles, California nursing home negligence case.

Acts of nursing home abuse and neglect can include:
• Rape
• Physical assault
• Sexual assault
• Depriving a patient of water or food
• Overmedication
• Not giving a patient his/her medication
• Unexplained cuts, bruises, wounds, or welts
• Restraint without cause
• Psychotropic or chemical restraints
• Ignoring a patient's request for help
• Failure to regularly change sheets
• Medical neglect
• Unsanitary conditions
• Failure to remove safety hazards
• Failure to provide required medical help in a timely manner
• Verbal abuse
• Emotional abuse
• Threats
• Isolating the patient from others
• Elder financial abuse