The complaint, filed in the Circuit Court of Jefferson County, Ark., alleges defendants including Central Arkansas Nursing Centers, Inc., Nursing Consultants, Inc., Park Health Care, LLC, and Michael Morton, misrepresented the skill and number of its nursing staff in order to qualify for government funding. The complaint was filed in conjunction with Little Rock attorney Robert M. Sexton of Rainwater, Holt & Sexton, P.A.

According to the complaint, the Defendants held themselves out to the Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS) and the public at large as being properly staffed, supervised and equipped to meet patient needs with a skilled nursing, rehabilitative and medical support staff, in an effort to have government-funded patients placed at the nursing facility. However, the complaint alleges, the Defendants actually hired and retained unqualified and untrained nursing staff and was understaffed, and was unable to provide even the minimum standard of care to the weak and vulnerable residents.

As a result, Frank Mayweathers suffered emotional and physical trauma as his health deteriorated and he developed severe bedsores from the neglect.

“It is absolutely shameful that a facility with the responsibility to care for the most vulnerable people would put profits first and knowingly place their patients’ health in jeopardy,” Sawyer says. “Not to mention the humiliation Mr. Mayweathers endured as he was neglected and ignored.”

The complaint alleges medical malpractice, negligence, and violations of the Arkansas Long Term Care Residents’ Rights Statute.

Read the complaint.

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › Beasley Allen files complaint against Arkansas nursing home

Linda Darlene Carter was living at Hillcrest North nursing home where she was receiving care following an automobile accident during which she received multiple blunt force injuries. She was the passenger in a vehicle that collided with another automobile at an intersection, according to reports. She died at the nursing home on March 27, 2008. The medical examiner who reviewed the case said that Carter died of “dehydration due to inadequate care” following the accident and listed her death as a homicide.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is reviewing the “suspicious” death of Carter and may turn the case over to the Knox County District Attorney General’s Office. The Attorney General’s office would then decide whether to present the case to a grand jury for any criminal charges.

The lawsuit, alleging nursing home abuse and/or neglect, was filed by Cater’s son and daughter, Andrea Lawson and Anthony Cohoon, against Hillcrest Healthcare North and Hillcrest Healthcare LLC. Since the lawsuit was filed, the nursing home forged a partnership with Grace Health Care. Grace is not named in the lawsuit.

Hillcrest Healthcare President and CEO Carolyn Pointer referred comments to Grace Health Care, which declined commented based on lack of knowledge.

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › Family of neglected woman sues nursing home for $35 million

The meeting was his second since early last month, when he held a town hall meeting with an audience of more than 200 focusing on recent allegations of sexual abuse of residents at Castle Manor by a nursing home aide at the home. According to family members, it took days for the nursing home to file the sexual abuse claims with the Department of Health, and the accused abuser continued to work at the home for weeks after the initial complaint was made.

Concerned family members of one of the victims contacted Bledsoe, founder of the victims watchdog group A Perfect Cause, who has received much publicity for his efforts to fight elder care in nursing homes. He traveled to Hot Springs to conduct a town hall meeting last month and returned last week after receiving dozens of calls from family members of victims wanting advice on how to best seek justice.

One audience member last week asked Bledsoe if he planned to contact Castle Manor administration, which Bledsoe was quoted in the Rapid City Journal as replying, “I don’t make a practice to meet with administrators. By the time I am called, the time for talking is past, and it is time to take action.”

Bledsoe said he had talked with the Fall River County State’s Attorney about the case, but did not disclose the details of that conversation. But he urged those in the audience to join his fight. “Call your state and national representatives and senators,” Bledsoe was quoted in the newspaper. “We can address many things through advocacy, but I need more help.”

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › Eldercare advocate rallies family members to fight for better care

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of family members of four people who died in the homes from dehydration, malnutrition and blood poisoning caused by neglected bed sores. The suit is also filed on behalf of a man who lost a testicle after being scalded during an act of abuse at the home. The suit cites “grossly substandard care, life-threatening care,” and negligence.

The nursing home group is also being sued for deceptive trade practices for promoting its nursing homes as providing quality care when, in fact, the homes have among the worst records in the state, according to the report.

The Health Care Availability Act requires all nursing homes be insured for $3 million each year with a cap of $500,000 per incident. In 2004, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment adopted a policy that allowed nursing homes to be self-insured provided they submit an affidavit stating that it has set aside $1 million for insurance claims.

However, investigators have found the affidavits are false and that the homes have no money set aside for any insurance claims. Attorneys for the families claim that the state did nothing to verify the affidavits were valid and that the nursing homes had set aside the money even though state law requires approval of self-insurance plans.

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › Nursing home chain accused of substandard, life-threatening care

Earlier this week the sisters were arrested and charged with a third-degree felony of one count of operating and/or maintaining an assisted living facility without a license. If convicted, the sisters each face up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine, according to All Headline News.

The arrests followed an investigation by law enforcement and Attorney General Bill McCollum’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. The unit’s Patient Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation (PANE) team also was involved in the investigation.

Earlier this year, the state’s Agency for Health Care Administration sent notices to each of the homes requiring the facilities to close. The women stand trial in the Judicial Curcuit Court on April 17th.

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › Assisted living facility owners, sisters arrested for cheating government

Had McCauley been wearing the doctor-prescribed bracelet that would sound an alarm and lock the doors if she wandered too close to the home’s exit, perhaps her story wouldn’t have ended so tragically. Attorney General Martha Coakley believes the home was negligent by not ensuring that McCauley was wearing the bracelet.

The home’s parent company, Life Care Centers of America, headquartered in Tennessee, is charged with manslaughter neglect of a long-term care facility resident. Trial began this week in Middlesex Superior Court, according to the Wicked Local. The company faces up to $6,000 in fines if found liable.

Life Care operates more than 200 facilities in 28 states and has been in the spotlight for erroneous practices in the past. In 2005, the company shelled out $2.5 million to resolve a Medicaid/Medicare fraud case. In 2007, the company paid an additional $164,000 for deficiencies directly related to deficient resident care that put resident’s in harms way.

Meantime, the Massachusetts legislature is considering a change in law that would increase the maximum fine for a corporation convicted of manslaughter from $1,000 to $250,000. If the law is passed, it would not apply retrospectively to McCauley’s case.

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › Nursing home corporation faces manslaughter charges

Former nursing home worker Walter Small was arrested and charged with homicide in connection with Young’s death, and released Friday on a $5,000 bond. No court date has yet been set.

