- Lake County News reports
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Yamada convenes oversight hearing on complaints of abuse in state licensed medical facilities
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – Assemblymember Mariko Yamada (D-Davis), Chair of the Assembly Aging and Long-Term Care Committee, has announced a joint oversight hearing with the Assembly Health Committee regarding the Department of Public Health's role in overseeing care for hundreds of thousands of vulnerable California residents.
The hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 21, at 2 p.m. in Room 4202 of the State Capitol.
“Californians with complex and chronic conditions requiring 24-hour care are generally less able to speak for themselves and must reasonably rely on the State to protect them,” said Yamada. “Recent media reports of the California Department of Public Health dismissing thousands of pending cases of abuse, theft, and other misconduct is alarming.”
Allegations of lost consumer complaints, cursory investigations, and a backlog of suspected violence and misconduct cases in the Department of Public Health's Licensing and Certification program were most recently reported last fall.
This hearing will examine procedures for timely and effective complaint investigations, the current criteria for ensuring that the Department of Public Health has sufficient capacity to perform effective oversight, and the department’s management of its network of district offices.
Panelists include the Department of Public Health (DPH), resident advocates, industry representatives, and consumers.
Discussion will focus on the current consumer complaints processing system and the legislative and budget solutions to address investigations involving licensed long-term care facilities and their employees.
For more information, contact the Aging and Long-Term Care Committee at 916-319-3990.
Yamada represents all or parts of Colusa, Lake, Napa, Solano, Sonoma and Yolo counties.