California sues major US nursing home operator over ratings
DON THOMPSON, Associated Press
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FILE - In this Dec. 4, 2019, file photo, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra speaks during a news conference in Sacramento, Calif. California s attorney general and local officials sued the nation s largest senior living home operator Monday, alleging that the company misled consumers on quality ratings and broke laws intended to protect patients when they are discharged from a facility. The suit centers on Brookdale Senior Living Inc. s 10 California-based skilled nursing facilities, but the Tennessee-based company operates in 43 states. We are holding Brookdale accountable for artificially increasing its profits by cutting corners when transferring or discharging its patients, said California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, who is awaiting Senate confirmation for secretary of health and human services in the Biden administration.Rich Pedroncelli/AP
Napa County will begin disclosing the names of long-term congregate care facilities experiencing coronavirus outbreaks, County Public Health Officer Karen Relucio confirmed, following lobbying from county elder advocates to do so.
Until now, the countyâs policy has been to disclose only the number of active coronavirus outbreaks among its 50 or so long-term care facilities â a group that includes both skilled nursing and assisted living facilities as well as smaller board-and-care homes.
Napa County previously has not released the names of facilities experiencing outbreaks nor cited the number of cases in each outbreak, according to county spokesperson Janet Upton, who noted the county leaves it up to individual nursing homes whether to publicly identify themselves as having an outbreak.