On November 2, 2018, the minority staff of the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance issued a report – Sheltering in Danger –  that says flawed responses to Hurricanes Harvey and Irma placed nursing home and assisted living facility residents in dangerous conditions and, in the case of 12 residents in Florida, led to their deaths. The investigation, like others on earlier disasters, found that some nursing homes are not equipped to handle matters of basic safety during disasters and that public officials are not doing enough to prevent tragedies.  Although hurricanes are not a common threat in California, many of the report’s recommendations are needed to improve the safety of California nursing home and assisted living facility residents during disasters that occur here.

Read related New York Times article, Poor Disaster Oversight Imperiled Nursing Homes, Senate Report Finds