Supervisors May Fund Unlicensed AIDS Hospices

Insolvent hospices for people dying of AIDS in Los Angeles County must get the cash infusion they need to stay open despite their inability to meet state licensing standards, two county supervisors said Tuesday.

The Board of Supervisors held a hearing on the matter and, although no vote was taken, Supervisors Ed Edelman and Mike Antonovich supported restoring funding that had been cut because the facilities do not fit within current state licensing categories and so have not been granted licenses.

The hospices, which provide care for dying patients in a homelike setting, cannot meet current hospice licensing standards because, by design, they have fewer amenities than nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.

At most hospices, there is no full-time medical staff. Instead, the centers request nurses as needed from an independent on-call service.

The state has yet to develop licensing criteria for that type of operation, city AIDS Coordinator David Johnson said.

County Counsel DeWitt Clinton advised the board that the county faces liability problems if it funds unlicensed centers. Board members asked Clinton to advise them next week on proposed contracts to reduce that liability if they decide to go ahead with the funding.

“I don’t think we can wait any longer,” Edelman said.

At least two hospice centers are in danger of closing for lack of money, and their employees have been working for free to keep them open.