Young’s family has since filed lawsuits against Standifer Place in Chattanooga and the Tennessee Department of Human Services for “hiding the death and burial” of Young. The family is seeking $35 million against the nursing home for its involvement in Young’s wrongful death, and $900,000 against the Department of Human Services to compensate for negligence the family says the department showed following Young’s death.

County Medical Examiner Frank King says he did not perform an autopsy at the time of Young’s death because he was told the victim had fallen and fractured his skull as the result of a seizure.

The attorneys representing Young’s family also contend that Adult Protective Services, which had legal guardianship of Young, did not try to locate Young’s family when he was dying. Instead, the agency made arrangements to bury him in a pauper’s grave.

A spokesman for the state Department of Human Services has said that the department attempted to contact Young’s known relatives prior to his death, but to no avail.

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › Aide arrested for wrong death of nursing home patient

DuPage County, Illinois

The freezing death of Sarah Wentworth has sent chills through the Itasca, Illinois, community where she lived – and subsequently died – at a nursing home. Wentworth suffered from dementia, which leaves its victims prone to wandering. She wore a band that would signal an alarm on the door if she wandered through it. Unfortunately, the nurses aide on duty the night Wentworth died was too caught up on a television show to pay attention to the alarm. Wentworth was left outdoors for five hours before she was found. By then it was too late and nursing home staff are being blamed for trying to cover up their negligence.

A state attorney wants to ensure more needless deaths like Wentworth’s don’t happen in nursing homes. He is urging the Illinois Department on Aging to establish an Elder Abuse Fatality Review Team to investigate claims of violence against elderly residents age 60 and older, including accessing previously restricted information such as nursing home records. The team would be made up of state attorneys, the sheriff, the county coroner, nursing home associations and senior citizen agencies.

A similar death review team was established last summer to review fatalities among senior citizens in domestic living situations. That team can investigate home care cases and retirement homes, but cannot investigate nursing home claims.

State approval for the Elder Abuse Fatality Review Team should come within the next few months. Team membership would be solicited shortly thereafter.

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › State attorney hopes to form nursing home death review team

The man’s wife had had enough. She sought legal counsel and as a result, Elderberry Square is facing a $1 million lawsuit in the severe neglect and abuse of the man, according to Salem-News.

Falls among seniors pose a major medical problem. While many injuries from falls can be minor, others can result in major cuts and bruises, broken bones and head trauma. Some may lead to hospitalization, disability, the need for continuous skilled nursing care, or even premature death. Falls also can have psychological consequences, such as depression, isolation and a decline in physical function due to lack of activity.

This is not the first lawsuit of this nature that Elderberry Square has faced. Two years ago, a similar lawsuit was filed against the home involving an Alzheimer’s patient who was repeatedly left unattended. That patient fell numerous times over a two-week period and soon died as a result of a fall.

While an investigation into both cases by the Oregon Department of Human Services found the charges of neglect to be substantiated, a second review resulted in a reversal of the investigators’ conclusion. Attorneys plan to challenge the finding through an appeal.

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › Facility facing lawsuits for leaving patients unattended

Now Maryland may be following suit. MSNBC reports that a bill is making its way through the house that would require nursing homes in Maryland to let people install cameras into patients rooms. The cameras would have to be purchased by the patients or their families and would not be allowed in bathrooms, according to the report.

According to the bill, the cameras could not be hidden, and a sign would hang on the door announcing that the room as being monitored. But even if staff is aware that a patient’s room is being monitored, it may serve as a deterrent against potential abuse and neglect.

The cameras would also give family members peace of mind, especially for those family members of patients who have lost the ability to speak, says Tyonja Bathgate, whose husband lives in a Maryland nursing home.

“He can no longer talk, so if something happens during the day, he can’t tell me any longer. If he wants a drink, he can’t call out,” she told MSNBC.

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › Maryland may allow video surveillance of nursing home rooms

Bedsores are one of the most serious problems facing people with disabilities or the elderly who are bed ridden, use a wheelchair for mobility, or are unable to change positions without help. They can develop quickly, progress rapidly and are often difficult to heal. They are often caused by sustained pressure on the body and usually happen in areas that aren’t well padded with muscle or fat, such as the spine, tailbone, shoulder blades, hips, heels and elbows.

An autopsy listed Gerhardt’s death as caused by complications from a hip fracture and that the manner of death was an accident. Despite the ruling, the attorney general’s office continued to investigate the case.

Last week, the owner of the nursing home was found guilty of felony abuse and neglect in Gerhardt’s death. The nursing home faces a possible $5,000 fine and could be stripped of its ability to receive federal payments for health care. Sentencing is schedule for March 13.

The family of Gerhardt filed a civil suit in 2006 against the nursing home. It was settled out of court.

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › Nursing home found guilty in death of man left on bedpan for 24 hours

Authorities began to investigate Kern Valley Healthcare District’s Lake Isabella facility in January 2007 after an ombudsman reported to the California Department of Public Health that a patient had been held down and given an injection by force. An investigation revealed that at least one patient was given injections of mood-altering drugs because she was biting, hitting and kicking others. She never regained consciousness. Another received an injection after arguing with the nursing director and stayed in a zombie-like state for a week.

The California Attorney General’s office says 22 patients were involved. All victims suffered from dementia. Three patients may have died from complications from the drugs and one other may have suffered injuries.

An investigation led to the arrests this week of director of nursing Gwen Hughes and pharmacist Debbi Gayle Hayes. Dr. Hoshang Pormir, a staff physician, is also facing charges for approving the medication requests without first examining the patients. Hughes and Hayes face eight felony charges of causing harm or death to an elder or dependant adult and two felony charges of assault with a deadly weapon through overmedication. Pormir faces eight felony charges of causing harm or death to an elder or dependent adult. If convicted, all three face up to 11 years in prison.

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › Nursing home staff arrested for administering mood-altering drugs

It was DeLeon’s job to make sure Palko’s care was paid for. Instead, she went on a shopping spree, even paying cash for a new car and using Palko’s vehicle as a trade-in. Within two years, Palko was left with just $47 in her bank account and more than $55,000 in nursing home fees.

Last February, DeLeon applied for medical assistance government benefits, which led to the investigation that uncovered the theft.

”In my 18 years on the bench, I’ve never seen one with such an exorbitant amount,” District Judge David Plachko told DeLeon at her arraignment on two felony theft counts and one of theft by failure to properly handle Palko’s finances and pay for her care. While this is the largest fleecing seen by authorities there, District Attorney James Goodman said, “unfortunately, we’re starting to see cases like this, with large amounts.”

