State moves to suspend licenses of troubled L.A. nursing home companies
The state health department sent letters last month to seven companies in Los Angeles County that received at least two 'AA' violations within the last two years, indicating a failure that contributed substantially to the death of a resident.
The facilities include Ararat Nursing Facility, a Mission Hills nursing home cited last year over lapses related to two residents' deaths less than three months apart.
Mark E. Reagan, an attorney for Ararat, said the facility plans to appeal the suspension.
"Not only is any action for suspension unwarranted, it is also not in the best interests of the community or residents of the facility," Reagan said. "The facility's top priority is and always has been the safety and well-being of its residents."
In addition to Ararat, the state said other facilities targeted for license suspension were Antelope Valley Care Center in Lancaster, Brier Oak on Sunset in Hollywood, Golden Haven Care Center in Glendale, Kei-Ai Los Angeles Healthcare Center in Lincoln Park, Santa Anita Convalescent Hospital in Temple City and Seacrest Post-Acute Care Center in San Pedro.
None of those facilities sent letters by the state responded to requests for comment Thursday.
An AA violation is a relatively rare penalty within state enforcement. Only 99 have been issued to the more than 1,200 skilled nursing facilities in California since the start of 2020, according to state data.
According to California law, the state can move to suspend or revoke a nursing home's license once the facility gets two such violations within two years.
In practice, the AA citation has been issued so infrequently that few facilities crossed that threshold, said Tony Chicotel, a senior staff attorney with California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform.
Chicotel said he was 'pleasantly surprised' by the state's recent vigor in issuing AA violations and moving forward with license suspensions.
'As far as I know — and I've been doing this a long time, a couple decades — this is new,' Chicotel said.
Representatives from the state public health department didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.
In each case, state investigations found failures and oversights that contributed directly to residents' deaths.
At Golden Haven in Glendale, which previously operated as Glenoaks Convalescent Hospital, an investigation revealed that staff withheld a diabetic resident's insulin and failed to monitor the person's blood sugar for 61 days, resulting in the patient's hospitalization and death in April 2024, according to the state's report.
At Brier Oak on Sunset, a resident died in August 2024 after rolling off a bed while her nurse was tending to a different patient, the state said in its citation report, which noted that paramedics found the woman lying on the floor in a pool of blood.
Facilities in violation frequently resolve citations through appeals, settlements or other alternate routes that lower the severity level of their violation, their fine amount or both, Chicotel said.
All seven of the companies cited were informed by letter that their license would be suspended in 30 days from the sending date if they did not exercise their right to appeal. Advocates said they expected all of them to appeal.
Rachel Tate, vice president of ombudsman services at the nonprofit Wise & Healthy Aging, said she was troubled by the fact that many facilities recorded multiple patient deaths before the state took action.
'I understand that we need to be giving facilities due process and these other opportunities, but it seems we are sacrificing patient care in the process,' Tate said. 'How many people are you allowed to kill and still get to appeal and keep your license? That's very concerning.'
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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