Started by Dr. William Thomas,the Eden Alternative is a promising movement to improve the quality of life for those experiencing aging and disability across America. The Alternative movement is dedicated to helping others create enlivening environments and eliminating the plagues of loneliness, helplessness, and boredom. There are two registered Eden homes in Illinois.
Continue reading "The Eden Alternative: Revolutionizing nursing homes" »
The National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, Inc. will be hosting its 2006 Advanced Elder Law Institute entitled “Re-Visioning the Practice.” Sessions cover topics, such as “The Future of Elder Law” and “Substance Abuse, Depression, and Other Mental Illness and the Elderly.”
Rose Garden Convalescent Center has been fined $16,000 for failure to prevent the physical abuse of a resident. A staff member who witnessed the abuse did not intervene to protect the resident. The facility also failed to follow its abuse prevention policy by allowing the staffer accused of abuse to continue working with residents.
The Illinois Department of Health produces quarterly reports on nursing home violators.
SmartMoney Magazine recently released an eye-opening article entitled “10 Things Your Hospital Won’t Tell You.” Patients and advocates who know the potential for medical malpractice will be able to take preventative measures during hospital stays.
1. “Oops, wrong kidney.” – Errors in treatment have become a serious problem for hospitals.
2. “You may leave sicker than when you came in.” – About 2 million people a year contract hospital-related infections.
3. “Good luck finding the person in charge.” – Getting the attention of the right person can be difficult.
4. “Everything is negotiable, even your hospital bill.” – Hospitals frequently work with patients, offering payment plans or discounts.
5. “Yes, we take your insurance – but we’re not sure about the anesthesiologist.” – Anesthesiologists are often not covered on insurance plans.
6. “Sometimes we bill you twice.” – Ask for an itemized bill to avoid being billed for services never received or items that should not be billed separately.
7. “All hospitals are not created equal.” – Call the hospital’s quality-control or risk-management office to get infection statistics.
8. “Most ERs are in need of some urgent care themselves.” – An ambulance is turned away from an ER once every minute due to overcrowding.
9. “Avoid hospitals in July like the plague.” – In July, turnover occurs in the hospital: a good portion of the staff at any given teaching hospital are new on the job.
10. “Sometimes we don’t keep our mouths zipped.” – Contrary to popular belief, sharing information with a third party is often legal.
Steve Levin of the law firm Levin & Perconti was quoted in Crain’s Business this week for a case he is working on involving a 71-year-old man who developed pressure ulcers, or bed sores, during two extended stays at Advocate Trinity Hospital last fall.
For the full article.
The Louisiana Appeals Court ruled that the $500,000 cap on medical malpractice lawsuit damages was unconstitutional because it does not provide an adequate remedy to patients. The cap was imposed in 1975 and a $500,000 reward at that time would be worth only $160,000 today. Now, the Louisiana Supreme Court is set to hear the medical malpractice lawsuit.
For the full article.
Equip for Equality’s Abuse Investigation Unit has published an informational handbook about reporting and investigating abuse and neglect of adults with disabilities in nursing homes and long-term care facilities. This handbook makes the confusing investigatory system in Illinois more manageable by identifying the providers and their corresponding state investigatory agencies. Equip for Equality is a not-for-profit group designed to advance the human and civil rights of people with disabilities in Illinois.
To access Equip for Equality’s handbook.
To learn more about Equip for Equality.
This month, the National Citizen’s Coalition for Nursing Home Reform will kick off a two year commitment to improving the quality of care in the nation’s nursing homes. In conjunction with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care, the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, the American Health Care Association, the American Medical Directors Association, and the Commonwealth Fund, one of the foremost goals of the initiative is creating awareness on a national level of the grave conditions in many of our nation’s nursing homes. The initiative has enumerated eight specific goals it hopes to accomplish by the projects end:
1. Reduction in high risk pressure ulcers
2. Reduction in the use of daily physical restraints
3. Improvement in pain management in long stay residents
4. Improvement in pain management in short stay (post acute) residents
5. Setting individualized quality improvement targets
6. Regularly assessing resident and/or family satisfaction and incorporating this information in their quality improvement activities;
7. Reduction Regularly measuring staff turnover and working to reduce turnover rates
8. Adoption of consistent assignment whereby residents are regularly cared for by the same caregiver.
For more information on the campaign and NCCNHR, visit their website.
