Beth
Baumann | @eb454 Posted: Mar 02, 2021 9:05 PM
A Los
Angeles-based nursing home is accused of "dumping" residents on the
streets or in unqualified resident facilities in order to take on
COVID-positive patients.
The skilled
nursing home facility, which has 99 beds in total, is accused of intentionally
neglecting residents while pushing others out to make room for COVID-positive
patients because Medicare provided higher reimbursement payments, The Los Angeles Times reported.
According to
Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer, a settlement was reached with Lakeview
Terrance, the nursing home in question. The facility is required to pay
$130,000 in civil penalties and $40,000 in costs and fees the city attorney's
office incurred.
“This
victory for these patients is all the more important given COVID-19’s
devastating impact on nursing home residents in L.A. and across the nation,”
Feuer said in a statement. “Now
there will be dramatic improvements in patient care, new COVID-related
protections, improved oversight when patients are discharged, and ongoing work
by a Performance Monitor to ensure critical safeguards are followed.”
Under the
agreement, the nursing home will double the number of Registered Nurses (RNs)
and install a performance monitoring system for a time period of six-months to
18-months. The facility is responsible for paying for the monitoring system,
which comes with a price tag of $105,000 to $210,000, depending on the length
of time it is utilized.
The
monitoring system will be given 24/6 access to all patient medical records,
which can be conducted during unannounced inspections. All patient discharge
papers, doctors' orders and coordinated follow-up care will be monitored
through the system.
Staff was
accused of not providing the resident with medication but signing off saying
the medicine was handed out. With the new monitoring system, staff will be
required to provide timely and accurate records of distribution to the program.
Lakeview
Terrace is also required to have a 14-day supply of necessary personal
protective equipment, including N95 masks, surgical masks and gowns. It's part
of a larger goal to get the nursing home's COVID positivity rates below 10
percent.
If a
regulator decides any of the violations could cause immediate injury or death
to a resident, Lakeview Terrace will be required to pay the city and county
$6,000 in civil penalties for each declaration.
This is the
second lawsuit the city attorney's office has brought against the facility.
Lakeview Terrace was previously accused of dumping homeless patients on Skid
Row. In that settlement, the facility
was required to pay $200,000 in civil penalties and provide $50,000 over a
two-year period for housing costs for residents that couldn't afford living
arrangements when they were discharged.
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