A local skilled nursing and rehabilitation facility will pay $50,000 in civil penalties as part of the settlement of a more than 3-year-old civil lawsuit. The Santa Cruz County District Attorney’s Office and the state Department of Justice filed suit against Hearts and Hands Post Acute & Rehab Center in 2019, alleging that the facility “frequently discharged residents who were deemed too difficult,” according to the DOJ. Additional allegations against the facility included failing to provide adequate staffing and having an inordinate amount of emergency calls to the facility, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