Nursing home abuse cases often involve conflicting accounts of abuse, with elderly victims being doubted due to memory conditions they may have. New York Times recently reported that an elderly man entered an Orange County emergency room covered with bruises. Although he suffered from dementia, the man insisted that his wife’s home health aide had beaten him. However, the health aide and the wife claimed that the man had fallen. The man’s abuse was confirmed after the Orange County Elder Abuse Forensic Center investigated his injuries.
Orange County California has developed an Elder Abuse Forensic Center to determine the origins of elderly patient’s abuse. In the case of the man who had been beaten by his wife’s home health aide, the forensic team members were able to determine that the bruises were a result of being punched. Upon examination, they found bloody outlines of a shoe on the man’s leg. They also performed cognitive tests on the victim’s account of abuse. With this substantial forensic evidence, the prosecutor was convinced to take the case and charged the aide with a felony.
Continue reading "Forensic Skills uncover elder abuse" »
Countryside Healthcare Center has been fined $45,000 for failure to administer regularly scheduled insulin and monitor blood glucose levels as ordered by a doctor. As a result, several residents were hospitalized.
The Illinois Department of Health produces quarterly reports on nursing home violators.
As addressed in a previous article, fraud against Medicare and Medicaid is rampant in the nursing home industry. Here is another example of a nursing home embellishing the quality care provided in order to receive federal funds. A San Jose nursing home and its subsidiary have agreed to pay $14.7 million in a settlement regarding allegations of Medicare fraud. Investigators reported that the two companies that own nursing homes throughout California and Utah inflated the number of nursing hours spent on Medicare patients in their reports. In a related criminal case, the nursing home has entered a guilty plea and must pay a $500,000 fine.
The daughters of a 79 year-old victim of nursing home negligence have brought a civil suit against the San Diego nursing home. The victim died in January 2006, only three weeks after she was readmitted to the nursing home. A state investigation conducted early concluded that the nursing home failed to monitor the 79 year-old woman through laboratory tests and the woman died as a result. California issued the nursing home an “AA” citation, which carries a $94,000 fine. The nursing home is appealing this citation.
An Oklahoma nursing home is under investigation this month due to an increase of resident complaints of nursing home abuse. The nursing home has been cited for failing to keep residents’ health and safety a priority. This citation follows the discovery of two residents having serious bedsores and other residents complaining of not receiving their pain medication.
The Elder Justice Act has the strongest protections for long-term care residents of any legislation in years. It passed the Senate Finance Committee unanimously, but it must still be voted on by the entire Senate and the House. It is critical that we get more co-sponsors on the bill and push the Senate leadership to move it to a vote before Congress adjourns September 29!
If you live in one of the following states, please target the following Senate leadership offices by calling and asking that they support bringing the Elder Justice Act to a vote. Call their direct line or use the AARP toll-free line, 1 – 800 – 928-8084.
Bill Frist (R-TN) - 202-224-3135
Mitch McConnell (R-KY) - 202-224-2708
Rick Santorum (R-PA) - 202-224-2764
Harry Reid (D-NV) - 202-224-5556
Richard Durbin (D-IL) - 202-224-2152
For more information on the act.
Congratulations to Elma Holder and Dr. William Thomas who each received honors from the John Heinz Foundation for their outstanding dedication to long-term care advocacy.
Elma Holder is the founder of the National Citizens’ Coalition for Nursing Home Reform (NCCNHR) and received the Chairman’s medal to honor her lifetime achievement. Elma has drawn national attention to nursing home issues and has greatly impacted the lives of residents.
Dr. William Thomas received the Heinz Award in the Human Condition for his innovative work as the founder of the Eden Alternative. The Eden Alternative has championed a movement for systematically overhauling the institutional nature of assisted-living facilities and improving the quality of life for elders. The movement hopes nursing homes will one day be vibrant centers of care and companionship.
For more information on the recipients.
A virulent E.coli strain infected the national spinach supply a month ago with a subsequent death following two weeks later. 50% of those who reported to be sick from this particular bacterial strain were hospitalized, which is twice as many as previous E.coli outbreaks. Three times the average number of consumers in this type of outbreak suffered kidney failure, resulting in a transplant, dialysis, heavy medication, or death.
The FDA’s response to this extreme severity? A voluntary recall of spinach! After one confirmed death and hundreds of illnesses, this voluntary issuance leaves millions of Americans at risk. Unfortunately, it appears as though the FDA cannot accurately assess the risks to public safety.
