SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — A San Diego County group home that treats adults with serious mental disorders is facing state discipline following a Team 10 investigation.
Changing Options in Ramona has been found to not accord dignity to a client, according to a citation from the California Department of Social Services.
The facility houses people who may have schizophrenia, bipolar disorders, substance abuse problems or other mental issues.
Team 10 first investigated allegations regarding health and safety concerns of residents after a whistle blower came to the station.
Now, a new state investigation — based upon Team 10's reporting — found that Changing Options took away the personal rights of a client.
CDSS also told Team 10 on Aug. 12 that it is conducting additional investigations and cannot comment further.
The company and its attorney did not respond to requests for comment.
The state's findings came after Albert Maurice Trammel, a former Changing Options employee, notified state officials and Team 10 about alleged health and safety issues involving clients at the group home.
Trammel told us about a plan to have a client take his meals and medicine outside because he smelled.
"He came to us not taking a shower for quite some time," said Trammel, a military veteran. "So, the idea bandied about was to put this individual outside in the cold, so that it would prompt him to shower and his medication was being delivered outside."
Trammel told Team 10 the plan did not work.
Team 10 also obtained internal company emails.
One string of emails showed that Changing Options staff was to have the client eat and take his medication outside, starting in early January.
National Weather Service records show it was near freezing temperatures in Ramona during breakfast.
State regulations require group homes like Changing Options to have comfortable temperatures at all times and meals must be in a dining room.
A state regulator made a surprise visit to Changing Options on May 22, and current and former staff told him the January incident never happened.
They said that would be unethical, according to a state report.
Previously, Team 10 contacted nine current and former staffers. Eight declined to comment. One denied anything wrong occurred.
A company attorney had said Changing Options operates in compliance with applicable state and federal laws.
Hear more from the whistleblower in part one of Team 10 Investigator Craig Harris' original report on Changing Options below:
The story changed after Team 10 asked a state official on June 10 if the agency had the same Changing Options emails that Team 10 had obtained.
The station gave the state those documents for comment.
The next day, the state reopened an investigation into Changing Options.
This time, a state investigation from Aug. 1 confirmed that a former employee sent staff an email that asked them to encourage a client to take meals and medications outside, like Team 10 had reported.
The staff this time told the regulator that they understood the strategy was to motivate the client to shower; however, they said they did not force the client to shower nor accept meals outside.
The state found that at least one client was given medication outside the facility because of poor hygiene.
The report did not say what day this occurred, but it noted the weather was not cold that day.
The finding resulted in the state citing Changing Options with a health and safety violation, and the company was put on a plan of correction by CDSS.
Changing Options must now provide personal rights training to all of its staff — including executive management.
If Changing Options does not comply with the plan of correction, it could face civil penalties, according to the state report.
This is the second time Changing Options has been placed on a plan of correction in about a year.
The prior incident occurred after a client with bipolar disorder grabbed and ingested a cup of pills that belonged to another resident.
Watch part two of this Team 10 investigation, which outlines an incident in which a resident walked away from a group dinner outing into the dark and rain, below:
Theresa Mier, a CDSS spokeswoman, said the agency decides on whether to impose discipline on a case-by-case basis.
She said the agency does not have a ranking system for group homes, making it difficult to compare Changing Options to similar facilities.
The state this summer also investigated Changing Options for allegations that it was inadequately staffed, did not serve nutritious meals and did not address a pest infestation.
All of those allegations were unsubstantiated.
