Accounting for more than half of Los Angeles County’s deaths from COVID-19, nursing home facilities are scheduled to be overseen by newly appointed Inspector General Max Huntsman to identify any malpractices and oversights within assisted living, effective Friday, officials said. 

Voted unanimously by the Executive Office of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on May 26, Huntsman has been appointed an Inspector General to investigate oversight claims as well as oversee the practices of Los Angeles County’s nursing home facilities. 

“Max is strategic and engaged and has the experience we need to bring much-needed accountability to the County’s skilled nursing homes,” said Celia Zavala, executive officer of the Board. “He has a track record of making progressive change and we are confident he will help the County ensure real, substantive shifts for our most vulnerable communities to receive the care and oversight they deserve.”

Having served as the County’s first-ever Inspector General, Huntsman previously supervised both the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s and Probation departments for over seven years and has now been tasked with the investigation advocated by Congressman Mike Garcia, R-Santa Clarita, in order to simultaneously develop recommendations for wellness within nursing home facilities and advise how to improve long-term operations until a final recruitment and selection is completed.

“I am in strong support of the Board’s desire to do everything we can to improve nursing home care,” said Huntsman. “My staff is looking forward to working closely with state and County partners to identify an emergency management system and oversight process that will promote the best care possible for this highly vulnerable patient population. We’re reaching out to medical professionals in and outside of government and working closely with the Auditor-Controller, with whom we have a strong working relationship. We hope to help bring about real change.”

Beginning his examination with an in-depth review of the county’s oversights in operation, Huntsman plans to identify the weaknesses of Los Angeles County’s nursing home policies before proposing methods to rejuvenate the treatment of COVID-19s most vulnerable– the elderly, the low-income and the disabled.  

See Related: Mike Garcia Supports Investigation Of Gavin Newsom Over COVID-19 Nursing Home Policy

Attempting to reverse the consistent low marks on the basis of quality care, patient satisfaction and employee pay, the Board of nursing homes within Los Angeles County are expected to receive a proposed scope from Huntsman by Aug. 1 that lays out an agenda for finalizing a full report on his discoveries and report back with interim reports every 60 days until a final report is finalized. 

Similarly, Garcia called for an investigation into the nursing home instruction of Governor Gavin Newsom and other governors across the country after seeing that over 5,500 coronavirus-related deaths were reported within assisted living on June 24. 

“Governor Newsom’s decision to entice nursing homes with taxpayer dollars to house COVID-19 positive patients among our seniors is disappointing. That money should have been pointed towards prevention rather than placing vulnerable citizens in danger. I fully support Representative Scalise’s call on the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis to open an oversight investigation into the actions of Governor Newsom and others,” Garcia said.

With the knowledge of how the escalation in COVID-19 cases could have been further prevented, Garcia has advocated for an investigation into Newsom and his decision to accept untested COVID-19 patients into nursing homes, despite instruction from the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) who advised against this practice.

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