Nursing home residents have an advocate they may not even know about. California has a Long Term Care Ombudsman Program charged with the responsibility of advocating for the rights of all residents of long term care facilities. There are over 1000 nursing homes in California, so this is no small task. The program is community-supported and staffed largely by volunteers who visit nursing homes, interact with residents, and act as liaisons between residents, family and staff.
In Ventura County, residents who need assistance to improve their quality of life or to trouble shoot a problem may contact the Ventura County Ombudsman Program. Dedicated staff and volunteers have a goal of visiting local skilled nursing facilities once per week and residential care facilities for the elderly (aka assisted living or board and care facilities) once per month.
According to a recent news article on nursing home abuse in Ventura County, in the 10 months ending in May 2010 the Ventura County Ombudsman filed 194 complaints with state agencies for possible violations against 9 county nursing homes which include Maywood Acres Healthcare, Fillmore Convalescent Center, Thousand Oaks Health Care Center, Twin Pines Health Care, Simi Valley Care Center, Camarillo Healthcare Center, Victoria Care Center, Shoreline Care Center, and Country Villa Oxnard Manor Healthcare Center. In 2004, the ombudmsen filed only 10 complaints against these facilities.
Most troubling about this dramatic increase in complaints regarding quality of care is the fact that in 2004, California adopted the Medi-Cal Long Term Care Reimbursement Act of 2004 (AB 1629). The Act has resulted in increased Medi-Cal funding to nursing homes throughout the state of California. See how state money flows to nursing homes. Despite increased funding, nursing homes have actually cut staffing instead of increasing services. Staffing is the single most important indicator of care. Staffing is also the biggest line item on any nursing home budget. The fact is, without sufficient staff, residents needs cannot safely and routinely be met.
See next post for information regarding understaffing ...
