California Nursing Home Illegally Evicts Elders says Los Angeles Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Lawyer Steven Peck

Written by Adam Peck Category: Elder Law January 26th, 2013 2 min read

The State of California has issued 15 citations, accusing an Oroville nursing home of illegally moving 14 residents out of the facility last year.
Olive Ridge Post Acute Care was ordered to pay $15,000 in fines because of the citations, which were issued in February of 2011 indicates California Elder Abuse Lawyer Steven Peck.

In early 2010, the nursing home staff told residents of a locked unit that they would have to move out, according to the California Department of Public Health. Olive Ridge administrators began finding other nursing homes around the north state that would take these residents.

A Department of Public Health document said the state was told the locked unit, which was for residents with Alzheimer’s, dementia, psychosis and other ailments, was being phased out and would be converted to an unlocked unit.

Originally, there were 25 residents in the locked unit. By late February of 2010, 14 of them had been moved to other nursing homes. Another six were waiting to be transferred, and five were going to stay at Olive Ridge and be put in with the general population of residents.

A summary of the state’s action against Olive Ridge was posted on the Internet by the watchdog group California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform.

It stated Olive Ridge was cited for breaking a number of laws, including those requiring that residents receive ample advance notice and that nursing homes file a relocation plan with the state.

According to federal law, the only valid reasons for moving a resident to another nursing home are that the move is necessary for the resident’s health, the resident has gotten better and no longer needs the facility’s care, the safety or health of the residents are endangered, the resident has failed to pay for staying in the facility, or the facility goes out of business.

In its summary, the reform group charged that by closing its locked unit, Olive Ridge appeared to be “following an increasingly popular model of nursing home care (of) moving out long-term residents who were perceived as difficult to manage to increase the available beds for short-term rehabilitation residents who pay more for their care.”

Share it

Questions? Check with Peck Today

Blog Lead Form

Elder Abuse and Neglect in Assisted Living Facilities

Elopement in Nursing Homes

Assisted Living Abuse

Settlement Reached in Assisted Living Facility Death

Assisted Living Abuse and Neglect Attorneys

Written by Adam Peck

Expertise: Personal Injury

Adam J. Peck, ESQ is a principal with Peck Law Group, APC. In 2008, Mr. Adam Peck received his Juris Doctorate from Whittier Law School where he graduated Cum Laude. His practice is primarily dedicated to representing Elders, Dependent Adults, along with their loved ones and family members, who have suffered horrific personal injuries.