New Laws

October 20, 2018

Innovation in Elder Justice is on the Horizon

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “Elder abuse is a single or repeated act, or lack of appropriate action, occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust, which causes harm or distress to an older person.”

In a study conducted by the WHO in 2017, it was estimated that 15.7 percent of people aged 60 or older experienced some sort of abuse, such as physical, verbal, emotional and/or financial, when the WHO reviewed collected data from 52 studies in 28 countries. Of note, in institutions such as nursing homes and long-term care facilities, 2 out of 3 staff members reported committing elder abuse within the past year. The WHO described abuse in institutions to include, but not be limited to, “physically restraining patients, depriving them of dignity (for instance, by leaving them in soiled clothes) and choice over daily affairs; intentionally providing insufficient care (such as allowing them to develop pressure sores); over- and under-medicating and withholding medication from patients; and emotional neglect and abuse.”

The need for innovation and transformative procedures is highly desired in the elder community. In a press release issued last month by Senators Cory Booker and Bob Menendez, they announced that Rutgers’ Institute of Health, Healthcare Policy and Aging Research School is setting out to change those statistics and was permitted over $1.4 million in federal grants from The Elder Justice Innovation Grants which was established by the Administration for Community Living (ACL) in 2016. In their joint press release, Sen. Booker and Sen. Menendez agreed that Americans should not have to worry about falling prey to exploitation and abuse as they age, especially when suffering from an incurable disease such as Alzheimer’s.

March 20, 2018

Department of Health and Human Services’ “Elder Justice Roadmap”

By Walton Law, A.P.C.

The Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Human Services have released “The Elder Justice Roadmap” on their website: www.hhs.org:

Supported by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Elder Justice Roadmap was developed by harnessing the expertise of hundreds of public and private stakeholders from across the country and by gathering their input. The goal of these expert summits was to identify the most critical priorities and concrete opportunities for greater public and private investment and engagement in elder abuse issues. The Elder Justice Roadmap reflects the knowledge and perspectives of these experts in the field and will be considered by the Elder Justice Coordinating Council and others in developing their own strategic plans to prevent and combat elder abuse.

“The Roadmap Project is an important milestone for elder justice,” said Associate Attorney General Tony West. “Elder abuse is a problem that has gone on too long, but the Roadmap Report released today can change this trajectory by offering comprehensive and concrete action items for all of the stakeholders dedicated to combating the multi-faceted dimensions of elder abuse and financial exploitation,” he explained. West continued, “While we have taken some important steps in the right direction, we must do more to prevent elder abuse from occurring in the first place and face it head on when it occurs.”

October 4, 2016

Suing for Nursing Home Abuse Has Become Easier in Southern California

By Walton Law, A.P.C.

According to a recent report from The New York Times, taking nursing home abuse claims to court has just become easier for residents and their families. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, an agency within the U.S. Health and Human Services Department, issued new rules regarding a longstanding practice wherein nursing homes stipulated in their resident contracts that any disputes or claims of abuse would be resolved in arbitration. The Federal government’s new rules now allow for nursing home residents to take their claims to court, making it far easier to seek meaningful justice.

The U.S. nursing home industry is a massive and lucrative one, particularly in Southern California. Additionally, a vast number of nursing home residents rely on government programs such as Medicaid and Medicare to subsidize their care. As such, those nursing homes receiving their own share of Federal Aid to support their programming can no longer contractually bind complainants into private arbitration to resolve their claims. This new rule will go into effect as soon as November 2016, paving a new and more feasible avenue for Southern California nursing home abuse victims to take their claims to court. It’s important to note, however, that the rule will apply only to those moving into federally aided nursing homes after the November 2016 start date.

As projections for nursing home resident growth climb—particularly in high-populated metropolitan areas, such as, San Diego— it’s especially important that governmental change to nursing home policies are introduced. Some sources report that nearly a third of all licensed nursing homes in the U.S. have been cited for federal safety standard violations. Now that new rules have been introduced regarding elder abuse lawsuits and complaints, victims finally have fair recourse under the law.

September 4, 2016

Elder Abuse Symposium Comes to Southern California

By Walton Law, A.P.C.

