Countywide : Hearing to Probe Nursing Home Abuse

The county’s state legislative delegation will conduct a public hearing Friday into allegations that state health authorities routinely ignore complaints about elder abuse in local nursing homes.

The hearing was organized by Assemblyman Gil Ferguson, whose district includes Leisure World, the nation’s largest gated retirement community.

Ferguson said he and other local representatives were becoming increasingly concerned about reports that the state Department of Health Services, which licenses nursing homes, was not investigating complaints against some of the county’s 67 nursing homes. The complaints ranged from neglect to life-threatening mistreatment, he said.

The assemblyman said testimony from social workers, nursing home officials and the public will determine whether the county’s legislative delegation will push for new legislation or administrative actions.

“We, as a society and as a government, give more money to take care of criminals in jails than we allow for our fathers and mothers who have to spend their last years in a home,” Ferguson said.

Aides to the assemblyman said his office has received several complaints about the lax attitude of state health authorities.

In 1992, only two local nursing homes were cited for serious violations. In Santa Clara County, which has a similar number of nursing homes as Orange County, 162 such citations were issued, a Ferguson aide said.

“This situation is like speeding,” Ferguson said. “If you see people speeding, and not being punished, you would wonder why the police aren’t writing tickets. In this case, we are wondering why no action is being taken on these complaints.”

Last year, a report issued by the nonprofit California Advocates for Nursing Homes stated that Orange County was one of the most problematic regions in the state. The advocacy group also noted that two of the 10 nursing homes listed as most deficient in providing care are in Orange County.

State health authorities didn’t return a call for comment Wednesday.

The public hearing will be at Irvine City Hall at 9 a.m.