Drugmaker Schering-Plough Corp., the maker of allergy, cold, and cholesterol drugs, pled guilty to conspiracy to end a federal investigation into the marketing of some drugs for unapproved uses and overcharging Medicaid for certain drugs. Under the agreement, the drugmaker will pay $255 million towards civil aspects of its conspiracy. The remaining $180 million is a criminal fine which accompanies its plea of guilty to conspiracy. Investigators found evidence that the drugmaker marketed drugs for uses that were not approved by government regulators.
For almost a year, seniors and their advocates in West Virginia have been uncertain about how they would afford their elder care. In November 2005, the West Virginia governor’s administration began applying a stringent evaluation tool to screen out people from the state’s Aged and Disabled Waiver program. The program pays for professionals to provide in-home care, rather than sending program participants to more expensive nursing homes. After the strict evaluation tool was implemented, at least 647 people were denied.
This settlement is in response to the appeals of those denied. The people who were kicked off the program will immediately be put back on. The West Virginia seniors and their advocates can finally rest easy.
The families that lost six children in a Rogers Park apartment fire earlier this month are seeking justice by suing the building’s owner and management company. Represented by the law firm of Levin & Perconti , the victims contend that the building’s landlord was negligent in failing to keep the building in a reasonably safe condition. Tragically, the fire department did not find smoke detectors in the apartment unit. Also, the families had lost power in their unit even though they were disputing charges on their electric bill at the time. The complaint filed by the law firm of Levin & Perconti alleges a lack of working smoke detectors in addition to other fire hazards present in the building.
The families are struggling to get back to their normal routines after enduring this tragedy. Last week, more than 1,200 mourners filled a Rogers Park church for the children’s funeral. This week, two children-survivors from the fire were released from the hospital.
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For the Chicago Sun-Times article.
For the Chicago Tribune article.
For the Belleville News Democrat article.
For the ABC7-Chicago.com article.
For the WREX-TV.com article.
For the NBC5.com article.
Washington Heights Nursing Home has been fined $20,000 for failure to consistently monitor and assess the condition of a resident, who later was hospitalized in an intensive care unit.
The Illinois Department of Health produces quarterly reports on nursing home violators.
Pekin Manor has been fined $11,000 for failure to follow its abuse prohibition policy after residents’ alleged mistreatment by a staffer. The facility also failed to thoroughly investigate claims of rough treatment.
The Illinois Department of Health produces quarterly reports on nursing home violators.
A two year national campaign to address quality in nursing home care will kick off with a summit on September 29, 2006. The goals for the project center around nursing home abuse and neglect and include: reduction in high risk pressure ulcers; reduction in the use of daily physical restraints; improvement in pain management in both long stay and short stay residents; setting individualized quality improvement targets; regular assessment of resident and/or family satisfaction; reduction of staff turnover; and adoption of consistent staff assignment whereby residents are cared for by the same caregiver regularly. One of the founders of the campaign is the National Citizens’ Coalition for Nursing Home Reform (NCCNHR).
To learn more about the campaign.
To learn more about NCCNHR.
The family of a woman who was a patient at an East St. Louis hospital in February 2005 is suing the hospital for failing to provide a safe environment, failing to prevent multiple falls, and failing to properly monitor the victim whiles she was a patient. According to the complaint, the hospital negligently failed to place the woman on a “fall precaution” list.
While a patient at the hospital, the victim fractured her right hip, which required surgery and the placement of a compression screw and a side plate. The family states that the victim endured serious pain and suffering, mental anguish and emotional distress. Her ability to enjoy life was adversely affected.
For the full article.
A California certified nursing assistant was recently arrested for sexually assaulting a 98 year-old woman resident. Police reported that a co-worker saw the worker abusing the nursing home resident on Monday. However, the facility waited until the next day to report the incident. The nursing home facility denies any wrongdoing. Police are investigating whether the worker had previously worked at any other nursing homes.
The landmark Illinois Home Health, Home Services, and Home Nursing Agency Licensing Act will take effect September 1, 2008. Under the new law, agencies will be licensed as one or more of the following entities: Home Health, Home Nursing, and/or Home Services. The regulations are designed to protect the senior consumer. Under the Act, the agency will have to comply with a set of standards and will submit to specific training and supervision requirements.
The Illinois HomeCare Council, Life Services Network, and the National Private Duty Association are hosting the following information seminars on the new law: 10/4/2006 in Mt. Vernon, Illinois, 10/5/2006 in Springfield, Illinois, 10/10/2006 in Rockford, Illinois, and 10/12/2006 in Deerfield, Illinois.
