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

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

The victim, 54, was a resident of Raintree Convalescent Hospital. He suffered from dementia and schizophrenia which caused him to have difficulty swallowing his food. When he moved into the home in June 2006, doctors ordered that he follow a soft diet and required supervision while he ate as he “stuffs his mouth with food.”

On Nov. 19, 2008, the man was given a lunch of spaghetti with two whole meatballs, tossed salad, roll, two cookies and milk. A certified nurse’s aide served the man in his room and then left him alone to eat. While the man ate, the meatballs became lodged in his throat. He walked out of his room and up to a nurse in the hallway. He was pale and unable to speak and then collapsed. Nurses performed the Heimlich maneuver but were unable to dislodge the food from the man’s throat. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation was performed but the man died.

The cook and the nurse’s aide were fired for negligence and the nursing home conducted a dietary training for all nursing staff. Though new procedures were put in place, the home received a AA citation from the California Department of Public Health. AA citations are rare and are the most serious penalty a California nursing home can receive, according to the California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform.

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › Nursing home receives steepest penalty in resident’s death

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

The doctor said he routinely sees patients from Grand Park Care Center on the verge of death with serious conditions ranging from acute kidney problems, severe pneumonia and malnutrition. He said the conditions indicate neglect by caregivers.

Inspection reports obtained by the television station from the D.C. Department of Health from February and May 2008, reveal numerous deficiencies including failure of nursing staff to notify a physician of a resident’s dehydration, and weight changes and anemia of a resident. According to Jerry Kasunic, D.C. long-term care ombudsman, his staff has filed more than 100 complaints with the Department of Health.

“The neglect and abuse we have seen there is unattended wound care (and) dehydration that has led to malnutrition,” Kasunic said in the report. He specifically reference a recent care where one man from the home entered the hospital critically malnourished. It was obvious to Kasunic that the patient, who was unable to communicate, had received no fluids of any kind.

The nursing home issued a statement saying it is committed to quality improvement and has since hired a new director of nursing and a compliance officer.

Both Kasunic and an inspector with the Department of Health say that the city’s health department needs to be more aggressive in ensuring patients in area nursing homes receive proper care.

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › Doctor warns of inadequate care at D.C. nursing home

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

“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

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.