Cases of financial abuse are not uncommon among the elderly. In January, we told you about Connie Gay Cole, who conned her grandparents out of nearly a half million dollars. And then there is the story of Larry Bekis, who swindled all the money from his mother’s account leaving her in debt to the nursing home where she lived.

Safe State, a program by the California Attorney General’s Office, offers these tips to help identify the signs of elder financial abuse. Those who suspect financial abuse of a loved one should contact police.

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › Another nursing home resident becomes a victim of financial abuse

Gregory Logan chose instead to fight the charge.

Last week, Attorney General Martha Coakley cleared Gregory Logan of larceny, according to Wicked Local Braintree.

The announcement comes nearly three years after charges were initially filed against the men. All three were initially charged with taking more than $600, 000 of the $34 million in Medicare funds during that time while also failing to provide basic goods and services to the residents of their facilities. They also were accused of failing to remit deductions withheld from employees’ wages and for a company-sponsored retirement plan. The investigation also revealed that the facilities frequently experienced shortages of food, medicine, personal hygiene items and linens. Vendor bills often went unpaid which resulted in lapses of services such as pest control and medical waste pickups.

“There are two sides to every story. I was accused of stealing from the elderly, and I refused to plead guilty to a crime I did not commit,” Gregory Logan said to reporters.

In 2003, a judge put four of the homes into receivership and the fifth went into receivership a year later. Since then, two of the homes have closed and three were sold to other companies.

Now cleared of wrongdoing, Gregory Logan says he is distancing himself from his family and hopes to continue in health care management.

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › Nursing home founders’ grandson cleared of larceny

Last fall, Thelma Bryant was a resident at Kane Glen Hazel nursing home in Pittsburgh when nursing home employees alerted officials that they had seen fellow employees on several occasions hit Bryant in the head, strike her in the chest with an elbow, throw oranges at her, stomp her feet and cuss at her. An investigation led to the arrests and firing of five employees.

Danielle Taylor, Shelly Keene and Karen Perry were charged with aggravated assault. Shalaya Hatten was charged with simple assault and neglect of a care-dependent person. And Mary Ann Bower was charged with summary harassment. Bower is the licensed practical nurse in charge of the nursing aides. Other nursing home staff members told officials they had seen Bower throw objects at Bryant and pour water over her head.

This week, charges were withdrawn against Taylor after the district attorney’s office said there wasn’t enough evidence to build a case against her. The court heard testimony from four other nursing home employees who witnessed the abuse those charged with the crime inflicted on Bryant. As a result Keene, Hatten and Perry will stand trail. Bower, the nursing supervisor, is still awaiting her preliminary hearing.

There is no explanation why Bryant was singled out by her abusers. Allegheny County executive Dan Onorato released a statement about the incident saying he was “incensed by the alleged actions by these five individuals…. We will absolutely not tolerate any level of disrespect, neglect or mistreatment of Kane Center residents.”

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › Three to stand trail in Kane Glen Hazel abuse case

Three deaths that occurred in three weeks on the same floor of the 240-bed home for the developmentally disabled have raised the suspicions of Nebraska Advocacy Group. “This demands an immediate response, not a promise to do something in the future. They’ve had a history of un-kept promises,” Nebraska Advocacy Group litigation director Bruce Mason told the newspaper.

The group sent a letter last week to state leaders including Gov. Dave Heineman. They have yet to get an answer. In the letter, the group recommended that the state make arrangements to have residents treated at Omaha hospitals or by medical professionals.

The Gage County Attorney’s office is investigating the three deaths for any criminal wrongdoing. But the advocacy group wants the investigation to go further. The group wants to know a cause of death and establish liability in hopes of preventing more deaths in the future.

A U.S. Justice Department investigation revealed that about 200 cases of abuse and neglect have been reported at the Beatrice home since 2006. It concluded that the center had a “cultural undercurrent that betrays human decency at the most fundamental levels.”

The problems at the state-run home now put Nebraska in jeopardy of losing its certification and thus $29 million in federal funding. To keep the federal government from pulling the certification, the state appealed the feds decision. A ruling is expected this summer. Meantime, Gov. Heineman is proposing spending $17 million to improve problems areas at the center and get it back up to par so that keep the federal funds.

If the home loses its funding, state officials may role to shut the center down all together.

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › Advocacy group demands answers from state

Sloan gradually began to hear the truth. CNA Karen Buck had hit and slapped Talbott numerous times in the face causing a black eye and two other facial bruises after Talbott spit at her. Sloan contends that Buck caused her mother pain while putting stockings on her sore feet.

The executive director of Williamsburg Village, now known as Golden Living Center, issued a statement saying that the nursing home had reported the situation to authorities and that the incident had been fully investigated by the state, the ombudsman, the police and the attorney general’s office. The statement claimed, “After the investigations were concluded, the alleged abuse was not substantiated, and the prosecutor has declined to pursue the case.”

However the prosecutor’s office did charge Buck with felony battery resulting in bodily injury. Battery becomes a felony offense when the victim is, among other things, an endangered adult, as was Talbott, who moved into the nursing home after suffering a stroke.

Talbott died less than three months later. Attorneys hired to represent Talbott’s estate claim that the brutal and savage assault and beating Talbott suffered at the hands of Buck, and the nursing home’s negligence, resulted in serious complications that ultimately led to Talbott’s wrongful death.

Golden Living Center has a four-star rating by the federal government, which his based on inspections, staffing levels and quality measurements.

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › CNA punches, slaps nursing home patient in face

Connie’s grandparents, James and Anne Morgan, had saved nearly $500,000 for their care as they aged. The two moved into a retirement community in 2005 and had turned over power of attorney to their granddaughter. Anne suffered from dementia, and James, who had received a brain injury a few years earlier, was kept heavily medicated by his granddaughter. Connie charged her grandparents $7,000 per month to care for them, though other family members said that care was less than adequate.

During that time Connie had squandered her grandparents’ money away on cars, boats and gambling trips, often lying to her grandparents to get more money. As the funds in their bank accounts began to dwindle, family members began to get suspicious. They moved the Morgans into an assisted living facility, where their social security checks and the state could pay for their care. And they alerted police. When investigators talked with James and Anne, the Morgans defended their granddaughter. But the paper trail was already laid. Connie is now serving time in jail for embezzlement.

The Morgans are just one example of how the elderly are taken advantage of by friends, family and even strangers. Bryan Brock, a deputy district attorney in Clackamas County, says he has seen a dramatic rise in financial abuse among the elderly. Five years ago he used to see only two cases of a year. Now he sees about a dozen per year.

Families of the elderly who suspect financial abuse are advised to contact police with their concerns.

