nursing home negligence

Another Nursing Home Operator Headed To Prison For Fraud

Published on: July 13, 2021 | Levin & Perconti

Virginia Nursing Home Operator Found Guilty of Health Care Fraud

In Norfolk, Virginia, the operator of Turning Points Residential Care has been sentenced to two years in prison for defrauding Medicaid. According to July 2, 2021 court documents, 47-year-old Lopez Scott submitted more than $188,000 in false claims for a residential nursing facility his business was authorized to use to provide residential support services and skilled nursing services to recipients of Medicaid.

“For three years, the defendant used his position as a nursing home operator to obtain over $188,000 from the Virginia Medicaid program fraudulently,” said Raj Parekh, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “Health care fraud takes funding and critical services away from those who truly need it. We will continue to hold accountable those who exploit these essential health care programs at the expense of vulnerable members of our communities.”

Ex-Nursing Home Worker Speaks Up Amid Foster Health Abuse And Neglect News

Published on: July 7, 2021 | Levin & Perconti

Chicago North Side Nursing Home Facing Heavy Accusations of Neglect and Abuse

News reports and interviews with a former Foster Health and Rehabilitation employee reveal just how terrible conditions and resident treatment are at the North Side nursing home. Just days before, reports and a shocking video of abuse shook residents and family members after a 69-year-old man was found neglected and injured at the nursing home, located at 840 W. Foster Avenue in Chicago.

The former employee, Annette Zegarra, recently worked as an office manager for Foster Health and Rehabilitation Center. Zegarra told WGN9 news she knows the abused resident, now identified by family as James Crowder. Mr. Crowder is also a military veteran. A video shows he was found naked on the floor by another resident’s family member visiting the rehabilitation center. In a video, Crowder appeared confused, with a bloody gash on his head and disabled by an injured foot.

Understaffed Nursing Homes Often Miss Early Signs Of Memory Loss In Residents

Published on: June 15, 2021 | Levin & Perconti

How Families Can Help Identify the Early Signs of Memory Loss and Dementia in Loved Ones

Unfortunately, many nursing home workers are not trained to identify the warning signs of declining cognitive abilities. And worrisome activities of a resident with dementia, a form of Alzheimer’s Disease, are too easily missed by overworked and poorly resourced care teams. This leaves many residents struggling due to the extra supervision and management of their daily activities, health and mental wellness, medications, and financial needs. Family members and friends are typically the first to request help after noticing a loved one’s behavioral changes or one or more of the concerning events listed below.

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Freeport Nursing Home Sued For Gross Negligence That Caused Man’s Death

Published on: June 4, 2021 | Levin & Perconti

Freeport Nursing Home Man’s Death Certificate Now Reads ‘Gross Negligence’

A nursing home in Freeport, Illinois, Pearl Pavilion, is facing a lawsuit after the family of one deceased resident says the facility is responsible for the 56-year-old man’s untimely death. The family of Keith Printz, who was being provided care at the home located at 900 Kiwanis Drive, says staff failed to provide him life-saving medication.

According to a lawsuit filed by Levin & Perconti on behalf of Printz’s family:

10 Questions That Reveal A Nursing Home’s Staffing Issues

Published on: May 11, 2021 | Levin & Perconti

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U.S. Nursing Homes Must Do More to Recruit, Train, and Retain CNAs

Understaffed nursing home teams have suffered disproportionately during the pandemic, especially certified nursing assistants (CNAs) who consist as much as 40% of a nursing home’s workforce. These employees support the daily needs of residents and long-term care patients, such as dressing, bathing, food preparation and eating, rehabilitation, hygiene, keeping communication with family members, socialization, and ambulating.

When CNAs do not have support or are treated poorly, it ultimately puts nursing home residents in harm’s way. Among many other oversights, call lights will be missed, hygiene becomes unhealthy among residents, patient morale, safety, and mental health reach low levels, medication routines lapse or become too familiar, and rotating residents at risk for bed sores are quickly forgotten.

Quincy Veterans Home Resident Suffers From Fall Injury

Published on: April 27, 2021 | Levin & Perconti

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Preventable Fall Injury Highlighted in Survey at Illinois Veterans Home

In Quincy, the Illinois Veterans Home recently reported a resident fall incident on March 15, 2021, to the Illinois Department of Health (IDPH). According to a follow-up survey led by the state on March 27, 2021, a resident (R1) was injured from a fall after the facility failed to keep his environment safe and a walkway free of clutter. The resident told surveyors he had tripped on a cord and hit his head after falling to the floor. The man was transferred via ambulance to a local hospital to treat a forehead laceration that required seven sutures and a brain injury diagnostic scan. The man was admitted to the hospital overnight for observation.

IDPH’s fall incident investigation documented this pattern of events:

2021 List Of The Worst Illinois Nursing Homes

Published on: April 22, 2021 | Levin & Perconti

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3 Illinois Nursing Homes Are Stuck on Government List for Ongoing Poor Quality Ratings and Care Citations

A recent effort sponsored by Pennsylvania senators Pat Toomey and his counterpart Bob Casey shows that the nation’s most troubled nursing homes require expanded support, specific to expanding the Special Focus Facility program and the list provided by The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and state inspectors which publicly review ongoing nursing home care and identify quality issues.

According to CMS officials, the “Special Focus Facility” (SFF) program was created to identify nursing homes that are not meeting health care or fire safety standards and are continuously cited for deficiencies.

Learn More About Sexual Abuse in Illinois Nursing Homes

Published on: April 20, 2021 | Levin & Perconti

April is Sexual Abuse Awareness Month: How to Report Sexual Assault in Nursing Homes

Any touching, fondling, or form of sexual activity when the person cannot understand, is unwilling to consent, threatened, or physically forced is considered sexual abuse. And according to the Administration for Community Living, on average, there are over 1,000 complaints of sexual abuse in nursing homes each year. However, that average does not include sexual abuse by other residents — which means the actual rate of sexual abuse in nursing homes is likely to be even higher. Also, state and federal surveyors who lead inspections count physical, financial, and sexual allegations in one category, so it may be challenging to know the actual abuse risk when investigating a nursing home using public records.

The following people commonly commit sexual abuse in nursing homes:

Patient Safety Book Highlights COVID Nursing Home Care

Published on: April 6, 2021 | Levin & Perconti

Medical Malpractice Briefing Includes Facts on U.S. Nursing Home Industry’s Failed Response To COVID

The 2021 update to the briefing book Medical Malpractice: By The Numbers, published by the Center for Justice & Democracy (CJ&D) at New York Law School, has been released and includes the latest statistics and research on issues related to medical malpractice, including long-term care wrongdoing. The 141-page volume includes over 400 linked footnotes and sources. It also discusses how laws could make it harder for patients and their families to place accountability on health care providers and nursing home owners in the case of medical negligence.

Medical Malpractice as it Relates to Long Term Care Providers

Nursing Assistants Carry Heaviest Load In Providing Quality Resident Care

Published on: April 1, 2021 | Levin & Perconti

COVID-19 Proved Just How Unsupported Nursing Assistants Are at U.S. Long-Term Care Facilities

According to the National Direct Care Workforce Resource Center,

more than 600,000 nursing assistants provide personal care, assistance with daily activities, and clinical support for 1.4 million nursing home residents nationwide. In a revealing editorial by the Co-Founder & CEO of the National Association of Health Care Assistants (NAHCA), Lori Porter says the COVID-19 worldwide pandemic has been the darkest time for these workers, resulting in failures in care and protection against injuries, illness, and infectious diseases.