complaint·November 15, 2024

Allegation: Staff do not ensure that resident is provided transportation as agreed to in the Admission Agreement. It is alleged that the facility has caused resident (R1) to miss a minimum of six (6) necessary medical appointments in the last 6 months because the facility does not have a staff driver for the facility bus. According to information obtained, facility staff have made transportation arrangements with other Brookdale facilities i.e., Brookdale Uptown Whittier and Brookdale Brea to transport R1 to medical appointments. However, in the past week R1 missed 2 necessary pre-surgery medical appointments. It was reported that due to missed or cancelled appointments due to lack of transportation, R1 has almost lost medical referrals. Non-ambulatory resident (R1) uses a motorized scooter and manual wheelchair, and cannot leave the facility unassisted. It was reported that facility staff told R1 they need to hire somebody to push their wheelchair when they go to doctor appointments. A total of 7 residents were interviewed, of which all stated the facility has a bus but no driver, and transportation has not been offered to residents. The majority of the residents interviewed stated they have had to cancel doctor appointments due to lack of transportation. A total of three (3) Administration staff were interviewed. They acknowledged the facility has not had a staff person/bus driver to drive the facility bus in over six (6) months. Interim Administrator stated three (3) other sister communities have assisted with R1's transportation in the past. However, due to unavailability and scheduling conflict R1 was not able to be transported by the other sister communities the last week. Staff stated that R1 has been accommodated with transport to most doctor appointments. Due to recent transportation issues, home care agencies that provide transportation and escort assistance have been contacted, but there is no contract is in place yet. Dial-A-Ride is not able to accommodate resident (R1) because the resident uses a large motorized scooter and if the resident uses a manual wheelchair they require staff assistance to push the resident to desired location. According to staff interviews, there are currently five (5) residents that require facility transportation. Based on record review, the Residency Agreement states "We will make available scheduled transportation services as forth in the Addendum of the Residency Agreement." The Addendum To The Residency Agreement Basic Services states "The Community will provide scheduled transportation for shopping and for other errands and planned social events in and around the local area. The Resident Handbook provides additional transportation guidelines." Per Resident Handbook, "Most Communities offer scheduled transportation to stores and doctor appointments within a designated service area." Per observation and record review, this facility has current DMV registration and Safety Compliance Report that indicates all maintenance records are current. The information obtained sufficiently supports the allegation. Based on record review and interviews conducted, the preponderance of evidence standard has been met, therefore the above allegation is found to be SUBSTANTIATED . An exit interview was conducted with Interim Executive Director Logan . A copy of the report and appeal rights were issued.