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › Woman jailed for embezzling from grandparents

The assistant attorney general accused the men of taking more than $600,000 of the $34 million in Medicare funds during that time while also failing to provide basic goods and services to residents of their facilities. Both pleaded guilty in July to misappropriating Medicaid funds, conspiracy, larceny, embezzlement and patient neglect. They were put on a five-year probation and were ordered to pay $150,000 in restitution.

Charges were filed after a three-year investigation which also revealed that the Logan facilities frequently experienced shortages of food, medicine, personal hygiene items and linens. Vendor bills often went unpaid, which resulted in lapses of services such as pest control and medical waste pick-ups.

The Logans also are accused of failure to remit about $55,000 in deductions withheld from employees’ wages for a company-sponsored 401(k) plan. They also are charged with failure to remit more than $22,000 in employee wage withholdings for short-term disability policies and individual life insurance policies.

Gregory Logan’s grandparents Samuel and Florence Logan founded the nursing home operation. The family once owned and operated one of the largest and oldest nursing home operations in the region. In 2003, a judge put four of the homes into receivership, and the fifth home went into receivership in 2004. The order was spurred by mismanagement of the homes. Since then, two of the homes have closed and three were sold to other companies.

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › Owner of nursing homes faces larceny, conspiracy charges

Last week, Riems entered an Alford plea to four counts of sexual battery and one count of gross sexual imposition. According to AP, an Alford plea is one in which the defendant does not plead guilty but does admit there is enough evidence against him for a conviction. Riems was sentenced Friday to 12 ½ years in prison.

According to earlier reports from Fox News/AP, Riems was accused of raping and assaulting a paralyzed patient. Coworkers reportedly complained nursing home management that he had a temper and had verbally abused patients. One former coworker of Riems said she saw him go into patients’ rooms for long periods of time. When questioned what he was doing in the rooms for so long, he would say “This is none of your business,” according to Fox News/AP.

Riems was videotaped last year admitting that he had abused about 100 patients at nursing homes since the 1980s. His attorney argued that the testimony was coerced and fought to keep the videotape out of trial. The judge ordered that the tape would be allowed in court, which led to Riems’ plea agreement just days before he was to stand trial.

The sentencing offers some closure for the heartbroken family members of the victims. ”I don’t think that anyone knows the hurt and the anger that I am holding for you,” AP reported Bilgen saying to Riems during the sentencing hearing. “It’s something that I will never forgive you for.”

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › Ohio man sentenced for sexual abuse of nursing home patients

Rose of Sharon nursing home pressured Larry to pay his mother’s bill. He promised to sell her house, but instead took out the loan. And still, the bill was left unpaid. The nursing home contacted the county’s adult protection department which found that Larry had been pocketing his mother’s social security and pension checks, totaling $3,000 per month. Reports also show that Larry drained nearly $11,000 from his mother’s checking account, leaving her with a balance of just $86.

Larry told police he was using the money from the sale of his mother’s house to carry out her wishes. He paid utilities and medical bills, paid his son’s mortgage, and gave another $10,000 to $20,000 to his nephew. But none of the money went to pay for his mother’s care.

Larry was accused of intentionally exploiting his mother, though he claimed he was simply just poor at managing money. He was charged in Ramsey County District Court last week with theft by swindle.

The county began paying for Nora’s hospice care last spring, according to reports.

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › Nursing home resident’s son charged with theft by swindle

The outside temperature was between 36 and 40 degrees and a light rain was falling. Officials say the cold and rain likely contributed to her death, though autopsy results are pending.

Florissant Police Chief William Karabas said it is too early to say whether criminal neglect was involved. Officials say she went outside sometime after the 9 p.m. rounds. It is still unclear how Rooks managed to get outside – whether on her own or by another person pushing her wheelchair – or how she could have remained outdoors for hours without anyone noticing. Once the investigation is completed, the police report will be forwarded to the St. Louis County prosecuting attorney’s office for review. The Missouri Department of Health also is conducting interviews.

A spokesperson with Northgate Park Nursing Home, which is owned by CommuniCare Health Services, says no employee faces disciplinary action at this time.

Rooks family members are understandably distraught. “I’m just not going to let it go,” said Rooks’ stepson Eugene. “It hurts me so bad just for her to be outside for four or five hours in the rain by herself.” Eugene believes staff may have tried to cover up the scene by bringing her body inside and trying to “clean her up and dry her off” before calling police, according to the report. The nursing home says staff followed proper protocol after finding the woman.

“There’s a great deal of sadness and we want to get all of the answers for the family,” the nursing home spokesperson told the newspaper. “We know they’re upset and we understand that.”

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › Elderly woman found dead outside nursing home

But the damage had been done. Even after Raybon had been stabilized by a hospital and then admitted to another nursing home, his health spiraled downward. He suffered from more bedsores and infections and died soon after.

Raybon’s daughter, Yolanda Latimore, repeatedly pleaded to management at Tucker Nursing Home to take better care of her father, to no avail. A DeKalb County jury found that Raybon’s months of suffering was unjust. After a four-year lawsuit, the jury awarded Raybon’s daughter $1.25 million. The defendants are expected to appeal the case, according to the story.

Bedsores, also known as pressure sores or decubitus ulcers, are a serious problem with patients who are bedridden. Nursing home patients are among the most susceptible. Bedsores form when skin and tissue break down from constant pressure and bad circulation. They occur most often in the hips, lower back and heels. At first, the skin becomes red and irritated and eventually open sores develop.

If left untreated, the open sores can bore down into the muscle and bone, known as decubitus ulcer formation. Treatment of serious decubitus ulcers may include drying out the wound, excising the dead tissue, and administering systemic antibiotics. To prevent the occurrence of bed sores, bedridden individuals must be moved every two hours to minimize rubbing, pressure and friction.

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › Patient’s daughter wins lawsuit in death from serious bed sore

After discovering numerous bruises all over her body, the family of resident Armeda Thomas hid a video camera in her Madison Manor room. For three weeks they recorded nursing assistants physically abusing and taunting Thomas and failing to feed and clean her, according to state records. In one instance, a nursing aide was seen dancing in front of Thomas while another staff member held the resident’s arms.

The video tape showed several nursing assistants partaking in the physical abuse of Thomas. Extendicare, the Wisconsin company that owns Madison Manor, fired nine nursing assistants, made staff changes, and set up a retraining program for staff as a result of the videotape. “We do not condone this kind of behavior,” said a spokesperson for Extendicare in the report.

