Hearts & Hands Resolves Litigation With Fine

By Jondi Gumz

On April 13, Santa Cruz County District Attorney Jeffrey S. Rosell announced resolution of litigation with Santa Cruz Skilled Nursing Center, Inc., doing business as Hearts & Hands Post Acute Care & Rehab Center at 2990 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz, with a stipulated judgment, a $50,000 fine and paying costs of the investigation, calculated to be $52,584.

The investigation started in November 2018, when the state Department of Justice and the Santa Cruz District Attorney’s office began looking into allegations of improper discharges, substance abuse, and inadequate staffing at the 144-bed nursing home, which had residents with dementia and substance abuse disorders.

DOJ investigators found that Hearts and Hands frequently failed to provide the mandatory 30-day notice to residents it discharged. Even when residents were provided with the appropriate discharge notice, they were sometimes inappropriately sent to temporary shelters or unlicensed ‘board and care’ homes not equipped to meet their needs.

In other instances, the facility ‘discharged’ residents by calling law enforcement to essentially evict them in violation of regulations and laws.

Investigators found evidence that indicated Hearts and Hands did not have enough staff to care for its residents and was relying on law enforcement to help manage behavior at the facility. Some of those removed by law enforcement ended up without a place to live, according to Attorney General Rob Bonta.

In Sepember 2019, the California Department for Justice and the Santa Cruz County District Attorney’s Office sued the facility after investigators found it frequently discharged residents deemed too difficult — in violation of laws and rules meant to ensure their safety.

The lawsuit, filed in Santa Cruz County Superior Court, accused Hearts and Hands of violating California’s Unfair Competition Law and False Advertising

Bay Fed Promotes Amy Ivey to Senior VP

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Law, misrepresenting staffing in reports to obtain the Medicare’s favorable Five Star rating.

The lawsuit also alleged the company had an inordinate amount of emergency calls at this location.

The owner is Trilochan Singh.

In April 2020, Santa Cruz Superior Court entered a preliminary injunction and appointed a monitor to report on compliance with its terms.

In January 2021, Hearts & Hands was accused of bad faith bargaining by Service Employees International Union Local 2015, but the case was dropped after two months.

Now, after almost three years of supervision by an independent monitor appointed at the request of DOJ and Santa Cruz County, Hearts and Hands “has made significant changes and progress in its operations and compliance,” Bonta said.

He noted full compliance with discharge planning and notice, reduction in emergency calls by 90% and improvement in patient care.

“For years, Hearts and Hands failed to properly treat vulnerable residents. I am glad to see that our lawsuit has improved conditions for these vulnerable residents and that Hearts and Hands is on a better path to meeting the standard of care its residents need,” Bonta said.

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