News for November, 2008

Caregiver steals thousands from patient’s home

A former employee of the Cambridge Retirement Residence in Springfield, Mo., was so generous a caregiver that she helped the family of 88-year-old Blanche Fenton move out of home and into the Cambridge nursing home. And then she returned after family had left the house and raided it of various items, including cassette tapes, a slow cooker, clothing, silverware, lamps, jewelry and figurines, according to the News-Leader.

Read the rest of this entry »

Nursing assistant caught stealing rings from elderly woman

It’s hard enough to leave a family member in a nursing home. You want them surrounded by memorabilia from their past that conjures up happy memories. But longtime heirlooms can sometimes be so attractive to others that they end up missing.

Read the rest of this entry »

Oklahoma nursing home faces fines for endangering patients

A Norman, Okla., nursing home could face fines of up to $3,000 a day for numerous deficiencies, including allegations of not fully investigating allegations and endangering patients’ health by not providing condoms to a sexually active, HIV-positive patient, according to KTUL-TV.

Read the rest of this entry »

Physical therapist charged with unlicensed practice, forgery

Brent P. Dellarma was a practicing physical therapist employed by Genesis Rehabilitation at Sandy River Center for Health Care in Farmington, Maine, for nearly a year between 2007 and 2008, until management suspected something was awry with his paperwork. The man had worked as a physical therapy assistant and then as a physical therapist at Sandy River Center. He had documentation filed with the Board of Examiners in Physical Therapy in the state’s Department of Professional and Financial regulation. However, an investigation found that the paperwork Dellarma filed was bogus and that he had misrepresented his qualifications, according to the Morning Sentinel.

Read the rest of this entry »

Iowa lawmakers receive money from nursing home lobby group

Iowa lawmakers who complain about state inspectors being overly aggressive in their surveys of nursing homes have been receiving thousands of dollars in contributions from nursing home officials, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Read the rest of this entry »

Coroner questions number of deaths at assisted living facilities

Richland, S.C., County Coroner Gary Watts is raising questions about the quality of care at Midlands-area assisted living homes, according to The State. Watts referred to three deaths in the past two years in the area. One of those deaths, which Watts is investigating, occurred after an unqualified staffer gave a 50-year-old man an overdose of insulin that ultimately killed him.

Read the rest of this entry »

Man wanders from nursing home, killed by passing train

George King Sr., of Charleston, W.V., lived in Heartland of Charleston nursing home. He had Alzheimer’s Disease, and like many individuals suffering from the memory-loss disorder, King was prone to wander.

Many who care for patients with Alzheimer’s have practices in place to ensure patients who wander stay within the wing where they live. But few practices are foolproof.

Read the rest of this entry »

Family demands investigation after closet falls on resident

No one expected Sister Mary Murray to die the way she did.

While in her room at the Summit Park Nursing Home in Rockland County, New York, the 90-year-old nun was crushed and eventually died after the closet in her room toppled over onto her. Her family accepted the ’s explanation. It was just a freak accident.

Then came the ABC 7 Eyewitness News investigation that revealed that two other residents in the home were injured by falling closets.

Read the rest of this entry »

Faulty mechanical lift blamed for nursing home resident death

The Ontario, Canada coroner’s office blames a malfunctioning lifting device for the of a 67-year-old Toronto nursing home resident, according to The (Toronto) Star.

Read the rest of this entry »

Bonuses paid to nursing homes with no regard to quality care

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is paying millions of dollars in taxpayer money each year to nursing homes, some of which have been cited for below-average care, according to a report by the Des Moines (Iowa) Register. The monies come from bonuses paid to for following programs that in many cases are legally required, such as paying minimum wages and installing fire sprinklers for resident safety.

Read the rest of this entry »