It is an unfortunate fact that elder abuse is a common and growing problem in San Diego and throughout the United States. Abuse of the elderly can take many forms, ranging from neglect and abandonment to physical, verbal, financial, and even sexual abuse. Fortunately, professionals in health care are constantly working towards new breakthroughs in treatment and the prevention of abuse in the elderly population. It’s true that new research and techniques are changing the face of convalescent care every day.

As the population of elders in San Diego continues to grow, it’s also encouraging to see the elder abuse epidemic be drawn out of the shadows and into the light, so we can all learn to recognize symptoms of elder abuse, and report any suspicions. One such example of shining a light on elder abuse prevention will be coming to Southern California next month.

On September 15, 2016 the 2-day USC Judith D. Tamkin International Symposium on Elder Abuse will welcome “researchers, academics, physicians, nurses, and psychologists” to participate in a weekend committed to “Closing the Research Gaps an d Moving the Field of Elder Abuse Forward.”

March 7, 2016

Elder Abuse: The Defining Report from the CDC and The National Center for Injury Prevention and Control

By Walton Law, A.P.C.

Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC) jointly introduced a publication regarding Elder Abuse. The publication states, “[it] is intended to serve as a starting point for advancing surveillance, research, and practice aimed at preventing” Elder Abuse.

What This Means

The report, titled Elder Abuse Surveillance: Uniform Defi nitions and Recommended Core Data Elements, does several things for defining Elder Abuse, including:

March 1, 2016

The Banking Industry and Financial Elder Abuse

By Walton Law, A.P.C.

A recent study that appeared in the latest edition of the Public Policy & Aging Report (PP&AR)—a publication of the National Academy on an Aging Society—has concluded that major financial institutions, like banks and insurance companies, can do much more to help prevent senior financial abuse.

In its coverage of the new study, ConsumerAffairs.com reports that both the financial abuse of seniors, as well as cognitive decline in the elderly, cause a negative and serious impact on the economy. Inaction on the part of banks and insurance companies, the study concludes, poses a serious threat to the health of the U.S. financial sector. According to Editor-in-Chief of PP&AR Robert Hudson, the problems of senior financial abuse and age-related impairment are “assuming remarkably large personal, monetary, and social dimensions. Elder abuse involves millions of individuals and billions of dollars. It damages health, harms wellbeing, and arguably costs lives.”

A different set of findings, authored by The MetLife Study of Elder Financial Abuse, estimates the monetary loses that result from senior abuse—as documented in 2010 alone—could amount to a staggering figure of at least $2.9 billion dollars. “Ironically, the age group that has amassed the most wealth over the longest period of accumulation is simultaneously at the greatest risk of financial self-impoverishment and exploitation by others,” Daniel Marson of PP&AR commented.

February 27, 2016

New California Court Ruling: Nursing Home Decision Making

By Walton Law, A.P.C.

In June 2015, the Alameda County Courthouse ruled on a case involving Health and Safety Code §1418.8. As of January 2016, a final judgment was ordered calling the outdated health code “unconstitutional.”

The Advocates

The case, brought by statewide, non-profit advocates CANHR (California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform), is a critical first step toward nursing home reform. CANHR, through advocacy, education, and legislation (and litigation when necessary) fights to “create a unified voice for long term care reform and humane alternatives to institutionalization.”

March 20, 2015

Cameras in Nursing Homes Resident’s Rooms: A violation, or safeguard against abuse?

By Walton Law, A.P.C.

NBC-7 San Diego recently reported a story exposing that:
“At 85 years old, Lynn Murphy’s health was failing, her memory fading fast. So, in October 2013, her daughter Kathe Murphy put her mother into the Oakmont of Roseville retirement community, near Sacramento.

While Lynn was in Oakmont’s memory care unit, Kathe said the staff wasn’t doing their job. She took photos of her mother’s dirty clothes, room and bathroom. She said the staff was supposed to be doing Lynn’s laundry and cleaning her living quarters. Kathe said her mother wasn’t being properly taken care of.

These were issues that Kathe said she knows about first-hand since she worked as a paralegal for 20 years for the Department of Social Services’ licensing division — the same state agency responsible for regulating and licensing elder care facilities in California.

“I said this is elder abuse. Nobody’s done anything,” Kathe said.

She took her mom out of the facility in April 2014 after she said her mom was put in bed and not checked on for almost 24 hours. Her mother died 3 weeks later.”

