Prompted by a tip that residents in some assisted living homes were dying from bedsores, the reporters began a 10-month investigation. They found that at least 27 assisted living residents in San Diego County had died from neglect since 2008, and that these deaths were unknown to the public due to the way state records are kept. The state Department of Social Services rarely notified local law enforcement when deaths occurred. In at least 80 incidents, facility workers gave the wrong medicine to residents or ignored medical symptoms. Three state inspectors had accepted bribes from San Diego homes, according to search warrants. The Department of Social Services’ 54-member police force had not made an arrest at an assisted living facility in nine years. Meanwhile, the state repeatedly weakened rules to allow the homes to accept sicker residents without larger staffs or better training.
