Troubled Chula Vista Veterans Home Fined $10,000, Director Ousted

A Chula Vista veterans home charged with the care of elderly and disabled veterans is being criticized after it was revealed that state health inspectors found 27 problems with the facility last year — one which involved a potential HIV infection scare.

In the wake of these findings, the director of the home was forced to resign. The home was fined $10,000 for violations, but paid only $6,500 because it did not appeal the citations.

Startling accusations revealed that staff failed to monitor a patient’s blood sugar level for over three weeks and did not regularly check the blood pressure of a patient with hypertension. Other reports of neglect included an unattended high-risk patient who fell and gashed her eyebrow following a fall in a bathroom and a patient who was left alone in his wheelchair without access to an alarm to buzz for help just five days after a visit to an emergency hospital.

Perhaps the most disturbing allegation was that a dental clinic where the patients were sent for dental treatment failed to properly sterilize its equipment. Reportedly, the clinic had received seven failed sterilization reports in the span of three months, but did nothing to correct the problem.

Some 54 patients were tested for potential HIV infection after the sterilization scare was revealed. None of them tested positive for HIV, but one patient, who had no previous medical history of Hepatitis C, reportedly tested positive for the disease.

Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-Chula Vista) was appalled by the findings. “These allegations, if true, are beyond unacceptable. We deserve to know what happened and what is going to be done to prevent further harm. Our veterans deserve the best California has to offer. This is a terrible shame.”

There are currently eight veterans care homes in Chula Vista. The cited home has 320 residents.

There is nothing more unconscionable than the neglect and abuse of some of our most vulnerable citizens. The Chula Vista injury attorneys at the Jurewitz Law Group | Injury & Accident Lawyers in San Diego want you to know that we can stop the abuse and neglect and see that owners of elder care homes are held accountable for its actions. If you have questions about the legal rights of your loved ones, call at (888) 233-5020 or contact us online. We can help.

Ross Jurewitz

Ross Jurewitz is the founder and managing lawyer of the Jurewitz Law Group, a San Diego personal injury attorney law firm. These San Diego injury accident lawyers specialize in helping people seriously injured in a variety of accidents throughout San Diego County and California.

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