Failed to protect a resident from sexual abuse. A facility staff member who witnessed the alleged inappropriate sexual behavior directed toward a resident and did not tell the facility for three days.
The Illinois Department of Health produces quarterly reports on nursing home violators.
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An 84 year old man's family filed a $155 million lawsuit against national nursing home chain Beverly at the Beverly Health and Rehabilitation of Frankfort. The 84 year old man cried in pain for 10 hours before his death on March 2, 2002 to no avail: nurses didn't respond.
Insufficient nursing staff due to company cost cutting initiatives is alleged, and at one point during the man's struggle, 11 of 13 nurses on staff were on a break. Staffing shortages at nursing homes are a chronic problem in Kentucky and nationwide.
For the full article:
http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/news/state/14165065.htm
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A bill increasing the personal needs allowance (PNA) for residents in Iowa nursing homes to $50/month from $30/month has passed in the Iowa House and is awaiting consideration in the Senate.
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The chart below shows the range of malpractice costs as a percentage of revenues for physician specialties ranging from cardiologists (1.5%) to OB-GYNs (6.7%).
http://www.newsbatch.com/tort-malbyspec.html
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In response to states drafting false claims acts that are not at least as strong as the federal False Claims Act, the government is providing an incentive for states to strengthen and pass these laws.
As part of the 2005 Deficit Reduction Act (DRA), the government will provide a 10 percent increase in the state's share of Medicaid fraud recoveries if their laws are at least as strong as the federal False Claims Act.
For more information:
http://www.taf.org/cashbackstatefca.htm
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The FDA today released technical guidance to help hospital bed manufacturers, hospitals, nursing homes, and private caregivers assess the safety of bedrails.
The guide can be downloaded here:
Download file
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California’s second-largest nursing home chain, Pleasant Care, has agreed to pay $1.3 million to the state to settle civil allegations of negligence. The Department of Health Services cited more than 160 violations in the past 5 years including but not limited to dehydration, malnutrition, inadequate care for pressure sores and improper administration of medication.
Another term of the settlement requires Pleasant Care to hire a government-appointed independent monitor to ensure the home follows the law. The home must also hire more nurses.
For the full article:
http://www.californiahealthline.org/index.cfm?Action=dspItem&itemID=119320&ClassCD=CL104
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The state of Michigan has filed criminal charges and a civil suit in the death of a resident and an alleged cover up at Metron Integrated Health Systems in Big Rapids, Michigan. The resident was on oxygen because of a kidney problem, the tank ran out of oxygen, and it is believed that the resident died of asphyxiation. No autopsy was performed because the director of the facility served as the assistant medical examiner of the county.
For the full article
http://www.wzzm13.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=51380
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