New Operators at South Pasadena Convalescent Hospital After Police, FBI Pursue Change

South Pasadena Police Chief Art Miller and his department worked with the FBI and various state and local agencies for more than two years to bring about a change of operators at South Pasadena Convalescent Hospital, which “traditionally is not a police issue,” he said in an interview Monday.

“I bet normally [a police department] would be there four to five times a year. It’s just not normal,” he said of the facility, which was taken over by Elliot Zemel and Yudi Schmukler on Aug. 16. Before that, the home was generating an average of 60 police calls per month, he said.

Zemel, a health care attorney, and Schmukler, who is affiliated with Grandpark Convalescent Hospital in Los Angeles, plan to run the facility as a “more traditional convalescent hospital for the elderly,” Miller added. In a news conference Aug. 19, the chief said the former operator had recruited younger patients, including convicted felons, and at one point in 2012 had rerouted 911 calls from residents to go to the nursing station.

The change took so long because a patchwork of law enforcement and elder care agencies allowed the problems to fall through the cracks, Miller said. “No one had enough responsibility to take the lead on this,” he said. “I worked very closely with ombudsmen and various entities, and kept pressuring.”

The chief said efforts to effect change gathered momentum after he was called to the coroner’s office in March to review the death of patient Courtney Cargill, 57, who left the facility, doused herself with gasoline and lighted herself on fire Nov. 7. The elder review panel of medical and elder care officials were “just in awe,” he said. This led to a meeting with the attorney general’s office, which is continuing to investigate.

No charges have yet been filed in the case, and officials in the attorney general’s office did not respond to calls seeking comment.
“Someone or some entity needs to be held accountable for her death,” Miller said of Cargill, whose family filed suit Aug. 12 against former operator Schlomo Rechnitz, Brius Management Co. and its subsidiaries. Rechnitz had operated the home since 2006. A spokeswoman for Rechnitz, who runs more than 80 convalescent hospitals in California, has said that the facility “provided quality healthcare.”

Miller said he will continue to collaborate with the new operators to make sure the transition is successful. The home was decertified Jan. 5 and will be seeking recertification so it can accept Medicare and Medi-cal payments.

“There will be stumbling blocks along the way, but we’re willing to help them out,” he said. “We wish them the best and wish a really good outcome for our community.”

Miller credited Ellen Daigle for calling attention to the problem and the Public Safety Commission for its members’ patience and faith in him during the long process. At some point, he said, progress stalled because the FBI had asked the police to step back.

“It was not a matter of David and Goliath,” Miller said. “It was just a matter of doing what’s right for people in those hospitals. I kept picturing my parents or loved ones in there.”

 

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