Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C.

A new bill introduced in the California legislature by lawmaker and longtime nursing home rights advocate Mike Feuer aims to reverse Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s veto of $3.8 million in funding for local the Long Term Care Ombudsman programs late last year, according to the California Chronicle. Ombudsmen provide a valuable service to the elderly. Not only do they serve as advocates to nursing home residents, they also investigate and resolve complaints and make unannounced visits to nursing homes to ensure residents’ needs are being met.

Read the rest of this entry »

A new rule issued in September by the Bush Administration has made a once routine process of obtaining information from nursing homes to back up claims of abuse and neglect almost impossible. That juggernaut has people who are suing nursing homes wrangling between state and federal officials, according to the Washington Post.

Read the rest of this entry »

Had it not been for  video surveillance in nursing homes throughout New York state, many nursing home residents who were the victims of neglect and abuse at the hands of their caregivers would still be suffering. The use of hidden video surveillance has become so effective in prosecuting the offenders there that over the past few months New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has increased the number of nursing homes that have cameras.

Read the rest of this entry »

Shirley Gerhardt admitted her 76-year-old husband Richard into Laurel Canyon nursing home in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in December of 2005. He has suffered a broken hip and just couldn’t get around well. On Christmas day, Gerhardt was placed on a bedpan, and forgotten by staff. He sat there, on the bedpan, for 24 hours as the pan began to imbed into his skin. He suffered an open wound that became infected and lead to his death just five days later, according to Wired PR News.

Read the rest of this entry »

An investigation into the death of Sarah Wentworth has taken an even more tragic turn. The 89-year-old woman was found dead outside in her Itasca, Illinois nursing home’s courtyard earlier this month wearing nothing but a hospital gown. Since she suffered from dementia, which can make its victims prone to wandering, she wore an ankle bracelet that would trigger an alarm if she crossed the threshold to the outdoors. So why didn’t anyone seem to know how Wentworth wandered out in the first place?

Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s a terrifying story that goes beyond comprehension. KGET-TV reports that three employees of a nursing home in Kern County, California were arrested this week for forcibly administrating psychotropic drugs to patients to make them easier to control.

Read the rest of this entry »

Robert Townsend of Ellington, Connecticut, tried to convince the governor, several lawmakers and state health investigators that there were suspicious circumstances surrounding his mother’s death. When his complaints fell deaf ears, he decided to take matters into his own hands, filing a lawsuit against the nursing home he says contributed to her death, according to the Journal Inquirer.

Read the rest of this entry »

There was plenty of money for Margaret Palko’s long-term care – nearly $375,000 in her bank account. The 88-year-old woman relied on Elizabeth DeLeon to provide her care, giving her power of attorney over her finances in 2005. Six months later, Palko’s Alzheimer’s Disease had progressed to the point that she was admitted to Schuylkill Center Nursing Home in the Norwegian Township, according to the Morning Call.

Read the rest of this entry »

Wes Bledsoe, founder of the victim’s advocacy group A Perfect Cause, cautioned Norman, Oklahoma, residents to heed the warning signs of neglect in patients in the state’s nursing homes, citing a study by the national coalition Advancing Excellence in America’s Nursing Homes. The study found that nursing home residents in Oklahoma had more pressure sores compared to the national average, according to NewsOK.

Read the rest of this entry »

A report of maltreatment against Presbyterian Homes nursing home in Arden Hills, Minnesota, is being investigated following an incident where a resident suffered a neck injury and subsequently died, according to Fox Twin Cities.

Read the rest of this entry »