Know of a nice nursing home accepting medi-cal patient?

I have a friend who lives in a truly appalling large SNF (skilled nursing facility) where new owners have drastically reduced services making his quality of life awful.  

He is only 60 but has lived in a nursing home for over 10 years due to a severe stroke.  He is paralyzed on one side and is a large man so needs Hoyer Lift to get him in/out of bed but the Hoyer Lift is frequently broken so they often leave him in bed and bath him infrequently. He has bed sores that are not manged well, and the food is awful. A few years ago it was much better but has gone downhill.  His personal items are "lost" and they take advantage of his poor short term memory.  It's really heart breaking. 

I am looking to find a nicer place somewhere in the Bay Area (south or east but not north of SF; Sacramento area also possible) but it must take medi-cal patients.  He receives full medi-cal (which pays for the nursing home) along with SSDI from a earlier work accident (which seems to make a difference with coverage), plus medicare A,B, & D.

From what I understand, it seems hard to find nursing homes that accept medi-cal. In addition, he needs one with the Hoyer Lift.  Any recommendations or advise would be great.  We have gotten the ombudsman involved and will make a complaint but they also seem to be retaliating against him. He's a kind, easy-going guy and it's awful to see him having to live like this.

Feb 8, 2018

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RE:
Know of a nice nursing home accepting medi-cal patient? (Feb 8, 2018)

I'm so sorry your friend is in this situation. Good for you to advocate for him!! I work as a hospice nurse in solano county and the best nursing home hands down is Vacaville rehabilitation and convalescence center (vcrc). Fairies post acute is also a good one in Fairfield. Try looking at the website nursing home compare to get somewhat of an idea of how nursing homes rank. It's tough out there... Sorry. Best wishes. Let me know if I can give any further advice. Debg325 [at] yahoo.com

Feb 14, 2018
RE:
Know of a nice nursing home accepting medi-cal patient? (Feb 8, 2018)

I wish I could help you in terms of offering a referral to a good facility that has openings for Medi-Cal patients.  Those are difficult to find.  As for the neglect and abuse, I recommend you or he contact California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform:  1-415-974-5171.  The SNF is violating a number of his rights, and they maybe be able to advocate for him or refer him to an attorney who can.  I'm so sorry that this is happening to him. 

Feb 14, 2018
RE:
Know of a nice nursing home accepting medi-cal patient? (Feb 8, 2018)
  • California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform (CANHR) is a great resource and advocacy group.  Check here:  http://www.canhr.org/NH_Data/index.html  and also call them directly for more guidance.  They have a lot of data on nursing homes.  Do tell them your concerns about retaliation as well.
  • Contact the Bay Area Family Caregiver Alliance to see what guidance they can give you: (415) 434-3388 or (800) 445-8106
    https://www.caregiver.org/bay-area-caregiver-resource-center
  • Medicare has a database on nursing homes:  https://www.medicare.gov/nursinghomecompare/search.html?
  • If your friend is being retaliated against, it may be worth contacting Adult Protective services for your city/county.  I am not sure how much they can actually do but I can say that having extra sets of eyes on him is always good and it does help keep facilities on their toes.

Good luck to you and your friend--I hope you can help him improve his situation.

Feb 16, 2018