A spokesperson for the attorney general’s office says the investigation is ongoing and additional charges could result. The home also was cited by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, threatening its Medicaid certification. The state later issued a statement saying that the nursing home’s management had taken steps to correct the problems.

Thomas’ family members moved Thomas home after seeing the tapes. She died last month after complications from Alzheimer’s disease.

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › Nursing home aide shocked by wanton neglect charge

“What they did was awful. My mother-in-law tried to tell us … she did everything to keep people away — biting, hitting, striking out,” she was reported as saying in a story by the Star Tribune. “Somebody needs to stand up for our moms and grandparents.”

The abuse is part of a investigation into the “attacks-for-thrills” case where six nursing home aides were accused of abusing cognitively impaired residents at Good Samaritan Society for on-the-job entertainment. According to prosecutors, the aides held down residents, put their fingers in residents’ mouths and noses to quiet their cries and screams for help, hit and rubbed their breasts and genitals, and sexually “humped” some residents.

Two of the accused – 19-year-old Brianna Broitzman and 18-year-old Ashton Larson – are charged as adults with assault, abuse of a vulnerable adult by a caregiver, abuse of a vulnerable adult with sexual contact, disorderly conduct, and failure to report suspected maltreatment. All are gross misdemeanors. Four other aides, all charged as juveniles, are charged with not reporting the suspected abuse. The Freeborn County Attorney says Broitzman and Larson will likely face suspended jail sentences and probation, which family members think is an outrage.

A family member, who is not named, contacted Wes Bledsoe, president and founder of A Perfect Cause, a watchdog group that fights “to end needless suffering and preventable deaths while protecting the rights of citizens from corporate greed and negligence.” Bledsoe came to Albert Lea to organize a town hall meeting, which was preceded by the press conference. At the gathering, Bledsoe denounced the county attorney who filed the charges, Good Samaritan, and the Minnesota State Health Department. Bledsoe argued that had the two women charged with the crimes been men, they would be facing much more serious felony charges instead of misdemeanors.

“They thought they could get away with it, because the residents had dementia, couldn’t speak up for themselves. Well, if they are guilty, maybe they will get away with a slap on the wrists,” the Star Tribune quoted Bledsoe.

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › Families, advocate speak out at Albert Lea town hall meeting

The family members raised concerns of their aunt’s welfare, and questioned the choices of a third niece, who had power of attorney over the aunt. It was she who placed the elderly woman at Bissell Hospital.

After communicating by e-mail with the hospital, the two nieces in late July released the DVD evidence to the Delaware Division of Long Term Care Resident Protection. The agency inspects the 46 skilled nursing homes and four intermediate-care facilities and oversees licensing, conducts criminal background checks, enforces regulations and monitors the welfare of nursing-home patients.

Shortly thereafter, all three nieces were banned from the facility until mediation of a public guardian. The guardian requested the elderly woman be moved to another facility. The move was approved and is planned to take place in January.

The investigation resulted in the firing of three employees and the suspension without pay of two others. Four of the five employees also have been placed on the state’s Adult Abuse Registry, a list of caregivers who have been accused of abuse. Three of those employees are appealing to be removed from that list. There are 246 people on that list and 25 are pending appeal.

The Delaware Attorney General’s Office did not say why it will not prosecute the caregivers in this case.

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › No charges filed against caregivers who abused ailing aunt

Wes Bledsoe, president and founder of A Perfect Cause, arrives Thursday and will host a town hall meeting addressing the abuse at Good Samaritan Society. A Perfect Cause is a victim’s advocacy organization that fights “to end needless suffering and preventable deaths while protecting the rights of citizens from corporate greed and negligence.”

According to prosecutors, the nursing aides held down residents, put their fingers in residents’ mouths and noses to quiet their cries and screams, hit and rubbed their breasts and genitals, and sexually “humped” some residents. The aides allegedly called the abuse “work fun or to get a good laugh.”

But it was no laughing matter. The adults in the case, 19-year-old Brianna Broitzman and 18-year-old Ashton Larson, are charged with assault, abuse of a vulnerable adult by a caregiver, abuse of a vulnerable adult with sexual contact, disorderly conduct and failure to report suspected maltreatment. All are gross misdemeanors. The Freeborn County Attorney says they will likely face suspended jail sentences and probation.

The abuse reportedly began early this year and lasted for several months. Three of the 15 residents have died and the others cannot be interviewed by investigators because they suffer from diseases that affect memory and cognition.

Bledsoe said the reports of recreational abuse at the nursing home disturbed him, but did not surprise him. “Where is the moral compass of these employees?” He posed in the newspaper story.

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › Watchdog group holds town hall meetings in Albert Lea

The violent acts are hard to fathom. Corey Austin, a certified nursing aide (CNA), was convicted of using racial epithets and attacking a patient by assisting another staff member in taking the patient back to his room and then repeatedly pushing the patient onto the floor. Austin then allegedly pinned the patient to the bed with his knee. Austin, who will be sentenced in January, faces a two-year sentence.

Those charged with crimes against the elderly include CNA Patricia Penman, who is accused of slapping a 100-year-old patient in the face. The patient has dementia and physical disabilities that left her unable to defend herself. Penman is charged with endangering the welfare of an incompetent or physically disabled person and willful violations of health laws, according to the news report.

CNA Jeffrey Perry was charged with the same offense stemming from a late August incident in which he tied a patient with dementia to a chair for two consecutive nights. Licensed practical nurse Jeanette Sovereign found the patient alone in his room and is accused of knowing about the abusive act but not reporting it to proper authorities.

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › Cuomo continues to investigate nursing home abuse, neglect

The falling closet incident in which Sister Mary Murray was killed occurred in August. At the time of the accident, family members accepted the nursing home’s explanation – that Sister Murray’s death was just a freak accident. However, an ABC 7 Eyewitness News investigation revealed that two other residents in the home were injured by falling closets. Summit Park Nursing Care was found by the state Department of Health to be an “immediate jeopardy to resident health and safety,” but no disciplinary action had taken place at that time.

According to Lo Hud, after the two falling closet incidents and before the incident that resulted in Sister Murray’s death, the county had ordered maintenance workers to bolt the two closets that had tipped but did not request the same be done with the rest of the nearly 300 closets in the nursing home.

The family of Sister Murray has filed a lawsuit against the county claiming her death was caused by the “gross recklessness and gross negligence of Summit Park and the county of Rockland and its employees,” according to the newspaper story.

The home was fined $17,300 for negligence in the nun’s death and is still under investigation by the Attorney General and the New York Department of Health.

