Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Blog

During a recent deposition investigating negligent care at ManorCare Oak Lawn East, in Illinois, a nurse testified as to the negligent nursing care patients were receiving. The case concerned pressure ulcers and the nurse testified that the dressings on these ulcers were consistently not changed.

In one example, this particular nurse did her own "in house" test where she changed a bandage on an ulcer. She then placed a $5 bill over the bandage and another layer of dressing. When she arrived the next day, after the bandage had allegedly been changed; the $5 bill was still there. This confirmed to the nurse that the bandage had been left unchanged overnight, violating the care orders for the patient.

An autopsy report released this week shows that Mary Hicks Cole, the woman who spent four days locked inside a storage closet at an east Charlotte nursing home, died of dehydration and pneumonia due to isolation.

Cole, who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease was reported missing on January 23, 2006 and found four days later where she died after having been rushed to a nearby hospital. Although the death was determined to be accidental, Cole’s daughter and her lawyers are planning a wrongful death suit based on the fact that one of the causes of death was “isolation.”

For the full article:
http://www.news14charlotte.com/content/local_news/?AC=&ArID=120307&SecID=2

The story of an 83 year old woman suffering from Alzheimer’s who was defrauded of $30,000 by her friend while living in a nursing home illustrates a gap in Hawaiian law that leaves some elderly residents unprotected against financial abuse.

When this woman’s nursing home called Adult Protective Services reporting the suspected abuse, the agency refused to intervene for lack of an imminent danger.

For the full article:
http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060521/NEWS01/605210360/1190/NEWS

A class action lawsuit has been filed against a California nursing home corporation Ensign over allegations of low staffing levels.

The suit was filed on behalf of former patients, a nonprofit group and a labor union that has regularly criticized the Ensign Group, running 44 nursing homes, including facilities in Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach and Laguna Hills.

The lawsuit alleges that in 2003, the hospital chain violated staffing laws at 29 hospitals in California, dipping below the required daily 3.2 nursing hours per patient.

For the full article:
http://www.dailypilot.com/news/story/45591p-68994c.html

At Foundation Park Care Center in South Toledo, a mentally ill resident beat his roommate on March 10, 2006, leading to injuries that caused his death. The mentally ill patient had hit two other residents in January and February. The home failed to report these 2 incidents and the beating on March 10th to the state Health Department and Police.

The incident prompted an inspection on April 17, 2006, as the home was cited for 10 deficiencies including problems with abuse, staff treatment of residents, social services, housekeeping/maintenance, comprehensive care plans, accidents, and sanitary conditions — food prep and service, and preventing spread of infection.

As a result, the Ohio Department of Health ordered payment of Medicare and Medicaid for new admissions will be cut off May 6 Foundation Park Care Center in South Toledo.

For the full article:
Download file
or
http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060419/NEWS32/60419025

The trial began on April 17, 2006 for the family of a 95 year old woman who died in 2003 of an infection in the Medical Facilities of America (MFA) nursing home in Lynchburg.

The family alleges the home failed to document an elbow injury and a leg infection sustained by the woman in the early days after the injury.

For the full article:
http://www.newsadvance.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=LNA%2FMGArticle%2FLNA_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1137835430584&path=!news!archive

Topeka based Indian Trails Mental Health Living Center is the subject of a $60M lawsuit for failure to recognize and properly restrain a man who had come to the home from the Larned State Hospital.

The man had a history with Indian Trails as he was dismissed from the home in 1990 after a one week stay due to threatening behavior. In addition, the records from the State Hospital that accompanied the man to Indian Trails warned of the threat he may pose to other residents. Despite the adequate warning, the man was set free to mingle with the other residents.

In June of 2004, the man threatened to rape or kill someone and in July 2004 the man raped and beat another resident. Staff members at the home confided to state officials that they suspected the man was having sex with other residents.

For the full article:
Download file

A 93 year old man was raped by a nurse's aid at St. Joseph's Manor nursing home in Brockton, MA. Despite the incident, the man’s daughter has not moved her father for fear of further disrupting him. The daughter researched several homes before selecting St. Joseph’s.

For the full article:
http://enterprise.southofboston.com/articles/2006/04/02/news/news/news08.txt

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

The family of a 74-year old man filed suit in Bedford, Indiana against Hospitality House nursing home alleging employees of the home found the man’s frozen, dead body and bathed and clothed him before placing him in his bed.
The 74-year old Alzheimer’s patient left the home in January 2004 through an unlocked door in subfreezing temperatures and froze to death 20 feet from the home’s courtyard door.

For the full article:
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-nursing30.html

A 72-year old Dover man died in 2003 resulting from a nurse at Green Valley Pavilion nursing home inserting a feeding tube into his abdominal cavity instead of his stomach. The man subsequently died sepsis and peritonitis that resulted when food that was deposited in his abdomen poisoned the man.
The nurse was charged with patient abuse and a civil suit is pending. The suit alleges the nurse was aware of protocol that provided nurses were not supposed to replace recently implanted tubes.

For the full article:
Download file

November 28, 2005
Negligent decision making at St. Rita's nursing home in New Orleans was to blame for the tragedy that resulted after Hurricane Katrina. An article in USA today reveals details that have emerged concerning the tragedy at St. Rita's where owners Sal and Mabel Mangano have been charged with 34 counts of negligent homicide for deciding that nursing home residents would remain in the building. First, there were 35 victims at the scene, not 34. Next, five of the 25 residents who were rescued died shortly afterward.

For the full article:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-11-28-st-ritas_x.htm?POE=NEWISVA