The tragedy has brought to light the question of whether or not installing cameras in nursing home residents’ rooms would help to prevent elder abuse and neglect. While many advocate for the installation of cameras, others declare that the installation of cameras would constitute a breach of privacy.

Current laws allow for video surveillance in common areas of a residential care facility. Yet the California Department of Social Services does not allow for cameras in resident’s rooms, citing privacy concerns.

According to the NBC-7 Story:

“The Department of Social Services Deputy Director of Public Affairs Michael Weston said the client’s right to privacy is a concern for the department.

“We view these as people’s homes, and we want people to have rights in their own home and balancing that between a business and a residence,” Weston said. “We want to be careful about.”

Weston said the department has developed proposed guidelines which would allow video cameras in private rooms under specific conditions. He said those guidelines are still being reviewed and expects to release them this spring.”

Click here to read the full story from NBC-7 San Diego.

Under California law, elder abuse is both a criminal and civil offense. Criminal elder abuse describes the willful infliction of physical or emotional suffering on an elder. Civil elder abuse typically includes any physical or financial abuse, neglect, or abandonment resulting in physical or mental harm.

If you believe that someone you know has been abused while residing in a California Nursing Home, contact an award winning elder abuse attorney today.
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March 5, 2015

New Bill Aims To Ensure Nursing Home Owners with Poor Track Record Face Stricter Guidelines; Demands Transparency Regarding Ownership of Nursing Homes

By Walton Law, A.P.C.

Under a new bill proposed by Assemblyman Kevin McCarty, D-Sacramento, the state of California would be required to establish tighter “suitability requirements” for nursing home owners, with the goal of preventing those who have a history of poor performance from acquiring additional nursing homes.

Furthermore, under Assembly Bill 927, the Department of Public Health would also be required to make it easier for the public to ascertain who exactly owns particular nursing homes throughout the state. The California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform has called for greater transparency for years, so those contemplating placing a loved one in a California nursing home are able to easily determine who owns the nursing home they are considering.

According to a multi-part series on California nursing homes as reported by the Sacramento Bee:

“California has more nursing homes than any other state, and one of the country’s highest percentages of facilities owned by for-profit interests. Yet, as more private investment groups acquire skilled-nursing facilities, and ownership structures grow ever more layered and complex, the department has not kept pace with industry changes to help consumers evaluate chains – or even to identify the principals behind them.”

The Sacramento Bee’s lengthy investigation into ownership of California nursing homes, also revealed disturbing statistics, including:

*One nursing home chain operating in California racked up abuse complaints last year at a pace seven times the statewide rate.
*A large competitor placed one in every 15 of its long-term residents in restraints.
*Still another corporate giant whose nursing homes dominate the Sacramento region experienced high nursing staff turnover at 90 percent of its facilities.

Read more about the Sacramento Bee’s investigation here: http://www.sacbee.com/news/investigations/nursing-homes/article11316812.html#storylink=cpy

All elders in California nursing homes have the right to quality care and attention. If those rights are denied, abuse must be reported. For tips on reporting suspected neglect and/or elder abuse in a California nursing home, the Justice Department has a helpful citizen’s guide that can be found at the following website: http://ag.ca.gov/bmfea/pdfs/citizens_guide.pdf
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September 30, 2014

Fines For Violations Of State Regulations At Assisted Living Homes Increase Substantially

By Walton Law, A.P.C.

Governor Jerry Brown made it clear that assisted living facilities in California will be held accountable for violations of state regulations, to the tune of a 100% increase in fines.
Until recently, fines for violations at assisted living facilities maxed out at a measly $150.00. The top fine will now be $15,000.00. This is just the latest step in a statewide effort to increase oversight of assisted living facilities. The Governor also signed 9 additional assisted living reform bills, which marks the single greatest overhaul of the elder care facility industry in almost 30 years.

This bill was co-authored by San Diego’s own Assemblyman Brian Maienschein, and extends to cover all community care facilities, not just nursing homes. So far, Governor Brown has signed 13 new bills designed to protect our elderly into law this year. The San Diego Union Tribune has a great article which explains the details of the new law. It can be read in its entirety here.

At Walton Law, APC, we are very pleased to see our politicians working harder to protect our seniors. We certainly hope that the increase in fines will prompt elder care facilities throughout the state to begin to honor the rights of patients and elders living within assisted living facilities and nursing homes throughout the state as they have promised the families of these loved one they would.
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