The State : State Sues Nursing Home

The state has sued a Santa Ana convalescent home for refusing to pay a $25,000 fine imposed for alleged staff negligence involving an elderly resident who died one day after she was admitted. The maximum fine was imposed on Country Villa Plaza Convalescent Center after Department of Health Services inspectors investigated the 1986 death of a brain-damaged woman who choked to death after supervised special meals, ordered by her doctor, were not adhered to, according to court documents filed last week in Orange County Superior Court. The owner of the facility, Country Villa Service Corp., contested the citation, forcing the state to sue to collect the fine. The facility is also contesting in the courts a $25,000 fine involving the 1985 death of a man suffering from Huntington’s disease who choked to death under similar circumstances. According to a study by the state’s Little Hoover Commission, about 20% of the fines imposed on nursing homes are ever collected.