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Although some nursing homes in the country are dedicated to patient care, our nursing home negligence lawyers realize that others put profits ahead of patient safety to the detriment of residents. A recent lawsuit alleges that state regulators in California are permitting nursing home companies to divert money intended for patient care to corporate interests.
As NBC News is reporting, California state law allows nursing establishments to contract out their own management. That is what is being done by Country Villa Health Services, which manages 50 assisted living and skilled nursing facilities around the state. In doing so, the management company gets a percentage of profits from the homes it runs.
The problem is that the nursing home company doesn’t actually manage the facilities, but instead uses the money that is meant to provide care for patients. As a result, the homes have inadequate resources to manage residents and they are not being properly cared for.
According to industry experts, the companies that receiving fees to contract out nursing home managers aren’t focused on improving the level of patient care provided at the homes. They mostly pay attention to corporate expenses and ways to maximize profits. Furthermore, many of the homes are abhorrently understaffed, so the standard of patient care is very poor. Management changes only add to the problem.
However, as the law stands, the facilities are in compliance and have state approval for the services that are contracted out.
In another nursing home issue involving California residents, an unlicensed home manager is facing felony indictment for the extreme neglect of 12 mentally ill adults. Reports indicate that the adults were beaten, malnourished, not allowed to use toilet paper and only bathed once in a month.
When police entered the Cortona Drive residence, they found decayed food, no running water, and plenty of dogs whose feces dirtied the floors. Prosecutors filed various charges including animal neglect and dependent adult abuse against five persons.
Police came to know of the happenings at the nursing home in late May when a disabled adult’s relatives complained that they were not permitted to see their loved one at the home. Instead, they were told that he was not residing there.
Even the police were denied entrance. However, they found the resident in question inside. When officers carried out a welfare check, they found the rest home in a foul state and with locks on the refrigerator door.
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The residents were taken into protective custody without delay. In addition, animal control took away 25 dogs. Prosecutors revealed that the majority of the home’s residents suffered from serious disorders such as schizophrenia and were confined to small rooms practically the whole day. Worse, the victims alleged that the five suspects even took possession of their Social Security checks.
Investigators believed that there may be even more victims. If you suspect that your loved one was a victim of nursing home abuse or neglect, contact a nursing home abuse lawyer immediately to learn more about your legal rights.
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