State Closes Two Homes for Elderly

State officials closed two board-and-care homes for the elderly in south Orange County on Friday, charging that some aged residents were so poorly cared for they suffered dehydration and malnutrition.

Nine residents from the Pickettfence care home at 33102 Palo Alto St. in Dana Point and the Pickettfence II at 2715 Via Montecito in San Clemente were moved to other homes or placed with relatives Friday, the state officials said.

The officials charged in documents released Friday that the two homes have had numerous violations of health and safety regulations. At the Dana Point home, the operators “so neglected the care” of one resident that she was hospitalized on July 22, 1988, suffering from malnutrition and dehydration, according to the documents. The resident’s “body was encrusted with dirt.”

Another resident was “so neglected” that the person had to be hospitalized on July 16, 1988, “and subsequently died that day,” the state documents said.

Emergency Hospitalization

A resident at the San Clemente home “was hospitalized, via emergency transport, on Nov. 11, 1988, suffering from acute pneumonia, dehydration” and bedsores, the state documents said.

Mel Pickett, owner of the homes, said the state’s accusations are unfair.

“We’ve had many clients here for a long time, and when clients stay a long time, that tells you something about the quality of the homes,” he said. “We’ve conscientiously tried to correct any deficiencies.”

The closures occurred without incident, state officials said. None of the elderly residents were identified by name in the state documents.

The closures bring to five the number of Orange County board-and-care facilities closed in the past 2 months. The state closed two facilities in Cypress on Dec. 2 and one in Laguna Hills on Dec. 19.

Board-and-care homes are supervised by the Community Care Licensing Division of the state Department of Social Services. Inspectors from the division periodically visit the homes to check on their cleanliness and care.

Orange County has about 1,600 residential care facilities licensed by the state, of which about 375 are exclusively for elderly residents. Most of the homes are operated properly, according to John Grant, licensing program supervisor with the Community Care Licensing office in Santa Ana.

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

A suspension order is only taken in extreme cases, according to Grant and other Community Care Licensing Division officials. Owners of homes ordered to close have a hearing before an administrative law judge within 30 days of closure. The judge can overrule the state’s action and reinstate an operator’s right to operate a home.