Formerly Keiro Nursing and Retirement Homes, the iconic Japanese American community resource. We demand answers! “We must be assured that these complaints and these lives are not swept under the rug. This community and these seniors are too precious a resource to just abandon.” – Rep. Judy Chu, Chair, Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (D-Pasadena) … Read more
Rep. Judy Chu (D-Pasadena) has called for a multi-level investigation into the COVID-19 deaths at Kei-Ai Los Angeles, owned by Pacifica Companies.
In August 2021, over 80 residents, mostly Japanese American and Japanese women in their 80s and 90s, were evicted from the Pacifica Companies-owned Sakura Intermediate Care Facility (ICF), to make way for high-rental rate apartments and a parking lot. This was the only facility of its kind in the entire U.S. that was providing dedicated … Read more
Rafu Shimpo 10/01/2022 On Saturday, Oct. 8, Save Our Seniors Network will hold “Kansha (Gratitude) Obon 3,” which will commemorate 139 seniors who died of COVID-19 in two Pacifica Co.-owned facilities, Kei-Ai L.A. and Kei-Ai South Bay. The event will take place from 7 to 9 p.m. in the plaza of the Japanese American National … Read more
Save Our Seniors Network (SOSN) is sponsoring an event to present a panel of the families who testified to James Toma, California State Special Assistant Attorney General. They will be sharing their experiences at a community meeting on September 18, from 2 pm – 4 pm at Rissho Kosei-kai Buddhist Church in Boyle Heights. The … Read more
When Governor Gavin Newsom undermined the successful grassroots lobby effort to pass AB 279 which would have stalled evictions and reductions of services at California senior homes like the Sakura IFC, it raised the question of who he is working for. The language of his veto statement seemed like a copy/paste job of arguments from … Read more
We, members of the statewide and national Save Our Seniors Network, are outraged at your Oct. 7, 2021, veto of Assembly Bill 279.
AB 279 was straightforward urgency legislation to protect seniors. It received an overwhelming, bipartisan 91 “ayes” to 10 “nos” (95%) cumulative vote in the Legislature, and was determined by both the Assembly and Senate Committees on Appropriations to have negligible fiscal impact.
This bill was designed to prevent involuntary, medically non-necessary transfers of residents from an intermediate care facility (ICF) or a skilled nursing facility (SNF), and to halt significant reductions in services thereat, during the COVID-19 state of emergency.
https://calmatters.org/newsletters/whatmatters/2021/10/newsom-admin-ripped-for-nursing-home-policies/ California’s reputation as a national leader in the COVID response was turned on its head Tuesday, when state lawmakers launched a blistering attack on the Newsom administration’s handling of nursing homes amid the pandemic. Meanwhile, death rates continue to climb at Kei-Ai Los Angeles. Kei-Ai Los Angeles leads CA nursing homes in cumulative … Read more
November 2, 2021 The Honorable Gavin Newsom, Governor of California: We, members of the statewide and national Save Our Seniors Network, are outraged at your October 7, 2021, veto of Assembly Bill 279. AB 279 was straightforward urgency legislation to protect seniors. It received an overwhelming, bipartisan 91 AYES to 10 NOES (95%) cumulative vote in … Read more
With his veto of AB 279, which sought to halt evictions of seniors from, and reductions of services at licensed senior care facilities during the pandemic, Governor Gavin Newsom’s capitulation to serving the interests of Pacifica Companies aside, it was also a blatant disregard for the well-being of seniors in general, who are among the … Read more