Family of Watsonville Post Acute resident who died of COVID-19 related causes files lawsuit
WATSONVILLE, Calif. (KION) The family of a resident at the Watsonville Post Acute center who died of COVID-19 related causes during an outbreak has filed a lawsuit against the facility, claiming that it was understaffed and that staff members were not properly trained.
The lawfirm representing the family- Scruggs, Spini and Fulton- said the resident, 94-year-old Donald Wickam, died Oct. 20 from complications of the virus, and he is one of 16 total residents who died. That number makes up more than half of all COVID-19 related deaths in Santa Cruz County.
Lawyer David Spini said in a statement that in the two years before the COVID-19 outbreak, the facility was investigated six times by the California Department of Public Health, and the agency found that its infection control procedures were lacking.
“Infection control in nursing homes is not some new thing. Nursing homes are required to prepare for infectious outbreaks and Watsonville Post-Acute had more than six months to follow the law and their own protocols to prevent this deadly COVID-19 infectious spread. Instead, the nursing home ignored WHO, the CDC, the California Department of Public Health, and our County’s own training and instruction. Most nursing homes have done just fine, but not Watsonville Post-Acute. It is a real tragedy," Spini said.
Spini continued by saying that on Oct. 6, the CDPH performed a Focused Emergency Preparedness Survey and a Focused Infection Control Survey and found that the facility was not in compliance. The lawyer also alleges that the housekeeper was not screened for COVID-19 before the start of their shift.
In a complaint shared with KION, Wickham's family alleges that the facility's owners were aware that it did not have enough staff and did not adequately train those working there in infectious disease prevention as part of a pattern to cut costs.
They claim that elder abuse and neglect led to Wickham's death and are seeking damages and punitive damages to improve care.
Read the full complaint for damages here.
The Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency confirms for us that a total of 50 residents tested positive for COVID-19 out of 73 and 21 staff members tested positive.
In a statement to KION News, Watsonville Post Acute Administrator Rae Ann Radford said, "with regard to the present lawsuit, we cannot comment on pending litigation other than communicate Watsonville Post Acute Center will be aggressively defending against these allegations."
Non-profit California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform said the pandemic has exacerbated issues that existed long before the pandemic, including understaffing.
“In order to increase profits, they would decrease staffing and when you decrease staffing, what you wind up getting is maybe one nursing assistant helping multiple patients. And when you get that, it’s impossible to have good infection control and keep people safe,” said Mike Dark with CANHR.
Dark said that in order to improve the situation, nursing homes need to have adequate staffing and better infection control practices, from knowing how to use protective equipment properly to something as simple as hand washing.
