SF's Laguna Honda Hospital starts admitting patients again after certification restored

SAN FRANCISCO -- Laguna Honda Hospital and Rehabilitation Center in San Francisco resumed admissions Thursday and welcomed back former residents who had been displaced after the skilled nursing facility had its certification yanked two years ago.

According to the San Francisco Department of Public Health, Laguna Honda became fully certified again by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services after "a successful two-year improvement process."

The hospital began transferring patients out after federal and state regulators cited safety concerns and required the facility to move all 700 patients out in 2022, while also removing its Medicare and Medicaid provider agreements.

Drug paraphernalia in the facility, a lack of infection prevention and control, and missed doses of medication were among the cited concerns.

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The facility also had a patient abuse scandal involving some patients who allegedly fell victim to verbal, mental, sexual and physical abuse over a several-year period, which resulted in a lawsuit.

A 2019 investigation from the California Department of Public Health -- the origins of the lawsuit -- noted that six former nurses allegedly abused 23 patients by drugging some, taking nude photos of others and texting the images to other staff members and even gagging one victim with a towel.

The state health department determined that the facility failed to protect residents from abuse and privacy breaches, and the actions had potential to cause embarrassment and emotional distress to patients.

Last year, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors agreed to settle with 11 former patients for $2.2 million.

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The city's mayor and other officials praised the progress made in getting the skilled nursing facility recertified and back in business.

"We fought tirelessly for the future of Laguna Honda so that the care and services provided by this beloved facility would again be accessible to our most vulnerable residents," said Mayor London Breed in a statement released by the health department.

Last year, the California Department of Public Health and the state's Department of Health Care Services approved Laguna Honda's recertification for Medicaid, the federal program to provide free or low-cost health care coverage to low-income people that is administered in the state as Medi-Cal. In June of this year, the hospital was recertified for Medicare.

Patients who were displaced after the hospital lost its certification are being invited back, the city said, and as of Thursday, "several have opted to return," the health department said in a statement.