40 Relocated After Board and Care Is Closed Down

TUJUNGA —  State and county health authorities shut down a board-and-care home for suspected health and safety violations Wednesday, forcing about 40 elderly residents to be relocated to other facilities.

Residents at the Ambassador Care Home at 10161 Hillhaven Ave. were not receiving proper care, and the facility had been operating without a license since April, said Doug Harvey, a supervising investigator with the state Department of Social Services.

“They were unlicensed and illegal,” Harvey said. “There were gross violations.”

Harvey declined to elaborate on the specific violations but said officials decided to move in Wednesday morning after Ambassador failed to make changes requested by regulators.

Tom Henry, a deputy to Los Angeles City Council member Joel Wachs, criticized officials for not warning residents or their families.

“While the state had cited the owners, the residents were unaware of the threat of closure and to pack them up suddenly is heartless,” Henry said.

Harvey said several county agencies helped make arrangements to relocate those who needed assistance moving to licensed homes.

Harvey said officials feared that a warning would tip off the owners of Ambassador, giving them time to strike a deal with another board-and-care home to take the patients illegally.

“We’ve seen in the past where networks of unlicensed providers sweep in and take residents who are unable to know the difference,” Harvey said. “Even today there were unauthorized care providers who showed up trying to take clients.”

He added that most of the families were aware of the licensing problems at Ambassador, so that the closure should not have come as a complete surprise.