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• Pet Food Recalled by Menu Foods

  Christina Cole | March 16, 2007 5:45 AM | 0 CommentsNovato, CA

  Menu Foods issued a precautionary pet food recall of their dog and cat food manufactured between December 3, 2006 and March 6, 2007. The recall involves "cuts and gravy" style pet foods in cans and pouches that was manufactured at two of Menu Food's U.S. facilities. These same products are manufactured and sold as 94 different private label/national brands.Menu Foods received several complaints...

• Nursing Home Violations: California Nursing Home Fined for Death of Resident

  Laura Blatt | June 21, 2007 5:51 PM | 0 CommentsNovato, CA

  Emmanuel Health Care Center, a nursing home in Norwalk, California, was fined $80,000 for its role in the death of a 54-year-old resident almost two years ago. The man had fallen and hurt his head, but the nursing home staff did not call his doctor until a full day had passed. At that time, he was transferred to a hospital, where he died from his injuries."If somebody died because of neglect,...

• Bill Would Speed Up California Nursing Home Complaint Investigations

  Laura Blatt | June 18, 2007 6:40 PM | 0 CommentsNovato, CA

  Many California consumer groups are supporting AB 399, a state bill that would require nursing home complaint investigations to be completed within 40 days, and ensure that those who file the complaints receive a written summary of the findings. The proposed legislation would also give the complainant 15 business days, rather than the current 5 business days, in which to request an informal...

• Louisville Funeral Director Charged with Improperly Storing Body

  Laura Blatt | June 06, 2007 9:33 PM | 0 CommentsNovato, CA

  Former Louisville funeral director Nathaniel Anderson has his troubles. Although his license was suspended in 2006, he was arrested last February for storing a corpse without refrigeration at his business, Anderson Funeral Services. A customer identified the deceased as her mother, and said that the body was supposed to have been cremated, according to Channel 32 News, WLKY, in...

• Funeral Home Malpractice: Funeral Home Problems in the Nation's Capitol

  Laura Blatt | June 01, 2007 7:55 PM | 0 CommentsNovato, CA

  Reese Funeral Home in Washington, DC, was cited for allegedly not storing the bodies of the deceased at appropriate temperatures to prevent decay and for not having a licensed funeral director. The DC Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) also took enforcement actions against five other local funeral homes for not having proper licenses. Three of the funeral homes did not even...

• Nursing Home Abuse: Finding Out About California Nursing Home Violations

  Laura Blatt | June 01, 2007 6:51 PM | 0 CommentsNovato, CA

  When it comes to quality care for the elderly, California nursing homes have a mixed record. Some deliver good service, but too many have been cited for serious deficiencies. In 2005 alone, for example, the California Department of Health Services (DHS) received 21,388 complaints, and this may be an understatement of the problem.Wouldn't it be helpful to know about a nursing home's history of...

• Three Arrested In Nursing Home Deaths

  Chrissie Cole | February 20, 2009 10:26 AM | 0 CommentsNovato, CA

  Three former nursing home managers have been arrested in the deaths of three residents who allegedly were given needless doses of medication including Zyprexa, Risperdal and others. The state...

• Nursing Home Abuses: Oversight of California Nursing Homes

  Laura Blatt | June 05, 2007 11:23 PM | 0 CommentsNovato, CA

  A recent state audit criticized the California Department of Health Services (DHS) for not doing an adequate job of overseeing the quality of nursing homes. Some DHS employees overlooked or underestimated nursing home violations, the audit said. Also, the timing of inspections was quite predictable, so it was too easy for a nursing home to prepare for the visit and hide deficiencies.The DHS...

• Nursing Home Abuse: Nursing Homes with Repeated Violations

  Laura Blatt | June 01, 2007 5:44 PM | 0 CommentsNovato, CA

  In 2006, one in five nursing homes received citations for violations that could seriously harm residents. This figure comes from recent studies by the GAO (Government Accountability Office), which has been tracking nursing home performance for the last decade and reporting back to Congress at least once a year.Sadly, the GAO found that some nursing homes repeatedly violated federal and state...

• Former Crematory Owners Plead Guilty to Negligence

  Christina Cole | May 04, 2007 10:52 PM | 0 CommentsNovato, CA

  The former owners of Bayview Crematory that was closed over two years ago after investigators discovered remains and a body in a broken cooler - have agreed to plead guilty to several charges. Charges included negligence and the filing of false tax returns.The crematorium that handled close to 2,000 bodies each year from funeral homes in Massachusetts, Maine and New Hampshire had been operating...