The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health is the agency tasked with oversight of the county’s nursing home facilities. However, some groups indicate that a change is needed.
At the same time, a new ruling by the State Supreme Court caps awards for nursing home violations.
Call for a change to improve safety
According to a report by Capital and Main, Los Angeles County nursing homes have received more than $3.5 million in fines since the start of 2019. Many concerns and allegations have surfaced regarding unreported or undereported instances of abuse, lack of proper investigation of abuse claims, safety risks to patients and more.
Some groups have asserted that the LA County Department of Public Health should no longer oversee these facilities. No other county in the state assumes such responsibility for its own nursing homes. With more than 300 nursing homes in the county, the number of people at risk is great.
Many insist that the response by nursing homes in the county through the pandemic has been significantly poor, putting many people in jeopardy and limiting access to proper reporting for full transparency and accountability.
Financial compensation capped
The California State Supreme Court recently issued a ruling that places a $500 limit on financial compensation for violation claims by residents. According to KTLA, this cap applies to all violations in a single claim instead of to each violation a resident may have experienced. Two of the presiding justices voted against this outcome, instead preferring each violation to be aligned with the cap on its own.