A third infant has died after having been given an adult dosage of blood thinner medication heparin at Methodist Hospital. The mistake was made when a pharmacy technician accidentally stored adult doses in the neonatal unit's drug cabinet. Six infants were affected by the error, two had died previously and three others are in critical condition.
The families have retained a lawyer and will likely file a medical malpractice lawsuit.
For the full article.
The American Trial Lawyers Association (ATLA) offers law firms a chance to achieve greater visibility and obtain services for enhancing specialized practice through membership in its select Leaders Forum.
For more information on joining the ATLA’s Leaders Forum.
Increasing revenue is one way to resolve the nationwide problems of nursing home neglect and staffing shortages. The LaSalle County Nursing Home in rural Ottawa, Illinois will soon be doing just that by becoming Medicare-certified. The nursing home administrator stated that the certification will allow the facility to increase its services for residents in the areas of physical and speech therapy in addition to increasing the level of quality care. The nursing home also plans to develop an Alzheimer’s unit and eventually house a variety of specialty services.
The Foundation Aiding the Elderly (FATE) and a daughter of a California nursing home resident have recently brought a lawsuit against Department of Human Services (DHS), alleging that their failure to regulate nursing home staffing places residents at the risk of avoidable injury or death. California state law required the DHS to issue standards setting minimum staff-to-patient ratios in nursing homes by 2003, but they still have not issued these regulations.
As we are well aware, nursing home staffing shortages are a cause of concern nationwide. With sufficient skilled nursing staff, vulnerable nursing home residents are more likely to receive attentive care and less likely to develop avoidable injuries, such as bed sores and accident injuries from falls.
Turner Manor has been fined $30,000 for failure to implement policies and procedures against abuse after two residents were physically abused by staff.
The Illinois Department of Health produces quarterly reports on nursing home violators.
Sangamon Care Center has been fined $5,000 for failure to provide adequate supervision of a resident who left the facility without staff knowledge. The resident was found unharmed outside the facility by a passerby who alerted staff.
The Illinois Department of Health produces quarterly reports on nursing home violators.
Manorcare At Oak Lawn/Kostner has been fined $25,000 for failure to provide a resident with adequate care. The resident later was hospitalized and died.
The Illinois Department of Health produces quarterly reports on nursing home violators.
Genesis House has been fined $40,000 for failure to prevent a resident, with a history of exhibiting inappropriate sexual behavior, from attacking two residents.
The Illinois Department of Health produces quarterly reports on nursing home violators.
Apostolic Christian Timber Ridge nursing home in Morton, Illinois has been fined $50,000 for failure to protect a resident from neglect. A resident was found unresponsive and subsequently pronounced dead.
The Illinois Department of Health produces quarterly reports on nursing home violators.
A Kansas Nursing Home facility recently transformed itself from a conventional, hospital-like facility into a place that looks, smells, feels, and runs more like a “home.” In addition to more comfortable bedroom settings, residents develop their own schedules, choose what they want to eat and select activities. The manager of the Kansas facility stated that he felt after his mother’s death in the facility that the nursing home was more like a warehouse than a care facility.
The Kansas nursing home's changes are at the forefront of a small but growing national nursing home movement. Unfortunately, the movement is obviously hindered by financial restraints, such as chronically low government support. However, the manager of the Kansas Nursing Home dismisses financial obstacles, stating that his facility saved money by cutting staff turnover by more than half and by practically eliminating food waste. Analysts report that the domination by for-profit nursing home companies of the industry also acts as a roadblock to facility transformations because of its corporate, bottom-line mentality.
In an April 2006 Congressional briefing, the National Citizens’ Coalition for Nursing Home Reform released a brief entitled Faces of Neglect: Behind the Closed Doors of Nursing Homes. The poignant document describes the stories of 36 average residents in 12 states who were neglected to the point of abuse in their nursing homes.
To learn more and read parts of the document.
To learn more about NCCNHR.
The National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) in conjunction with the American Law Institute – American Bar Association will be presenting a webcast on October 4, 2006 entitled “Protecting Mama’s Life Savings.” The webcast will be broadcast from 1:00 p.m. – 4:15 p.m. Central Standard Time and will consist of discussion with interactive question and answer sessions.
The NAELA focuses on assisting lawyers, organizations, and others who work with older clients and their families. They provide information, assistance, and education in many specialized issues that surround elderly life.