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › Family sues county, administrator resigns over nun’s death

When we first brought you this story in August, only four aides had been charged in the case that has horrified family members of the suspects’ victims. A coworker revealed to the nursing home that she was aware of the accused aides allegedly holding down residents, putting their fingers in residents’ mouths and noses to quiet their cries and screams, hitting and rubbing their breasts and genitals, and sexually “humping” some residents. The aides called the abuse “work fun or to get a good laugh.”

But it was no laughing matter. The adults in the case, 19-year-old Brianna Broitzman and 18-year-old Ashton Larson, are charged with assault, abuse of a vulnerable adult by a caregiver, abuse of a vulnerable adult with sexual contact, disorderly conduct and failure to report suspected maltreatment. All are gross misdemeanors. The Freeborn County Attorney says they will likely face suspended jail sentences and probation.

The abuse apparently began early this year and lasted for several months. Family members were told in May that something had occurred but did not get details until August. Three of the 15 residents have died and the others cannot be interviewed by investigators because they suffer from diseases that affect memory and cognition.

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › Nursing home aides face serious charges in abuse-for-thrills case

According to state health department documents, the victim had only been at Grace Living Center a short time before she was attacked. Staff witnessed the incident and told the charge nurse, who said to get the woman and dress her. Shortly afterward, the woman was found crying and moaning. Staff noticed she was bleeding and contacted police and the woman’s daughter. The victim was later sent to the hospital.

The attacker is a male resident with a history of fondling female residents who are unable to call for help. He also suffers from dementia. The state contends that Grace Living Center staff was aware of the man’s wandering but did not take proper measures to prevent him from harming others. Nursing home resident advocate Wes Bledsoe asked the district attorney’s office to consider filing charges against the perpetrator.

Investigators reported to the State Department of Health that the facility also “did a poor job of protecting evidence” by removing the linens and clothing from the crime scene and putting them in the laundry before they could be investigated by police, according to the news report.

Grace Living Center released a written statement saying it took immediate steps “to provide safety and care of the residents and the male resident was promptly removed from the facility.”

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › Nursing home blamed for resident molesting another resident

WKTV News Channel 2 featured a story of an 89-year-old resident of Bethany Gardens Skilled Living Facility in Rome, N.Y. The elderly woman wore two rings on her fingers – a gold-and-diamond engagement ring given to her in 1940 by her husband, and a family ring made of various gemstones. The rings hung loose on her frail fingers, and when Certified Nurse Aide (CNA) Amanda Thaler offered to take the rings and have them fitted for her, the elderly women obliged. But Thaler never returned the rings, probably thinking the nursing home resident would forget. But she didn’t. She asked Thaler about the rings a half hour later and then later that day in the dining room. Finally, Thaler returned the family ring but kept the engagement ring.

When questioned about the engagement ring, Thaler suddenly claimed to feel ill, and caught a ride with her boyfriend, Sheldon Stoddard, who was a dietary technician at the nursing home. The two then drove to a pawn shop and sold the heirloom ring for a mere $15.

Bethany Gardens, rightly so, fired the couple over the incident, and the ring was recovered. It is currently being held by Rome Police as evidence. Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said his office will take significant steps to protect New York’s seniors from those who abuse or steal money or personal possessions from seniors. “These employees are accused of stealing a personal heirloom with priceless sentimental value from a vulnerable nursing home resident for whom they were supposed to be caring,” he was quoted by the station.

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › Nursing assistant caught stealing rings from elderly woman

When officials at Genesis Rehabilitation suspected Dellarma’s credentials were at fault, they immediately suspended him. Then they contacted the Department of Health, local authorities and the Attorney General’s office. Dellarma was later terminated by his employer.

Dellarma was arrested Friday and charged with aggravated forgery, a Class B felony, for allegedly filing a public document with a public office with the intent to defraud or deceive. Dellarma also was indicted on two counts of felony theft by deception and one count for unlicensed practice of physical therapy, a misdemeanor.

The Morning Sentinel quoted a statement released by Genesis Rehabilitation: “We take issues like this very seriously and are cooperating fully with the authorities as they handle this situation. This is an isolated incident and is not a reflection of the overall quality of care provided to our patients every day. We remain committed to providing a safe, nurturing environment for the patients in our care.”

There was no evidence that any patients were harmed or endangered. No other information about the case was released, and the case remains under investigation by the state’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, Health Care Crimes Unit.

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › Physical therapist charged with unlicensed practice, forgery

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 nursing home’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.

“I became very angry, especially when I knew it could have been prevented,” her nephew Daniel Murray said in a follow up story by ABC7. “All of this could have been prevented. My aunt could have been with us today.” Murray’s family is now demanding the nursing home investigate the situation and explain why, after the two other falling closet incidents, the nursing home didn’t bolt the other closets to the wall.

Daniel Murray now believes that the nursing home tried to cover up its negligence by not telling the Murray family about the other falling closets and not reporting either incident to the state Department of Health.

A nursing home spokesperson refused to comment. Summit Park was found by the state Department of Heath to be in “immediate jeopardy to resident health and safety.” However, there has been no disciplinary action against Summit Park or its employees. The case is now in the hands of the Attorney General, according to ABC7.

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › Family demands investigation after closet falls on resident

Early last month we reported that four employees of Medford Multicare Center for Living in Medford, NY were charged with criminal neglect after investigators reviewed tapes from video cameras hidden in some residents’ rooms.

The videos showed that one patient wasn’t turned and positioned to prevent painful pressure sores or given range-of-motion exercises to keep his muscles from contracting. One patient also didn’t receive water through his feeding tube – his only means of hydration. The staff charged with the neglect also administered heart medication without first checking his pulse rate, which could have resulted in an adverse response in his medication. And rather than changing his briefs every two hours as per doctors’ orders, the patient was left to sit in his waste for hours. The video also showed that the resident had not been bathed in a week.

Hidden video surveillance is not an uncommon practice in New York and has lead to numerous convictions of nursing home employees. Last week, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced that more hidden cameras will be installed in the rooms of nursing home patients in western New York in an effort to curtail abuse and neglect against the elderly.

The most recent arrests include two licensed practical nurses (LPN) and two certified nurse’s aides (CNA) at the same Medford facility. The charges include endangering the welfare of a physically disabled person by failing to provide basic standard care and falsifying business records.

One of the LPNs, Kim Purdum, was charged with falsifying business records based on evidence unrelated to the video surveillance. Purdum is accused of changing a resident’s chart to conceal that she had not done the necessary blood tests to monitor her blood thinning medication. This caused the resident to suffer internal bleeding and extensive external bruising. The patient required immediate emergency medical attention.

