Dozens of nursing home residents were abruptly moved Thursday after the state attorney general decided to delicense a senior care facility in Pasadena.
About 25 ambulances were called to assist in moving more than 60 patients at the Golden Cross Health Care facility located at 1450 North Fair Oaks Avenue, said Pasadena Fire Department Interim Fire Chief Bryan Frieders.
The fire department began moving patients about 3:45 p.m. Thursday to “allow this facility to be de-licensed according to the state attorney general,” Frieders said.
Seven people infected with COVID-19 at the facility have died, and another 67 residents and 26 employees have tested positive since the outbreak began, the Pasadena Star-News reported.
But state inspectors have reported problems at the 96-bed, privately owned facility for years.
In April 2019, inspectors marked 17 deficiencies in care there, according to Medicare records. Among them was failing to provide at least 80 square feet per resident in nine of 42 rooms.
The facility filed for a waiver stating that violation of space requirements is not expected to harm residents’ health and safety, something other skilled nursing facilities have legally done.
State inspectors also found dozens of deficiencies in care in 2017 and 2018 as well, according to Medicare records.
In 2012, an advocacy group for the rights of nursing home residents revealed public records showing Golden Cross failed to treat and prevent wounds to residents and note cases of dehydration, according to the Glendale News-Press. One resident had an open wound containing maggots.
Pat McGinnis, executive director of California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform, told the newspaper the state does not have the resources to adequately monitor nursing homes — which means change usually comes from lawsuits filed against the facilities.
On Friday, as authorities moved patients out of Golden Cross, Fire Chief Frieders said he did not know why the facility was being delicensed but did say it was not due to coronavirus.
The residents were taken to various skilled nursing facilities around Los Angeles County.
Some employees did not find out about the closure until after they arrived at work Friday morning to find tape across the door.
