History of Violations Is Cited

The Ambassador Care board-and-care home, which was abruptly shut down by state officials Wednesday, had a history of health and safety violations and was run by a woman banned from operating board-and-care homes, state officials said Thursday.

Perla Nunez of Upland, owner of Ambassador Care, had her operator’s license revoked in January for that home and three other facilities in Southern California, including the Acacia Inn in Pasadena, said officials from the state Department of Social Services. In addition, Nunez was prohibited from operating or even working at any social service facility.

The state found poor supervision, run-down buildings and lack of adequate foods at all facilities run by Nunez, said Martha Lopez, deputy director of Social Services.

Nunez, who also used the names Perla Torio and Perla Cardines, could not be reached for comment.

Social services is compiling a report for the Los Angeles city attorney’s office for possible criminal prosecution, Lopez said.

In a process that was at times smooth, at times chaotic, state officials swept into Ambassador Care on Wednesday, emptying it of all but one of the 39 residents.

A 59-year-old man remained Thursday, refusing to leave.

“I like it here and want to be near my church,” said the man, who identified himself only as “Joe” and said he once was a lawyer.

State officials determined that the man could take care of himself, and that they could not force him to leave, said Coleen Anderson, a regional social services administrator for the state.

Families of several residents who had been forced to move at hours’ notice chastised state officials for not warning relatives. Most of the residents were taken to other board-and-care facilities nearby.

At a news conference Thursday in Woodland Hills, social service officials acknowledged that the move was rushed. One reason for the sudden action was that to prosecute an operator for running an unlicensed facility, “You need to have the folks there to prove the case,” said Greg Parham, a prosecutor with the Los Angeles city attorney’s office.

Still, officials vowed to change the shutdown process.

“I would not want my father or mother moved in such a way,” said Rita Saenz, head of social services, who came from Sacramento for the news conference. “It’s very clear there needs to be a middle way and we’re instituting a program to give notice to relatives beforehand.”

Ambassador Care had a long record of violations, including a Jan. 8 finding by social service inspectors that there was no toilet paper, soap or towels in the restrooms.

Inspections on other dates found:

* Insects crawling in the refrigerator.

* No staff, besides a cook, to look after the residents between 3 and 4:30 p.m.

* A resident in an advanced stage of dementia, although the home was not licensed to care for such patients.

Citing a 1997 corporate filing with Los Angeles County, The Times reported Thursday that Rolando Baloy owned Ambassador Care. But on state records, Baloy was last listed as the operator in 1996 and Nunez was listed as the current owner and operator.

Social service records show a pattern of violations at Nunez-operated facilities, including imposing improper fees for services such as “bathing assistance,” lack of criminal record clearances for staff members and failure to report that a client had been found with “multiple contusions and facial trauma.”

Penny Biondi, whose mother-in-law lived at Ambassador for nine months, said the meals were a problem. Bologna sandwiches were served for dinner, she said, and lunch might be three pear sections and a slice of bread.

Once, she said, the staff told residents that they had a special dessert coming: it was a plate with three marshmallows on it.

“We just shook our heads when we heard that,” Biondi said.

Maria Lilia Martinez, the cook at Ambassador Care, denied claims that residents were underfed. Martinez showed up at the facility Thursday to collect an overdue paycheck, but none of the administrators were there.

According to investigators, Ambassador Care is the latest of 33 unlicensed board-and-care facilities discovered in the city of Los Angeles this year. Board-and-care facilities are required to provide some degree of supervision, but are not licensed to provide the level of medical assistance found at nursing homes.

Residents typically sign over much of their monthly benefit checks to the care facility. They are often warehoused five to a room and fed three small meals a day, Parham said.

Serious trouble began for Nunez when her license was revoked Jan. 15. State officials allowed her time to find another operator for Ambassador Care, located on Hillhaven Avenue in Tujunga, but two other applications fell through. Finally, on July 1, Nunez was ordered to cease operations. She ignored the order, officials said.

The scene Wednesday of elderly people being rushed out of a closed down facility was reminiscent of the sudden closure of the Reseda Convalescent Hospital, which went bankrupt and closed without warning in September 1997.

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Times staff writer Caitlin Liu contributed to this story.