Pleasant Care Corporation Nursing home saga continues

Pleasant Care Corporation Nursing home saga continues

Yesterday yet another negligent death fine was levied against Pleasant Care Corporation from the death at a nursing home in Sonoma, owned by Pleasant Care. The fine was 100,000-dollars, the largest fine that can be levied. To date, Pleasant Care Corporation has been given 160 citations, found responsible for the deaths of three people and fined over 1,000,000 dollars. They have now auctioned off their assets in a Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. Nevertheless, they will walk away squeaky-clean when all is said and done.

Although the local Pleasant Care was listed on the bankruptcy, and on the listed properties for auction, it seems it was not part of the July 2nd auction. Exact details are sketchy until the court documents are released. I wrote Mike Connors of The California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform asking him on the status of our local Pleasant Care and my concern for the residents care. I witnessed a person in the street in a wheel chair, clutching a blanket in her teeth, in danger and unable to maneuver. She said she was running away. I helped her back.

Mike Connors of was very helpful, here is the information he gave me.

“The bankruptcy sale of Pleasant Care Santa Cruz is being handled outside of the auction process. We understand there is a purchase agreement with a potential buyer who is already involved in the operation of the nursing home. However, we are already hearing complaints about the qualifications of the buyer. The California Department of Public Health has been asked to investigate these concerns. The proposed sale cannot be closed until the DPH approves the change of ownership and issues a license to the buyer.

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court has apparently approved the sale of 22 other Pleasant Care facilities through an auction process that took place earlier this week. We have not seen a written court order yet but hope to obtain this information soon.

We are monitoring this situation carefully. If you have not already done so, you might want to contact Advocacy, Inc., which operates the long-term care ombudsman program in Santa Cruz. It has had some direct contact with the potential buyer.

We share your concerns about nursing home care in Santa Cruz County.

We may have more information by the middle of next week. Please feel free to check back with me then. Sincerely Mike Connors”

http://www.canhr.org/

For anyone who has a relative they care about in a nursing home and you have concerns, or a complaint, I highly suggest you inform this organization. They have a wealth of information on the status of our low-income skilled nursing homes. Complaints can be filed and a wealth of advice and information can be found there. They are on the forefront of nursing home reform in California. http://www.canhr.org/
The people who reside in these low-income facilities need us as a community to start helping more. Stop in, join the ombudsman program, and demand from our government better nursing home care. As long as corporations are in charge, and profit off the backs of the poor and disabled, this problem will continue, and to some degree, were all guilty for playing this consumer driven game in the first place. They are our elders, our disabled and as this system collapses around them, they will need all the help they can get.