Despite the passage of the Nursing Home Reform Act in 1987, poor care in nursing homes is still extremely common. Consumer Reports recently investigated the industry and reported that nursing home abuse and neglect is most persistent in the for-profit nursing home chains.
When nursing homes are found to be out of compliance or deficient, states are required to refer case information to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), a federal agency, for enforcement action. However, CMS has been slow to act, so state law enforcement agencies have recently begun cracking down on nursing home abuse and neglect of patients with some evidence of successful enforcement.
Continue reading "Nursing home abuse and neglect still persists nationwide" »
The National Citizens’ Coalition for Nursing Home Reform (NCCNHR) is hosting its annual conference on October 22nd – 24th. This year’s conference will be held at the Hilton Crystal City Hotel in Arlington, Virginia. The keynote speaker will be consumer advocate Erin Brockovich.
For over thirty years, the NCCNHR has been a leading advocate against nursing home abuse and neglect by pursuing federal and state regulatory and legislative policy development to improve the care and life of nursing home residents. They focus on many pertinent issues, including inadequate staffing, poor working conditions, the high cost of poor care, and resident empowerment.
To register for the NCCNHR conference.
Obtaining testimony for medical malpractice lawsuits recently got more difficult in South Carolina with barriers imposed by the state legislature. In June 2006, with the backing of the South Carolina Board of Medical Examiners, a new law passed in South Carolina, requiring out-of-state doctors to obtain a temporary medical license before testifying in state court. The law requires out-of-state doctors to pay for a temporary license ($75.00) and also imposes stricter requirements to obtain documents from out of state.
A former Rhode Island nursing home owner was sentenced yesterday to 2 ½ years in prison and sentenced to pay $100,000.00 in fines and $780,539.00 in restitution for diverting money from his three nursing homes to his daughter’s business. The 2 ½ year sentence is six months more than the prosecutor recommended. While sentencing the former owner, the federal judge stated that his motivation was pure greed.
The Rhode Island nursing home was infamous and thankfully closed in 2004 when Providence Journal reported a case of horrendous nursing home abuse. A resident developed a life-threatening bed sore after being left for hours lying in her feces. Audits for the current case discovered that the three nursing homes had several million dollars in questionable payments to companies associated with the owner’s daughter, despite being in default on federally backed loans and struggling to pay its staff.
Age is a quality of the mind.
If you have left your dreams behind,
If hope is cold,
If you can no longer look ahead,
If your ambitions’ fires are dead-
Then you are old.
But if from life you take the best,
If in life you keep the jest,
If love you hold;
No matter how the years go by,
No matter how the birthdays fly-
You are not old.
H.S. Fritsch
This poem, written by H.S. Fritsch, was featured in the most recent issue of the NAELA newsletter. It reminds us that although our problems mount as the years progress, we are no older than how we act and feel.
To learn more about NAELA.
A Waukegan, Illinois hospital staff has recently been accused of medical malpractice: gross deviations from the standard of care that a reasonable person would have exercised in a situation. A 49 year-old woman entered the hospital complaining of typical heart attack symptoms: nausea, shortness of breath, and chest pain. A triage nurse saw the woman fifteen minutes after arrival, classifying her condition as “semi-emergent.”
Twice over the next excruciating two hours, the woman’s daughter asked nurses when her mother would be admitted to see a physician. When her name was eventually called, a nurse found the woman slumped in a waiting room chair without a pulse. Shortly thereafter, she was pronounced dead. The coroner’s jury concluded that the 49 year-old woman died of a heart attack but also indicated that the death was a result of negligent medical malpractice.
The lawsuit filed last year by California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform received a long-awaited and well-deserved order from a San Francisco judge. The judge has ruled that the state health department must investigate nursing home complaints faster. The judge has given California Department of Health Services four months to close hundreds of old cases and open investigations into at least 80 percent of all new complaints.
Nationwide, state oversight committees are not responding promptly to nursing home abuse complaints. Hopefully, other judges and judicial advocates will follow the lead set by this case.
The Missouri state auditor concluded that the state’s regulation of nursing homes during 2005 declined despite two prior audits that recommended 32 ways to improve oversight. The latest audit revealed that the state neglected to inspect more than 400 nursing homes that violated state law, including 8 of the worst nursing home offenders that had recurring problems. The auditor placed the blame for the bad report on lack of funding for the health department’s inspection unit. The auditor was disheartened at the report and stresses that nursing home abuse deserves prompt and attentive oversight.
The state of Michigan has charged two nursing home workers in a case of nursing home abuse: a registered nurse and a nursing home administrator. The nurse faces two counts of patient abuse and the administrator with two counts of failing to report the patient abuse.