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › Video surveillance leads to more arrests at NY nursing home

I-1029 requires all new caregivers beginning in 2010 to be certified by the state, undergo an FBI background check and get at least 75 hours of training. The initiative is sponsored by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).

PAS-Port for Change, an eight-member statewide steering committee, argues that the initiative fails to address the core issues of abuse and neglect against the elderly and disabled. While it supports the training of caregivers, the organization believes the type of training and the method of delivering that training should be in the hands of the clients.

Debb Snyder, a member of the PAS-Port for Change steering committee who also is disabled, has tried but failed to get SEIU to circulate a questionnaire to those who use caregivers on the quality of care they receive. The questionnaire asks whether the recipient has been verbally or physically abused by a caregiver, whether a caregiver has failed to show up for work or arrived under the influence of drugs or alcohol, whether a caregiver has asked them for food or money or threatened them with abandonment, according to the story.

Snyder says she would like to use those questionnaires during interviews with the accused caregivers as a means of training.

The Washington Attorney General’s office forwards complaints of abuse and neglect to Adult Protective Services, which in turn investigates each case to determine if criminal charges are warranted. The state receives about 13,000 complaints of abuse and neglect each year from adults living in their own homes.

“We’re not against the workers,” Snyder says, “but they need to be trained by us.”

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › Advocacy group wants more control over caregiver training

Earlier this month we told you how hidden surveillance cameras installed at Medford Multicare Center for Living in Suffolk, New York gave the attorney general’s office evidence enough to charge at least four nursing home employees with criminal neglect.

New York leads the nation in using hidden video surveillance to investigate whether there is abuse in its nursing homes. At least 26 of the nursing home employees in New York have been convicted based on hidden video recordings.

The hidden cameras are installed in residents’ rooms with prior permission of family or legal representatives and without the knowledge of the nursing home. Gov. Cuomo hopes the cameras serve as more of a deterrent than means for evidence.

“We’ve had reports [of abuse] for many years, but they are hard cases to make,” Cuomo said in the story. “This allows us to make cases we couldn’t make before.”

While the practice has been lauded by the president of New York AARP, some individuals in the nursing home industry argue that the cameras bring up concerns of a patient’s privacy violation.

According to the National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA), statistics on abuse, neglect or exploitation among the elderly is hard to track. However, according to the best available estimates, as many as 1 to 2 million Americans age 65 years and older have been injured, exploited or otherwise mistreated by a caregiver.

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › New York puts more hidden cameras in nursing homes

The LEAPS (Leaders in Elder Abuse Prevention) initiative will bring together agencies, community organizations, and health care providers responsible for the care of senior citizens in an effort to better identify seniors who may be suffering from abuse or living in at-risk situations. Once these individuals are identified, LEAPS would help get them proper care and get them out of a negative situation before it escalates.

Officials say that by the time a case of elder abuse is brought to their attention, it is too late. Often, there are warning signs that could have signaled danger, and if those signals had been picked up, the negative situation could have been stopped before it got worse. LEAPS will train members to detect signs of elder abuse and how they can better assist in individual cases. This includes assisting financially strapped caregivers with prescriptions, transportation, food and health services.

The Boston Globe story states that in addition to the Office of Elder Affairs and the Middlesex district attorney’s office, institutions that have joined LEAPS include Emerson Hospital in Concord, Lahey Clinic in Peabody and Burlington, Newton-Wellesley Hospital, and Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge. The initiative does not call for any public funding, as it is a simple sharing of services and information.

Individuals in the Middlesex area can contact the Elder Abuse Hotline at 800-922-2275; Protective Services Programs and Services at 617-727-7750; and Prescription Advantage at 800-243-4636.

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › Agencies team up to prevent elder abuse

Jack Crow believes the first call should be to the police.

Crow believes his wife was abused in an Oklahoma nursing home; an investigation determined that her injuries were due to a fall. Regardless, Crow is joining forces with the nonprofit organization A Perfect Cause to make crimes against nursing home patients immediately reportable to police, according to Oklahoma City’s KOCO 5.

A Perfect Cause is a victim’s advocacy organization fighting “to end needless suffering and preventable deaths while protecting the rights of citizens from corporate greed and negligence.”

Crow argues that standards for crimes against nursing home patients shouldn’t be different from the rest of the public. “If she (Crow’s wife) had been assaulted at a KMart, we wouldn’t talk about the proper response. We would have called the police,” he told KOCO 5.

The state’s district attorney and attorney general’s office agree. “When you have a crime scene, there is evidence,” said Scott Rowland, of the Oklahoma County district attorney’s office. “There is witness testimony in these crime scenes.”

A committee was formed to look into the proposal.

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › Nursing home advocates fight to change crime-reporting statutes

But John fought back. He saw a poster in his California nursing home about the Ombudsman program, and he made a call. Ombudsmanship Program Director Kathi Toepel paid John a personal visit and, after insisting they talk privately in his room, he asked her to save his toes.

“I’m 92 years old and want to leave this world with the 10 toes the good Lord gave me,” he said.

Toepel discussed John’s case with his doctor and expressed that John was, in fact, able to make his own healthcare decisions. He wanted to save his toes, and Toepel made sure that his will was done.

John lived another 14 months, but he died the way he wanted, with his body intact. “While I understand these are very difficult decisions for family, friends and caretakers to accept, I know that John died with the dignity and respect he deserved,” Toepel said.

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. But this valuable program is in jeopardy in California.

According to the Union Democrat, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger used a line item veto to cut the Long Term Care Ombudsman Program out of the budget. The program receives about half its budget from the state. The rest is made up through federal funds and other sources.

While program officials hope the missing state funds will be raised by the community, they are meeting to find ways to through the situation.

This is a tragedy for all nursing home residents, especially the estimated 40 percent who have no family or friends to visit or advocate for them.

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › California budget cuts jeopardize nursing home resident advocates

But hidden surveillance cameras set up over a six-week period in some patient’s rooms by the Attorney General’s office told a different story, according to the North County Gazette.

The videos showed that one patient wasn’t turned and positioned to prevent painful pressure sores or given range-of-motion exercises to keep his muscles from contracting. And that one patient didn’t receive water through his feeding tube – his only means of hydration. The staff charged with the neglect also administered heart medication without first checking his pulse rate, which could have resulted in an adverse response in his medication. And rather than changing his briefs every two hours as per doctors’ orders, the patient was left to sit in his waste for hours. The video also showed that the resident had not been bathed in a week.

The four nursing home employees were charged with criminal neglect and charges against more employees are expected.

