Home for Disabled Gets Extra Time to Improve Conditions

A home for developmentally disabled residents that was accused of providing inadequate care has been given six months to improve conditions, state officials said Friday.

The state Department of Health Services had threatened to cut Medi-Cal funding to Casa Grande after inspections of the home in November and December that revealed several alleged deficiencies.

The facility was cited for lax record keeping, failure to protect clients’ rights and failure to provide required daytime activities, among other things.

The decision means that 91 middle-age and elderly residents, most of whom have their bills paid by Medi-Cal, will not have to be dislodged from a facility that many have called home for 15 years.

“This (outcome) was more desirable than forcing people who lived there to relocate,” said Michael Gaddy, chief of provider certification for the Department of Health Services. “But (decertification) is still an option if there is no improvement in six months.”

During that period, the home will not accept new clients.

Gaddy said the state is also considering putting Casa Grande under the protection of a receiver who would administer the facility while improvements are made.

The owners of Casa Grande, Bryant and Marie Salvidar, have said they are trying to find a buyer for the facility, and Gaddy said part of the agreement states that transfer of ownership will take place within 45 days.

However, all sanctions would carry over to the new owners, including the prohibition against accepting new clients, said Gaddy.

The Salvidars have maintained that they provide good care for their clients, and have charged that they were the victims of “nit-picking” inspectors.

But they are nevertheless working to make “necessary changes,” said Bryant Salvidar.

The plight of Casa Grande residents had aroused anger among caretakers and others in the developmental disabilities community who contend that state and local authorities are not properly monitoring conditions or helping providers to meet requirements.

Advocates held a rally last Saturday in support of Casa Grande’s owners, charging that the case had been mishandled, causing unnecessary apprehension for residents of the home and their relatives.

One of the rally’s organizers said Friday that she was pleased with the state’s decision.

“I’m glad that consideration of the human aspect was given priority over the bureaucracy and that all sides are going about trying to resolve the issue in a common-sense way,” said Francine Isom, president of the Tustin-based group Parents and Advocates for the Developmentally Disabled.