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

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Warren’s daughter Linda Meldrum repeatedly warned nursing home staff about her mother’s propensity to wander. She felt her mother was finally safe in a home with a locked unit. But Friday evening something went terribly wrong.

Last Friday, Warren’s body was found on the side of the road just 100 feet west of the nursing home. She was rushed to MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland, where she died hours later. Police say Warren disabled the alarm on the door of her room and wandered up the home’s long driveway to Detroit Road, where she was struck by a vehicle that then left the scene.

Warren’s family wants justice and is filing suit against the nursing home for allowing Warren to escape, which resulted in her tragic death, according to The Chronicle-Telegram.

Good Samaritan, which has an 87.7 overall satisfaction by the Ohio Long Term Care Consumer Guide, released a statement stating, “Out of respect for the privacy of the resident and their family, we cannot share any further information, other than to note that all other residents of our health care center are safe.”

Meanwhile, police say they are “basically working with minimal evidence” in the case and hope someone comes forward soon with information about the hit-and-run.

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › Family sues nursing home over resident’s hit-and-run death

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The cost to refund the program would come from penalty accounts, or accounts paid into by nursing homes who have been fined for not complying with federal and state laws.

Feuer also introduced a bill that requires nursing homes to prominently post quality care ratings so that individuals seeking long term care for family members can make educated decisions on the care options available to them. The ratings are based on a federal five-star program that rates nursing homes based on health inspection results, staffing levels and quality measures.

A third bill introduced by Feuer seeks to establish the Reverse Mortgage Elder Protection Act of 2009, offering new rights for senior citizens considering reserve mortgages. Reverse mortgages are a special type of loan that gives homeowners access to their home’s equity in cash payments to supplement income. While reverse mortgages can be beneficial, they may not always be in the best interest for seniors. The bill establishes new guidelines between consumers and reverse mortgage salespeople in an effort to protect seniors from being taken advantage of.

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › California lawmaker proposes bills to protect vulnerable seniors

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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

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Five years ago my sister and I found ourselves in a similar situation. Our mother, who was an only child, had passed away years earlier. Her parents – our grandparents – lived more than 2,000 miles away. Their health was rapidly declining. My grandmother had been diagnosed with breast cancer and Alzheimer’s disease just six months apart. My grandfather was battling diabetes and was simply unable to care for my grandmother. (We suspect it was because my grandmother had spoiled him for so many years!)

Our visits to their house became more and more worrisome. Food was left rotting in the refrigerator, medications were left sitting out, and my grandmother had taken to wandering outside in the middle of the night. (One night she was spotted walking along their neighborhood lake in her nightgown.)

When my grandfather was diagnosed with terminal cancer, we had to act quickly to get them both in facilities that could provide the medical and custodial care they needed. Unfortunately, we had to separate them.

Their health had declined to the point that neither could be moved closer to my sister and me. Working long-distance arrangements was daunting, especially since states differ in how they structure levels of care. Hospital social workers were a tremendous help, as were online resources.

For those who are finding themselves in similar situations with family members, the online magazine CityView offers a detailed listing of care options. It has a 10-point check list for choosing a facility, explains who pays for long-term care, and gives an overview of Alzheimer’s disease and options for those suffering from memory loss disorders.

Statistics of neglect and abuse in long-term care facilities can make the decision to place a family member in one even more stressful. Good facilities do exist but you must know how to identify them. Research several facilities and take time to visit each. Be aware of the environment: Are calls from residents being answered quickly? Does the home look and smell clean? Does staff appear friendly and know the residents by name? Do residents look comfortable?

I also encourage you to question staff and talk with other family members about their experience with the facility. And once your family member is placed in long term care, remain in contact with staff, visit your family member as much as possible, and continue to be aware of the surroundings. Know the signs of abuse and neglect, and report any suspicious behavior.

For more tips on what to look for in a long-term care facility, click here.

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › Do your research when considering options in long term care

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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

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According to the National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA), no one knows precisely how many older Americans are being abused, neglected, or exploited. This is because there are no official national statistics.

Adding to the problem, there are no federal standards that govern residential care facilities, which are known by more than 30 different names across the country, perhaps most commonly as assisted living facilities.

In her testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance in June 2002, Catherine Hawes, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management School or Rural Public Health at Texas A&M University system Health Science Center, pointed out that there has never been a systematic study of the prevalence of abuse in nursing homes. She said much of what we know is based on individual stories or focus group interviews with residents and families.

But what we do know is frightening.

• According to the best available estimates, between 1 and 2 million Americans age 65 or older have been injured, exploited or otherwise mistreated by someone on whom they depended for care or protection.
  Only 1 in 14 incidents of elder abuse in domestic settings come to the attention of authorities.
  For every one case of elder abuse, neglect, exploitation, or self-neglect reported to authorities, about five more go unreported.

The major types of elder abuse are physical abuse, which includes inappropriate use of drugs and physical restraints; sexual abuse; emotional or psychological abuse, which, in addition to verbal attacks or intimidation includes enforced social isolation and treating an older person like an infant; neglect; abandonment; and financial or material exploitation.

In 2003, state Long Term Care Ombudsman programs nationally investigated 20,673 complaints of abuse, gross neglect, and exploitation on behalf of nursing home and board and care residents. Physical abuse was the most common type reported.

Another study released in 2001 reported that based on information collected between January 1999 and January 2000 by a nursing home complaint database, 10 percent of nursing homes in the U.S. were cited for abuse violations that caused actual harm to residents or placed them in immediate jeopardy of death or serious injury.

If you or a loved one suffered a serious injury due to nursing home abuse or neglect, you have specific legal rights. For a free legal consultation, please contact us today

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › 2 million elderly victims

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