Advocates hope that attention evoked by the coronavirus pandemic, which has resulted in more than 3,930 COVID-19 related deaths of nursing home residents and staff in the county, will help strengthen oversight of troubled nursing homes in the region.
Brenda Gazzar, LA Daily News, April 16, 2021
“(HFID is) not there to make sure facilities don’t get in trouble,” said Molly Davies, who oversees the long-term care ombudsman program in Los Angeles County that investigates and tries to resolve complaints of residents in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities. “They are there to make sure facilities are providing good care.”
Davies cited an incident in which her ombudsman program first reported evidence of a water leak at a Glendale nursing home to Los Angeles County’s HFID in March of 2016.
Despite subsequent referrals, it wasn’t until two years later – after the matter had been referred to Cal/OSHA — that the repairs at Griffith Park Healthcare Center were made, according to a detailed timeline provided by Davies.
SOS NETWORK: The Second LA County Office of Inspector General Interim Report is here: https://oig.lacounty.gov/Portals/OIG/Reports/SNF_Second%20Interim%20Reports_February%202021.pdf
The first interim report is located here: https://oig.lacounty.gov/Portals/OIG/Reports/SNF_First%20Interim%20Report_October%202020.pdf