Petition: Mandatory Liability Insurance for California’s Assisted Living Facilities

The State of California does not require an assisted living facility (also known as a residential care facility for the elderly (RCFE) to carry liability insurance, either at the time the facility is licensed or any time during the life of the business. Whether a licensee (RCFE owner) carries liability insurance is entirely at the discretion of the licensee.

YET, California allows RCFEs to care for increasing numbers of hospice, bedridden, and other medically needy residents, but does not require any skilled medical professionals to be employed by the facilities. Simply put – this is a recipe for neglect and abuse. And worse, there is no reasonable mechanism for residents and their families to obtain meaningful accountability from these facilities when the resident is injured, made sick or dies at the hand of the licensee.

A judgment against an uninsured facility sued for wrongful death due to the neglect or abuse of a resident, is useless if the facility does not carry liability insurance. The facility receives a monetary judgment, but because there is no liability insurance to pay the judgment to the aggrieved family, the facility owner unable to pay the judgment – files bankruptcy. Few civil litigators will take a contingency case against an RCFE if the RCFE is uninsured. In either case, the family is left holding an empty bag.

CARR’s findings are that 87% of facilities in its database do not carry liability insurance at the time they are licensed. The odds are high that most residents in California live in facilities that do not carry liability insurance at all.

California must do a better job of protecting the frail, elderly, and medically needy residents living in assisted living. The decision to protect the elderly and their families can no longer be left to the licensee.

Mandatory Liability Insurance for RCFEs is both NECESSARY and OVERDUE! for three reasons: Moral Imperative, Accountability and Fairness.
• Moral Imperative: Elders and their families are at the mercy of uninsured RCFEs when the elder is injured, made ill, or suffers death at the hand of the licensee.
• Accountability: Current state regulations afford limited avenues for the family to hold the licensee accountable for harm suffered.
• Fairness: Why are frail elders not protected against ‘defective’ care delivered by RCFE owners?

Every licensed driver in California must carry liability insurance. Yet, over 8,000 assisted living facilities in California, carrying for 200,000 frail and medically needy residents, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, without benefit of skilled medical professionals being on the staff of these facilities are exempt from carrying liability insurance.

CARR says, ENOUGH. The time for accountability is now.

For the older adult in each of us, please join CARR in demanding this common sense consumer protection for all: Require that all California residential care facilities for the elderly (RCFEs) carry mandatory liability insurance.

CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS – SIGN THE PETITION!

Linda Kincaid Reports: Elder Advocates Urge Support for California AB937 to Curb Elder Abuse

California’s AB937, introduced by Assembly Member Bob Wieckowski,codifies basic personal rights for the state’s most vulnerable citizens. The right to have visitors, the right to receive phone calls, and the right to receive mail are already part of California law. However, these personal rights are often violated by court appointed conservators seeking unbridled power over vulnerable individuals.

Section 2351 of the Probate Code is amended to read:

(a) Subject to subdivision (b), the guardian or conservator, but not a limited conservator, has the care, custody, and control of, and has charge of the education of, the ward or conservatee. This control shall not extend to personal rights retained by the conservatee, including, but not limited to, the right to receive visitors, telephone calls, and personal mail, unless specifically limited by court order.

In favor of the bill are  California Advocateds for Nursing Home Reform (CANHR),  Consumer Advocates for RCFE Reform (CARR), numerous Long-Term Care Ombudsman and elder advocates throughout the state. Families of abuse victims strongly favor the rights stated in AB937.

Opposing the bill is the Californial Association of Public Administrators, Public Guardians and Public Conservators.  Santa Clara County Public Guardian Don Moody and Director of the California Department of Social Services Will Lightbourne are also on record as opposing personal rights for conservatees.

Opposition from Moody and Lightbourne is not surprising. Moody’s department unlawfully imprisoned and isolated conservatees Gisela Riordan and Lillie Scalia for years. The abuse began when Lightbourne was Santa Clara County Social Services Agency Director. After moving to Sacramento, Lightbourne publicly supported ongoing abuse by Moody. Riordan and Scalia regained their rights only after coverage by the ABC7 I-Team in San Francisco.

AB937 does not change California law. The bill simply clarifies existing personal rights and codifies those rights into the Probate Code.

The full Assembly will vote on AB937 on Thursday, May 16, 2013.
Letters of support can be sent to:
Legislative Aide Heather Falkenthal
Assemblymember Bob Wieckowski
Office: (916) 319 – 2025
Fax: (916) 319 – 2125
Heather.Falkenthal@asm.ca.gov

Full Article and Source:
Elder Advocates Urge Support of California AB937 to Curb Elder Abuse

Read AB937

CARR: California’s First Only ONLINE Assisted Living Public Recrod Search

CARR’S Facility Search is a novel approach to researching assisted living facility options. CARR founders recognized the paucity of objective information available to seniors & their families and have worked since 2009 to configure a website that offers more than marketing material. CARR’s Facility Search for RCFEs (or Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly)is the first & only website in California to offer online, the actual public documents on assisted living facilities. 
 
Visitors using our site can locate a facility by name, zip code or city using the search bar to the left. Each facility profile contains the following valuable information:

• Who owns the facility
• Who owns the property
• How many residents are allowed (capacity),
• Whether the facility has waivers (special approvals to offer hospice, bedridden, dementia, or other types of more specialized care to residents)
• Inspection reports
• Complaint investigation reports
• Regulatory violations and cited deficiencies
• Non-compliance Conference Summaries
• Secretary of State registration information
• Fire Marshal Clearances
• Other relevant documents

Full article and Source:
California’s First Only ONLINE Assisted Living Public Record Search

Recommended Website: CARR – Consumer Advocates for RCFE Reform

Consumer Advocates for RCFE Reform (CARR), was founded by Ms. Chris Murphy in May 2009, as an extension of her thesis work for a Master’s Degree in Gerontology at San Diego State University.

In early 2009, she began reviewing RCFE public records maintained at the local offices of Community Care Licensing Division (CCLD). As she collected data, she made two observations:

(1) Having been through the process of placing her mother in a local RCFE several years earlier, she realized that if she would have had access to the information she was seeing in the public file, her placement decision may have been different; and

(2), she recognized the process for requesting and obtaining the public documents for any given RCFE was cumbersome and lengthy. She also found the file documents to be unfamiliar, out of context and therefore, difficult to understand.

From these observations, the idea emerged: A website allowing free and immediate access to a facility’s public documents, thereby eliminating the state’s cumbersome request-and-return policy, and a site that offers essential information for the consumer of long-term care.

Concurrent with her thesis work, she met Ms. Chrisy Selder, at that time, also a Gerontology Master’s candidate. Together, they engaged in serious brainstorming and planning for this site. While on paper Chris is the founder, they consider themselves to be co-founders.

CARR is incorporated as a California public benefit corporation, in good standing. In January 2011, CARR received its designation by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)3 Public Charity.

Source:
Consumer Advocates for RCFE Reform