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News & Notes Archive

September 2013

Posted onAuthoremil@canhr.org

In This Issue

CANHR Releases White Paper on Assisted Living: Unsafe, Unregulated, & Unaccountable

CANHR has just issued a new white paper on the state of assisted living oversight in California. The paper follows several recent prominent media stories on deaths, abandonment, and serious injuries in suffered by assisted living residents and is critical of the lax oversight provided by the state’s Department of Social Services. The paper includes a review of several statewide policy issues and has a page of recommendations for better protecting residents. To read the white paper go to:
PDF Download

CANHR Sues the State to Protect Unrepresented Nursing Home Residents from Abuse

On October 22, CANHR sued the California Department of Public Health (DPH) asking the court to find unconstitutional a California law that permits nursing homes residents to be found incompetent and administered mind-altering drugs, placed in physical restraints, have life sustaining treatment ended and denied due process if they seem not to have a “surrogate” or anyone to assist them in opposing such treatment decisions. To read more about the case, go to:
http://canhr.org/newsroom/newdev_archive/2013/lawsuit_press_release.pdf

Governor Signs Bills Protecting Long-Term Care Residents

In a flurry of activity during the last month, Governor Brown signed many bills affecting consumers of long-term care including:

CANHR Sponsored Bills:

SB 272 (Corbett): Prohibiting implying any military veteran or military veteran service organization connection, approval or endorsement of any financial product, goods or services unless there is an expressed connection to that military veteran entity.

AB 140 (Dickinson): Modernizing the definition of undue influence.  The new definition requires a trier of fact to consider not only the vulnerability of the victim, but the apparent authority of the influencer, the tactics employed, and the fairness of the outcome. The definition applies not only to financial abuse actions but to the entire Probate Code as well through the enactment of new Probate Code 86.

CANHR Supported Bills:

AB 1217 (Lowenthal): Provides for the licensure and regulation of home care agencies and their workers, including the establishment of a home care aide registry.

SB 609 (Wolk): Increasing penalties against long-term care facilities for interfering with the work of the Long-Term Care Ombudsman program.

USA Today Investigates Thefts from Nursing Home Resident Trust Funds

USA Today recently published a story exploring cases where nursing home staff raided resident trust funds, stealing thousands of dollars, in some cases, hundreds of thousands of dollars, from residents.  The U.S. Senate Aging Committee has vowed to take action.  To read the story, go to:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/10/16/nursing-home-trust-fund-thefts/2967925/

Staff Attorney Prescott Cole Takes CANHR Message to Minnesota

On October 4, at the National Adult Protective Services Summit in St. Paul, Minnesota, Prescott Cole moderated the panel “The Aging Brain A Path to Elder Financial Fraud?” with presenters Liz Lowey of the Elder Abuse Unit, Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and Natalie Denburg, PhD, University of Iowa.  This panel explored how abnormalities in the prefrontal cortex explain why older adults are frequently victims of elder fraud. Prescott was also a presenter on the panel, “Advancing Elder Justice Through the States,” speaking about several of the California financial elder abuse laws written by CANHR.

Website offers Video Training of Oral Care for Nursing Home Residents with Dementia

The website toothwisdom.org has posted a training video for caregivers of persons with dementia regarding oral care techniques. The video can be watched for free at:
http://teeth.bluestatedigital.com/pages/for-caregivers

Upcoming Events

2013 Elder Law Conference– Registration Open!

Register Online
November 22 & 23, 2013
Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa, Monterey, California

Dementia Care Symposium

CANHR will be co-sponsoring a free, half-day dementia care symposium near Modesto called “Relationships: The New Medicine for Dementia.”  The symposium will be held at the Stanislaus County Library – Salida Branch.  The other event co-sponsors are Stanislaus and Mother Lode Long Term Care Ombudsman – Catholic Charities, San Joaquin County Long Term Care Ombudsman, and The Alzheimer’s Association.
November 12 at 11:00am
Click here for more information and to register.