Over one year ago, the Illinois legislature passed a law restricting the ability of medical malpractice victims to hold hospitals and health care workers accountable for negligence. Although limiting what a victim can seek from a negligent health care worker or hospital is clearly unfair, politicians argued that it would lower Illinois doctors’ insurance premiums.
They were wrong. The law has done nothing to decrease premiums for doctors. In fact, insurance industry premiums continue to rise!
According to Illinois’ largest medical insurer itself, it will pay out 20% less from 2005 claims than 2004 claims despite the fact that its income increased significantly (from $11.5 to $23.6 million).
Livingston Manor has been fined $6,000 for failure to supervise a resident who left the facility without staff knowledge, ended up on a two-lane highway and was almost hit by a passing vehicle.
The Illinois Department of Health produces quarterly reports on nursing home violators.
The A.R.C. of Jacksonville, Ltd. has been fined $15,000 for failure to prevent sexual and financial exploitation of a resident. A resident of the facility withdrew all the money from his bank account and temporarily moved in with an A.R.C. staffer.
The Illinois Department of Health produces quarterly reports on nursing home violators.
The Drum Major Institute for Public Policy recently launched “Tort Deform: The Civil Justice Defense Blog” to offer an accurate analysis of the current state of the civil justice system.
The website provides an alternative to the relentless “tort reform” movement that aims at restricting justice for civil litigants. Such “tort reform” efforts have sought to make it nearly impossible for victims, such as medical malpractice victims or nursing home abuse victims, to hold those who have injured them properly accountable in court.
To go directly to the website.
Springfield Terrace has been fined $5,000 for failure to implement preventive measures to protect residents from abuse by another resident.
The Illinois Department of Health produces quarterly reports on nursing home violators.
Illinois Veterans Home-Anna has been fined $5,000 for failure to prevent a resident from leaving the facility without staff knowledge. A staffer saw the resident outside and returned the resident to the facility unharmed.
The Illinois Department of Health produces quarterly reports on nursing home violators.
The federal government recently pulled its Medicaid funding from a Lexington, KY nursing home that cares for 57 residents. The facility had recently received a type-A citation, the most serious type, from state health inspectors after an incident of nursing home neglect. A resident suffering from brain injury, dementia, and affective psychosis was able to escape the facility one morning and “hitch-hike” to a different city. His disappearance was not noticed by nursing home staff until the following morning.
California state law requires inspectors to investigate complaints of neglect or maltreatment within 10 working days. However, during the first six months of 2006, fewer than half of complaints were investigated within that time. These frequent delays pose a severe threat to residents for many reasons. For example, in cases of nursing home abuse, harm may be imminent to residents.
In October, the watchdog group California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform sued the California Department of Health Services on behalf of victims’ families for the agency’s failure to promptly inspect nursing home complaints. An order spelling out the conditions under which the department must start obeying the law is expected soon.
After reviewing the statistics of the prison health care system, a District Judge appointed an overseer to directly monitor the progress in the system which he called “broken beyond repair.” The prison health care system had been killing an average of one inmate per week due to negligence or medical malpractice.
The suggested wage increases will allow the prisons to fill vacancies and obtain more qualified personnel to work in the prison health care system.
For the full article.
The Assisted Living Reporter, created by Les Oreck, provides a forum for former residents and family members to expose nursing home scans. Oreck witnessed first-hand nursing home scams while his mother was in assisted living. For example, Oreck recalls that he overheard assisted living staff imply that services and treatments were ongoing when in reality, the treatments lasted no longer than a couple of weeks.
To access the website directly.
For the full article on Oreck’s experience.
Former residents and supporters of the Ocean City Shore Memorial nursing home are sad to see it close its doors. They describe the staff as caring and compassionate and are fearful that the current residents will be able to find similar treatment at different nursing homes.
The nursing home spokesperson said that the 35 year-old building was in need of repair. The nursing home could not fund staffing or make necessary repairs to keep the home running. They attribute the lack of funding to the recent cuts in Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements.
Five years ago, a 45 year-old woman underwent a mini-facelift at a Charlotte, North Carolina clinic. During the cosmetic surgery, her former high school classmate administered an excessive dose of fentanyl, a narcotic. The victim suffered respiratory arrest in the recovery room due to the lethal dose of fentanyl.
Although in 2001 the death was ruled as an accidental poisoning, police recently concluded that it was intentional. Police stated that the nurse was a certified nurse anesthetist and monitored the victim in recovery.
