2 Board-and-Care Homes in Cypress Closed by State

Charging that the owners had mistreated elderly residents--and in one case tied a woman into her bed--state officials Friday ordered the closure of two board-and-care homes in Cypress.

State Department of Social Services workers oversaw the closing of the Cypress Residential Care Home, 4587 Lemon Circle, and the Cypress Residential Care II facility, 8705 La Salle St.

Both homes will remain closed pending a hearing before an administrative law judge, state investigators said. The state is seeking permanent closure of the two facilities.

Eight elderly residents were removed from the two homes and either placed in other board-and-care homes or returned to their families, state officials said.

The closures were accomplished without incident. “We had no problems and met no resistance,” said Samuel Abrego, a Department of Social Services investigator at the scene.

The two homes are owned and operated by Romulo and Rosa Solis. Reached by telephone, Rosa Solis said, “I don’t think I want to tell our side of the story right now because I feel so bad.”

The daughter of one elderly resident was critical of the state’s action.

Joan Flaherty of Long Beach, whose 87-year-old mother was a resident of the Lemon Circle home and had previously been in the La Salle Street facility, said she thought both homes had been operated very well. “I visited my mother two or three times a week at various times of the day, and there was nothing I could ever complain about,” she said.

The state, in its official complaint against the Solises, charged that they “engaged in conduct which is inimical to the health, welfare and safety of residents. . . . “

The state accused the Solises of tying one elderly woman into her bed with a piece of flannel made into a rope. “This rope-like device was tightly tied around (the elderly woman),” the state’s accusation stated. “Approximately five times prior to this incident, the licensees (Romulo and Rosa Solis) have been instructed not to use physical restraints on clients.”

Bruises Are Claimed

The state’s complaint alleged that because of being tied to her bed, the elderly woman “sustained a continuous severe bruise around her midsection.” The alleged violation took place at the home at 8705 La Salle St., the state charged.

The complaint also charged that another elderly woman at the La Salle Street home had been forced to sleep on the floor.

While both alleged offenses were at the La Salle Street facility, the home on Lemon Circle in Cypress also was ordered closed because the Solises, as owners of both, are accused of being unfit board-and-care operators, state officials said.

Board-and-care homes are also called “residential care facilities.” They are licensed by the state to accommodate people who do not require skilled medical care, such as the presence of nurses. Orange County has about 1,600 residential care facilities, of which about 375 are exclusively for elderly patients, according to John Grant, licensing program supervisor with the Community Care Licensing Division of the state Department of Social Services.

“Only a very small percentage of the homes we license in Orange County have serious problems,” Grant said. “The vast majority are operated well.”

Grant said the last time the state sought a closure of a board-and-care home in Orange County was in June, 1987.

Can Have Their Say

Closure actions are taken administratively using “temporary suspension orders,” Grant explained. He said the next step is a hearing, usually within 30 days, before a state administrative law judge. The Solises will have an opportunity during such a hearing to argue for continuation of their right to run the two board-and-care homes. The state, however, will ask the judge to permanently revoke the Solises’ licenses for both homes, Grant said.

Board-and-care homes are not classified as “nursing homes,” those that have skilled medical personnel on the site and are supervised by the state Department of Health Services.

A federal report, released Thursday, was critical of many nursing homes in California, saying that more than 50% fail to provide for personal cleanliness of the residents.