State Sues 8 L.A.-Area Boarding Homes; Complaint Charges ‘Inadequacy of Care’

Charging them with “every possible inadequacy of care,” state authorities have sued the owners and operators of eight Los Angeles-area board-and-care facilities in an effort to force them to clean up the homes.

The civil complaint in Los Angeles Superior Court against Sam and Vera Menlo of Los Angeles, which followed a yearlong investigation of the facilities by the state Department of Health Services, also asks for almost $700,000 in penalties.

“Take one look at their facilities and I don’t think that’s unreasonable,” said prosecutor Roderick Leonard, head of the district attorney’s nursing home and dependent care section.

Called Substandard

“These facilities are certainly substandard. It’s unfortunate individuals should have to live in these types of places . . . that don’t recognize their dignity.”

The Menlos could not be reached for comment after the lawsuit was filed Thursday. Several attempts to contact them at their Fairfax area business office were unsuccessful.

Among their facilities named in the complaint were the Hilton Retirement Center in Lynwood, Waldorf Manor in Gardena, Bel Air Villa in Pico Rivera, Barrington Villa in Long Beach and the Sheraton Villa in West Covina.

Other facilities include the Queen Manor Retirement Home in Norwalk, the Villa Royale in Torrance and the Palos Verdela in San Pedro.

Each of the facilities has the capacity to house about 80 residents, Leonard said.

Claiming that the Menlos engaged in unfair business practices by cutting corners at the facilities, the lawsuit alleges numerous violations of health and safety regulations as well.

Failures Cited

Among other things, the facilities are cited for failing to keep track of residents and monitoring their activities, of neglecting their health and dental needs, for failing to provide adequate nutrition and for not providing a neat and sanitary environment.

“There were cockroaches and vermin in certain rooms,” Leonard said. “There was no toilet paper in the bathrooms, excrement and urine in the toilets, broken plaster. There was moldy food in the refrigerator, toxic chemicals in the kitchen, floors that were dirty and sticky and had food on them.”

Moreover, Leonard charged, residents were denied basic health care and other services. Residents with communicable diseases such as tuberculosis were not isolated and others were not transferred to hospitals or psychiatric facilities when their conditions worsened. Health records were not maintained.

“There were patients who should have been taken to a hospital promptly and as a result, their health deteriorated,” Leonard said.

In one instance, he said, a mattress at one of the facilities caught fire and instead of replacing it, “they flopped it against a wall and the person had to sleep out on a couch.” Such episodes were not reported to authorities.

Although the quality of care varied somewhat from facility to facility, Leonard said “the pretty strong picture I’ve painted . . . is fair.”

Prosecutors, he said, decided to base the complaint on violations of California’s unfair competition statute because of the many “legitimate” board-and-care facilities in operation.

“You can understand how it’s an unfair business practice,” he said. “If someone does this by cutting corners, it’s unfair to the people who are running legitimate locations.”