In addition to the criminal charges, the nurse faced a medical malpractice lawsuit from the victim’s family. The state Board of Nursing charged the nurse with failure to maintain an accurate record and failure to report information crucial to the safety of the patient. The Board also said that the nurse failed to alert the doctor about the victim’s deteriorating condition.
A West Virginia nursing home is facing a wrongful death suit from the executrix of a 77 year old woman's estate. The woman had spent only three months in the nursing home, where she developed dehydration, wound infections, decubitis ulcers, urinary tract infections, and had multiple falls.
Among other factors, the complaint states that the nursing home administrator failed to supply a sufficient number of staff to provide adequate care. Unfortunately, nationwide staffing shortages continue to be a contributing factor in nursing home tragedies.
Since a Big Rapids director's initial criminal and civil charges of abuse and cover up in the death of a resident, he is now also being charged with neglecting his duties because he failed to investigate another death of a woman at the nursing home that same day. The second woman had complained of shortness of breath in the days before her death. Additionally, she allegedly left a note indicating that the nursing home staff was responsible for her deteriorating condition.
While at East Neck Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, an 86 year old resident lost 45 pounds off of her 109-pound frame and developed painful and lethal bedsores. One of her bedsores was so deep that ink from the design pattern of the sheet she was lying on transferred to her bone.
The victim's daughter made the difficult decision of putting her mother in the nursing home three years ago, reasoning that a qualified staff would be better enabled to care for her mother than she could. Horrified with knowledge of the abuse that her mother endured, the daughter has filed a lawsuit alleging that the nursing home abuse and neglect led to her mother’s death.
The nursing home categorically denies any wrongdoing.
Eleven years ago, a 15 year-old girl was about to undergo a knee repair surgery. During the course of that 1995 surgery, she contracted an infection that painstakingly led to an additional seven surgeries. Although the West Virginia University hospitals knew that they were experiencing unusually high levels of infections near the time she was infected, they did not inform their physicians or patients.
The jury award is being threatened by the close ties between the hospital and the West Virginia legislature. Senator Evan Jenkins, who also acts as the executive director of the West Virginia Medical Association, states that he hopes the judge will decrease the award.
Others remain hopeful that the judge will heed to the strong message that the jurors sent: that hospitals will not go unpunished for its negligent acts and refusing to take responsibility for its failures.
A jury awarded a 45 year-old former TV reporter $1.4 million in his malpractice lawsuit against physicians who negligently performed surgery on him. The surgery’s painful effects on the man include his constant pain in his right arm and his deprivation of most fine motor skills. The victim is unable to type or even button shirts with his right arm. $1 million of the award consists of punitive damages against the physicians.
A central Illinois woman and her husband filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against a Peoria neurosurgeon and his practice on September 1. The woman suffered paralysis after her 2004 back surgery. The married couple alleges that during the woman’s back surgery, the physician failed to perform decompression surgery in an appropriate fashion, injured the dura, and caused injury to the nerves resulting in paralysis.
Wincrest Nursing Center Corp has been fined $17,500 for failure to supervise and monitor a resident who was assessed as high risk for leaving the facility. The resident left the facility without staff knowledge and required hospital care after being found by police.
The Illinois Department of Health produces quarterly reports on nursing home violators.
Timber Point Healthcare Center has been fined $15,000 for failure to report and investigate incidents of suspected abuse against two residents by a staff member.
The Illinois Department of Health produces quarterly reports on nursing home violators.
Avenue Care Center has been fined $5,000 for failure to sanitize and maintain the floors, walls, ceilings, dining area, laundry room, storage rooms and numerous resident bathrooms. The facility also is accused of failing to ensure the kitchen was free from a backup of sewage and rodent droppings.
The Illinois Department of Health produces quarterly reports on nursing home violators.
California detectives are investigating the abuse of a 68-year old woman who was admitted into the emergency room recently. The woman showed signs of not being changed regularly and also had sores on her body.
Nursing home abuse continues to be a growing problem nationwide. The Ombudsman Program coordinator of Advocacy Inc. for two California counties reported that her offices receive around twenty complaints of nursing home abuse monthly. She attributes the nationwide staffing shortages with the increasing reports of nursing home abuse.
At a time when nursing home abuse and nursing home neglect is a nationwide dilemma, it is a necessity that nursing home inspections be completed honestly and diligently.
