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

Iowa Governor Chet Culver signed a bill in to law this week that removes fines imposed on nursing homes that do not meet minimum health and safety standards, according to the Des Moines Register.

Under the new law, nursing homes would no longer be fined for not having competent, licensed administrators or caregivers in their facilities; not having a qualified nurse on duty, or for understaffing at the facility, one of the leading contributors to resident neglect.

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Wandering is a common symptom of Alzheimer’s disease, dementia or other cognitive disorders. According to the Alzheimer’s Association more than 60 percent of those with the condition wander at some point and up to 70 percent of those who wander will do so again. More than 127,000 critical wandering incidents are reported each year. If not found within the first 24 hours, up to half of all persons with dementia who wander will become seriously injured or die, according to research obtained by the Alzheimer’s Association.

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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.

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Helen Lloyd of Delaware said she would take care of the 68-year-old, disabled man. So his family agreed to have him moved from Hillside Center nursing home where Lloyd was employed and into Lloyd’s home. As his caregiver, Lloyd received the man’s monthly Social Security checks. She agreed to use the money to pay for the man’s care and his share of the rent. But authorities later discovered Lloyd was horribly neglecting the man and taking his money for her own personal use, according to Delaware Online/The News Journal.

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When the Manatee, Florida, high school volunteer saw the two developmentally challenged men sitting alone in the gymnasium after a basketball game, she notified sheriff’s deputies. The deputies questioned the two men, ages 51 and 65, but found them both to be “very confused.” An hour passed before North West Care Center employee Leticia Odessa Peay returned for the men. She said she had taken them to a ball game but that she understood another nursing home employee would be picking them up, according to the Bradenton Herald.

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Brianna Marie Broitzman and Ashton Michelle Larson, the two nursing home aides facing misdemeanor charges in the Albert Lea “abuse-for-thrills” case that has garnered national media attention in recent months, will face a judge for the first time this week, according to the Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota Star Tribune/Associated Press. The women are not expected to enter pleas until a pretrial hearing scheduled for March 23.

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Family members of victims abused in the highly publicized “abuse-for-thrills” case at an Albert Lea, Minnesota, nursing home have come together to form a support group where they can talk about their painful experience and seek the support of others, according to the Albert Lea Tribune. Called Families Against Nursing Home Abuse, the group has a long-term goal to prevent abuse of vulnerable adults.

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Wes Bledsoe, the founder of the watchdog group A Perfect Cause, returns to Albert Lea, Minnesota, this week to meet again with families of victims allegedly abused during the widely publicized “attacks for thrills” incident at the Good Samaritan Society nursing home, according to the Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota Star Tribune. While in town, Bledsoe also will attend the arraignments of two of the nurses charged with in the crimes.

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Linda Shaw was supposed to be overseeing 16 residents at Personal Care II assisted living facility in Bradenton, Fla., last summer. But just minutes after she reported for her 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. shift, she walked out the door and never returned, leaving the residents without a caregiver, according to the Bradenton Herald.

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Most people don’t want to even think that their parents have having sex – much less their grandparents. However, researchers from Kansas State say that physical and sexual intimacy is alive and well in many nursing homes and caregivers should be trained on how to handle situations that arise, according to The Hays Daily News.

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