Ventura County is home to 19 skilled nursing facilities, and Anthony Chicotel, an attorney with California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform, understands how stresssful it can be to select a location for oneself or a loved one.Skilled nursing facilities, commonly called nursing homes, are one of the most regulated types of care facilities for elderly residents and other patients. The homes provide 24-hour nursing care as well as rehabilitation for individuals recovering from an illness, injury or hospitalization — typically on a temporary basis until they can return home.
Most residents are admitted directly from the hospital, which means their families are most likely choosing a facility for them in a short time frame. Not all facilities contract
with Medicare or Medi-Cal, which further limits the options.
Chicotel, however, said individuals and families have more choice than they are led to believe.
“I really want to stress to people that they have every right to put the brakes on a proposed discharge and take the time to do the research and demand that they go to a place that is safe and appropriate,” he said.
There is far more data available about nursing homes now than there was 15 years ago, and the attorney encourages families to take advantage of it.
The California Department of Public Health, the agency responsible for licensing and overseeing skilled nursing facilities, has a tool to compare facilities and the numbers of complaints, violations and fines they have received.
Chicotel said higher-than-average numbers, especially when it comes to complaints, should be a red flag.
“I give the most weight to the complaint number,” he said. “The number of complaints is the best proxy we have for the resident experience.”
In Ventura County, the median number of complaints at skilled nursing facilities from 2023 through 2025 is 93, according to state records.
The attorney also encourages families to visit facilities on weekends or evenings.
Sarah Abrams is the executive director of the Ventura County Ombudsman Program, a nonprofit that advocates for elderly and disabled residents at local long-term care facilities.
She said she advises families to research whether a specific facility can meet the resident’s needs, determine how they will afford the care or ensure the facility accepts their insurance, review contracts and policies in advance and plan for healthcare directives or emergency contacts if unable to communicate.
The ombudsman program offers pre-placement counseling for individuals and families, and if family members are concerned about the level of care at a skilled nursing facility, they can contact the nonprofit for advocacy and resources.
The advocates make unannounced visits to each facility in Ventura County at least once per month, the executive director said.
“The important thing to remember is that although the residents are in a facility being taken care of, that doesn’t remove the right that they have for quality care,” Abrams said.
Makena Huey is an investigative and watchdog reporter for the Ventura County Star. Reach her at makena.huey@vcstar.com. This story was made possible by a grant from the Ventura County Community Foundation's Fund to Support Local Journalism.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Advocates offer tips for choosing a Ventura County nursing home