A recent article addresses the potential corruption threatening the efficiency of nursing home inspections and the safety of nursing home patients. According to the article, nursing home companies invest heavily in local politicians in an effort to protect themselves against legislation that would be unfavorable to their industry. For example, in Arkansas, the nursing home industry was a top contributor for state candidates in the 2004 election, giving almost $100,000 to state politicians.
Consumer Reports states that messages from legislators filter down to the regulators who are supposed to be enforcing the nursing home inspections and protecting nursing home patients against abuse and neglect.
In part of a series of articles exploring problem doctors, a Sun-Times reporter discussed the serious consequences when doctors are addicted to pharmaceutical drugs.
One doctor’s addiction to the pain-killer Demerol resulted in the commitment of severe medical malpractice after administering anesthesia to a patient who was having her tubes tied. The doctor failed to give the woman, a mother of three, the proper drug to wake her up. Additionally, he removed the woman’s breathing tube before she was able to breathe on her own. Moreover, the doctor failed to notice that she was not getting oxygen on her own.
This woman suffered severe brain damage. Today, she resides in a nursing home in a nearly vegetative state, unable to talk, move, or feed herself.
This problem may be more common than you think. According to the Federation of State Medical Boards, addiction to drugs and alcohol is the number one reason that doctors lose their licenses or are otherwise disciplined.
The nationwide shortages facing nursing homes have dire effects for the truly dedicated employees.
A Cincinatti newspaper recently reported a nurse’s account of her employment at a local nursing home. The nurse, a registered LPN, states that the long shifts with overwhelming duties and little support staff burnt her out. She adds that she will stay away from nursing homes in future employment endeavors.
The staffing shortages hurt patients because they do not receive specialized care. Additionally, the stress of working in an understaffed nursing home may be scaring away the qualified and dedicated employees and steering them to different fields.
Getting through Florida’s medical disciplinary process is like getting through an obstacle course filled with loopholes and opposition. After experiencing a traumatic medical experience, victims begin an arduous journey that could take more than seven years.
First, a victim of medical malpractice files a complaint. Next, the complaint and case file are sent to an investigator who reviews documents, interviews witnesses, and issues a report. The investigator then sends the case and his report to a prosecuting attorney who collects more evidence. The prosecutor is then given discretion whether or not the case should continue. If the victim’s complaint makes it through this obstacle, it soon faces another one: the probable cause panel. This panel determines whether there is enough evidence to send the case to the full board. In the event that the victim’s case passes this barrier, they finally face the medical board who ultimately decides the proper punishment for the physician.
Though grateful for making it this far in the process, the victim at this stage still faces two huge obstacles. First, the board is composed of 15 governor-appointed members, 12 of whom are themselves physicians. Second, the victim has a heavier burden than in civil matters. In civil cases, victims must prove that a physician is liable by a “preponderance of the evidence,” while the Florida medical disciplinary process requires “clear and convincing evidence.”
The family of a Pennsylvania man will be receiving more than $6 million in a medical malpractice settlement. The victim died after undergoing heart surgery when his sutures came undone because they were not tied properly.
The Tennessee Department of Health has ordered three nursing homes in the past two weeks to stop admitting new patients. Although Health Department personnel said no specific “crackdown” was in effect, only four nursing home facilities had been cited prior to August 2006.
The lengthy list of violations includes failure to follow physician orders, failure to report unusual incidents, and failure to monitor patient care.
Nationwide, nursing homes are faced with severe staffing shortages. It is well recognized that shortages can lead to nursing home being unable to hire enough employees to provide their patients with specialized care. Maybe even more frightening is that nursing home staffing shortages also influence the quality of employees that nursing homes hire. Shortages may unfortunately lead to a staff composed of some uncaring and irresponsible individuals.
For example, recently in Auburn, NY, a 31 year-old nurse's aide was charged with abusing an elderly patient. Williams was a certified nurse’s aide employed at Auburn Nursing Home. On May 11 of this year, she struck an elderly female patient suffering from dementia on her face, causing a bruise near her mouth.
Colonial Plaza has been fined $10,000 for failure to follow its policy to prevent a resident from leaving the facility without staff knowledge.
The Illinois Department of Health produces quarterly reports on nursing home violators.
The purpose of this blog is to deliver news and information that is relevant to our areas of practice. The news and information reported on this blog represent the legal actions of attorneys throughout the United States. Our firm does not claim to represent plaintiffs in all of the lawsuits, settlements, and jury verdicts reported, only those noted as Levin & Perconti cases.
