Latest CANHR Alert

COVID-19 Vaccines are a Light at the End of the Tunnel, But Serious Questions Remain for Residents of Nursing Homes and Assisted Living Facilities

CANHR STAFF

By Mike Dark, CANHR Staff Attorney After a ten-month battle with the most serious public health crisis in the history of long term care in the U.S., the cavalry is finally arriving, in the form of vaccines that have already been given Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) by regulators. Still more vaccines await in the pipeline, perhaps for January or February.

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CANHR Zoom Town Halls

Resident Rights: Voting, Visitation, and More!

CANHR STAFF

On October 13th at 11:00am CANHR hosted a town hall for California residents of long term care, their families, and their friends, addressing key developments including voting rights during the pandemic, rights to visit and to exit facilities, and how to craft effective complaints to regulators to safeguard these rights.

Speakers included CANHR Executive Director Pat McGinnis, CANHR staff attorneys Tony Chicotel and Mike Dark, and CANHR Program Director Julie Pollock.

Material Download:

Presentation slides (PDF) 

Useful Links:

CANHR’s Visitation Rights Fact Sheet

Looking up Facilities Approved for Indoor Visitation

Find your local Ombusdman Program office

California Department of Social Services Public Information Notice regarding Influenza, Pneumonia and COVID-19  

California Department of Health All Facilities Letter regarding Influenza

Organizing Family Councils

Senior Scams During the Pandemic

CANHR STAFF

Hosted by CANHR Senior Attorney Prescott Cole. During this pandemic, scams targeting seniors are increasing at an alarming rate. Criminals have latched onto COVID-19 as a way to steal money from seniors. In this townhall, we go through several scenarios where con artists use COVID as a pretext to defraud seniors, sometimes costing them their life savings. The information in this townhall is meant to help you and your loved ones protect yourselves from the scam artists taking advantage of seniors’ concerns and fears about the COVID-19 virus.

Materials Download:

Introductory slides (PDF)

Useful Links:

Report Identity Theft

Charity Watch

CANHR Consumer Publications Downloads

California State Controller – Defer Property Taxes

Free Credit Reports – Now Weekly Through April 2021

Report Online Vendors Selling Fake Products

IRS Coronavirus Stimulus Payment FAQ

Eldercare Locator – Report Phone Scams

Report Fradulent Email and Fake App Scams

Reverse Mortgage Fraud Bulletin

Getting Good Long Term Care in a Pandemic

CANHR STAFF

Hosted by CANHR Staff Attorney Tony Chicotel.

Good long term care should not be a casualty of COVID-19; in fact, it has never been more important.  But how can residents and their families ensure that good care is being provided when so many rules have been waived and accountability is missing?  In this townhall, we reviewed the state of long term care, including visitation, understaffing, and evictions, and then answer questions about the best way to ensure residents are safe and well cared for during the pandemic.

Materials Downloads:

Introductory slides (PDF)

CANHR’s Visitation Rights in California Long Term Care Facilities During the COVID-19 Emergency Fact Sheet (PDF)

California Department of Social Services COVID-19 in RCFEs Data  < – To view RCFE data, go to the link on the right side of the page entitled “COVID-19 Positive Cases in Adult and Senior Care Facilities.”

Latest California State Visitation Guidelines

New Visitation Fact Sheet Released.

CANHR STAFF

CANHR has reviewed the various federal and California guidance regarding visitation in long term care facilities and synthesized the rules into a new fact sheet to guide residents and their families.  The fact sheet highlights the types of visitation nursing homes and residential care facilities for the elderly must provide and under what conditions as well as the infection control protocols facilities may impose during visits.  

Download the Fact Sheet HERE (PDF)

New Policy from Department of Public Health Restores Some Visitation Rights in Nursing Homes

CANHR STAFF

On June 26, the California Department of Public Health released a new policy regarding visitation that, for the first time since March, REQUIRES nursing homes to permit visitors for outdoor and indoor visits.  Facilities MUST permit outdoor visitation unless there is a local public health order that prohibits it. Indoor visits must be permitted if a facility meets six criteria: no current COVID-19 outbreak, a decline in cases in the community, no new COVID-19 cases in the facility for the past 14 days, no staffing shortages and not using a COVID-19 staffing waiver, an adequate testing plan per AFL 20-53, and an approved COVID-19 Mitigation Plan.

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New Guidance from Department of Social Services Restores Some Visitation Rights in Assisted Living Facilities

CANHR STAFF

On June 26, the California Department of Social Services released updated guidance regarding visitation in PIN 20-23-ASC that, for the first time since March, REQUIRES assisted living facilities to permit visitors under specified narrow circumstances, and permits indoor and outdoor visitation when certain criteria are met. Providers are required to follow the guidance unless there are contradictory or stricter requirements imposed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), California Department of Public Health (CDPH), or local health departments.

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#VisitationSavesLives

Latest CANHR Press Release

JACKSON BILL TO REQUIRE BACKUP POWER FOR NURSING HOMES PASSES ASSEMBLY

CANHR STAFF

This Press Release is from California Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson August 30, 2020 SACRAMENTO –As California faces another wildfire season, rolling blackouts, and potential public safety power shutoffs (PSPS) amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara)’s Senate Bill 1207 to require California nursing homes to have backup power for at least 96 hours during an emergency passed the Assembly today.

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Contact Governor Newsom

Urge Governor Newsom to Implement CANHR’s Action Plan to Save Lives of Long-Term Care Facility Residents

CANHR STAFF

Published April 10th, Introduction updated May 21st, Recommendations Updated June 24th, 2020, The last few months have been an unimaginable tragedy for many long-term care facility residents and their loved ones throughout California. Thousands of residents have died, suffered severe illnesses, or been hospitalized as COVID-19 outbreaks sweep through their facilities. Locked away from their loved ones, residents are suffering and dying alone in facilities that are not prepared or staffed to keep them safe during this pandemic.

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Latest Free Webinar Recordings

What to Look for and Questions to Ask as You Resume Visits in a Long-Term Care Facility

CANHR STAFF

Courtesy of The National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care Title: What to Look for and Questions to Ask as You Resume Visits in a Long-Term Care Facility Guest:  Steven Levin, Michael Bonamarte, Levin & Perconti Date: October 21, 2020 Listen on iTunes and SoundCloud Description: The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted residents of long-term care facilities and their families.

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Latest Media News Item

They’re the most likely to die from COVID-19, but hardly any have been vaccinated

CANHR STAFF

By Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, January 15 2021 Public health officials have failed to quickly deliver COVID-19 vaccines to the vast majority of sick and elderly residents of California’s longterm care facilities, even though they are among the most vulnerable during the pandemic.(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times) As public health officials scramble to clear a backlog of unused COVID-19 vaccine by opening the process to anyone 65 or older, new data show they failed to quickly deliver shots to the vast majority of California’s most vulnerable residents, who were supposed to be the priority.

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