On June 3, 2019, U.S. Senators Bob Casey and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania released a report and a list of over 400 nursing homes that are candidates for the federal Special Focus Facility (SFF) program. The SFF program provides increased oversight of nursing homes that “substantially fail” to meet required care standards. These facilities are considered to be among the worst performing nursing homes in the nation.
The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) keeps a list of both “participants” and “candidates” for the SFF program, but only publicly discloses the names of the 88 nursing homes that states select as participants.
SFF participants are inspected more frequently and may be subjected to stronger enforcement actions. SFF candidates are a much larger group of nursing homes – approximately 400 nursing homes nationwide – whose poor care is indistinguishable from SFF participants. But their names have been kept secret and they get no additional oversight.
In disclosing the SFF candidate list they obtained from CMS, Senators Casey and Toomey expressed their belief that it is information that must be publicly available to individuals and families seeking nursing home care for their loved ones.
It is indeed. The list includes 28 California nursing homes that are SFF candidates. One of them is the Lakewood Healthcare Center, which has been cited repeatedly this year for endangering residents.
Read the report, Families and Residents’ Right to Know: Uncovering Poor Care in America’s Nursing Homes.
Special Focus Facility Participants in California as of April 2019
- Alexandria Care Center, Los Angeles
- Kingston Healthcare Center LLC, Bakersfield
- La Mariposa Care and Rehabilitation Center, Fairfield
- Riverside Heights Healthcare Center, LLC, Riverside
- San Fernando Post Acute Hospital, Sylmar
- Willows Center, Willows
Special Focus Facility Candidates in California as of April 2019
- Beverly West Healthcare, Los Angeles
- Corona Post Acute, Corona
- Del Rio Gardens Care Center, Bell Gardens
- Downey Community Health Center, Downey
- Fircrest Convalescent Hospital, Sebastopol
- Fortuna Rehabilitation and Wellness Center, LP, Fortuna
- Good Shepherd Hlth Care Ctr of Santa Monica, Santa Monica
- Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center D/P SNF, Los Angeles
- Lake Forest Nursing Center, Lake Forest
- Lakeview Terrace, Los Angeles
- Lakewood Healthcare Center, Downey
- Lancaster Health Care Center, Lancaster
- Las Flores Convalescent Hospital, Gardena
- Long Beach Healthcare Center, Long Beach
- Merritt Manor Convalescent Hospital, Tulare
- Millbrae Skilled Care, Millbrae
- Olympia Convalescent Hospital, Los Angeles
- Riverside Postacute Care, Riverside
- Royal Palms Post Acute, Glendale
- Santa Anita Convalescent Hosp, Temple City
- Sky Harbor Care Center, Yucca Valley
- Shadowbrook Post Acute, Oroville
- Terracina Post Acute, Redlands
- Wellsprings Post Acute Center, Lancaster
- Windsor Gardens Convalescent Center of Long Beach, Long Beach
- Windsor Palms Care Center of Artesia, Artesia
- Woodland Care Center, Reseda
- Yuba Skilled Nursing Center, Yuba City