State Resumes Annual Inspections of California Nursing Communities

KPBS reports that yearly inspections of California's 1,100 nursing communities have been reinstated after a year-long suspension due to the pandemic. "Conditions in many communities across the state have grown incredibly dire over the course of the pandemic and if anything, are as bad as they've ever been right now," said Mike Dark, staff lawyer with California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform. He blamed this state of affairs on the absence of family members of residents, who were not allowed in the communities for nearly a year. The California Department of Public Health (Cal DPH) halted routine surveys of communities in March 2020, as directed by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. At the time, advocates were concerned that the moratorium on family visits plus the stoppage of annual inspections would exacerbate care. "There were not enough staff to make sure people are clean and bathed," Dark said. "There's not enough staff to make sure people aren't developing bed sores. These are problems that have spread across the state and it's going to take a long time for Cal DPH to really get on top of this problem." Cal DPH stated that it still sent inspectors to investigate the most severe complaints over the past year.