Patients of Calif. assisted living facility left with inadequate care, police say
(CBS) CASTRO VALLEY, Calif. - Patients of an assisted living facility in Castro Valley, Calif. were left with inadequate care this weekend after the California Department of Social Services revoked the facility's license last week, reports CBS SF Bay Area.
The department on Oct. 21 issued a temporary suspension order on the license of Valley Springs Manor, as well as the licenses for associated facilities in Oakland and in Modesto, according to spokesman Michael Weston. The suspensions took effect on Thursday Oct. 24.
The patients were reportedly supposed to be cared for over the weekend while new places were found for them. However, authorities were called to the Valley Springs facility on Saturday on a medical call and found a skeleton staff struggling to care for about 14 sick and elderly residents, according to Alameda County Sheriff's Sgt. J.D. Nelson.
The Associated Press reports Nelson says the residents were being cared for by three unpaid staff members - a caregiver, cook and janitor.
Authorities have launched an investigation which could potentially result in elder abuse charges, Nelson said, according to CBS SF Bay Area.
"I can tell you that the department has been engaged with this facility for quite a while and there is a history of concerns," Michael Weston, spokesman for the California Department of Social Services, said, reports the station.
According to the station, past alleged incidents at the facility include patients failing to receive necessary medications and suffering diabetic episodes or seizures as a result, and patient injuries that weren't treated or reported properly.
The facility was also found to have fire regulation violations in March, including doors that locked patients inside and obstructed pathways, reports the station.
The state Department of Social Services told the Contra Costa Times in a story Sunday that one patient who was not supposed to be let outside went missing twice in October.
According to CBS SF Bay Area, state officials are seeking to permanently revoke the licenses for Valley Springs Manor as well as its associated facilities.