Hidden video surveillance is not an uncommon practice in New York. The state leads the nation in using such forms of surveillance to investigate the abuse of nursing home patients. To date, 26 New York nursing home employees have been convicted based on hidden video recordings.

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › Hidden cameras reveal neglect at NY nursing home

Medicaid, which is the state-federal body that provides health coverage and nursing home care to the poor, pays nursing homes millions each year for treating patients who qualify for Medicaid. Advocates for the elderly contend that nursing homes have successfully lobbied politicians to make qualifying for community care more difficult, thus forcing these older or disabled individuals to move into nursing homes when they are independent enough to live at home, with relatives or in assisted living.

Individuals who qualify for Medicare and who become sick or disabled have no trouble qualifying for nursing homes, but are finding it far more difficult to receive Medicaid-supported services, the report states.

Advocates cite a 1999 U.S. Supreme Court case known as the Olmstead decision, in which the court ruled that the unjustified placement of individuals in institutions such as nursing homes amounted to discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The decision stated that states must provide community care if it can be accommodated and would be appropriate.

“There’s a lot of concern that the nursing home industry is very powerful in many states and has made sure that a lot of Medicaid dollars go to institutional care as opposed to home and community-based care,” says an attorney at the Center for Medicare Advocacy.

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › Florida Medicaid recipients want to choose where to live

The four aides from Good Samaritan Society nursing home in Albert Lea, Minn., were fired after a coworker revealed that she was aware of the four women abusing residents, the Star Tribune reported. The aides allegedly held residents down whey they resisted, put their fingers in residents’ mouths and noses to quiet their cries and screams, hit and rubbed their breasts and genitals, and sexually “humped” some residents, according to the Star Tribune. Three additional aides who knew about the abuse but did not tell authorities also were fired.

The story quoted one aide as telling investigators that the four women did the reprehensible acts to make “work fun or to get a good laugh.” Another aide was quoted in the story as saying the women accused were confident that the residents wouldn’t complain because they “don’t have their minds.”

The abuse apparently began early this year and lasted for several months. Family members were told in May that something had occurred but did not get details until this week. The story reported that three of the 15 residents have died and the others cannot be interviewed by investigators because they suffer from diseases that affect memory and cognition.

Good Samaritan Society is based in Sioux Falls, S.D., which operates 40 nursing homes in Minnesota. The Freeborn County Attorney is considering criminal charges.

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › Minnesota nursing home aides abuse patients for thrills

The Times quoted the attorney in the case as saying, “These facilities are giving out brochures about this wonderful, superlative care — one need only look at their regulatory history . . . and see that it’s just not true.” Approximately 4,000 people joined the suit. Contrary to the company’s promotional materials, state regulators found Sun-Mar homes were sorely understaffed and that employees were insufficiently trained.

The attorney laid part of the blame on the California Department of Public Health for not carefully overseeing the facilities, according to the newspaper report. State governments oversee the licensing of nursing homes in each state.

According to the California Public Health Department (CDPH), the department’s responsibility includes overseeing the certification of nursing assistants and licensing of nursing home administrators.

The lawsuit mentioned other facilities across the region where state regulators noted deficiencies. “If everyone had known the regulatory history of these facilities they would not have put their mother or father in them,” the attorney is quoted as saying.

As part of the settlement, a monitor chosen by the plaintiffs’ attorney will inspect five Sun-Mar facilities at random each quarter.

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › California nursing home settles lawsuit

“We believe the vast majority of nursing homes are doing a very good job and working hard to deliver quality care,” Sen. Kohl told the committee. “But we must protect the rights of those who receive inadequate care to hold the facilities accountable.” He said the bill would “send a strong message to underperforming facilities that harmful care is not acceptable.”

Sen. Martinez said the practice of nursing homes requiring residents to sign mandatory arbitration agreements is an overreach of the original purpose of the 1925 Federal Arbitration Act, which he says provides for voluntary arbitration agreements. Requiring a mandatory arbitration agreement as a condition of admittance to a facility is taking advantage of the nation’s most vulnerable citizens, he said.

“I was a practicing attorney for many years, and I believe alternative dispute resolution is a legitimate way to resolve disputes,” Sen. Martinez said, “but it should apply to … people in similar positions when entering an agreement to arbitrate. Prospective nursing home residents – our nation’s most vulnerable population – should not be forced to sign an arbitration agreement as a condition of being admitted to a nursing home.”

Senators Martinez and Kohl pointed out that when patients and their families are at the point of entering a nursing home facility, the patient often is in need of immediate care. Sometimes there are no alternative facilities in close proximity to the patient’s home. Families feel they must sign the agreement in order to ensure their loved one gets needed care right away. Most, they say, do not realize they are relinquishing their rights to go to court.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, spoke in opposition of the bill. He expressed concern that removing arbitration arrangements from nursing homes will cause a rise in long term liability costs and ultimately result in a worse quality of care for the nation’s elderly. He said he believes the proposed Senate bill will result in small business owners going out of business and less well-off seniors unable to afford resulting higher prices.

“I am deeply concerned about nursing home abuse,” Sen. Hatch said. “The abuse of a patient’s trust cannot be tolerated.” However, he said, he feels the problems are being addressed by the nursing home industry.

Sen. Martinez disagrees. Arbitration, he says, “remov[es] the one incentive the industry has to self-regulate and police itself and provide a level of care that I believe is what all of us would like to see for our most vulnerable residents.”

A webcast of the meeting is available at the web site for the United States Senate Special Committee on Aging.

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › U.S. Senate debates arbitration

The Register reports that records with names of caregivers fired for abuse were sealed beginning last August based on a new interpretation of a state law that has been on the books for 17 years, which specifies that judges are obligated to keep “unspecified types of abuse information” confidential. Prior to the new practice of sealing records, the names of Iowa caregivers fired for abuse were provided to Iowa Workforce Development, which could disclose them publicly.

Sealing the records eliminated public access to information such as names of workers fired for abuse, their employers, and cities where abuse occurred, making it difficult for families considering nursing home facilities to examine a facility’s history of safety. The Register reports that recently sealed cases included incidents involving a patient death, and the financial exploitation of a patient by a caregiver who took about $1,000 in cash and gift cards from a nursing home resident.

The new ruling allows public disclosure of the names of workers fired for abuse, their employers, and related agency records, but maintains the confidentiality of state investigators’ abuse reports, to protect the identity of nursing home residents involved in abuse situations. The decision also gives the public the right to review documents such as care facility inspection reports. The Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals keeps a database of more than 18,000 nursing home inspection reports, which is accessible to the public online.

Read the full article at The Des Moines Register online.

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › Abuse Records Reopened