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

The larceny and conspiracy trial of a man whose family once owned one of the largest nursing homes in Dedham, Massachusetts, began this week, according to the Patriot Ledger. Gregory Logan served as the administrator of Logan Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Braintree, one of the family’s five nursing homes. Logan and his uncles Joel K. Logan and Todd Logan were all accused of raiding patient accounts for personal use between January 2001 to June 2003.

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The Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services has issued its most serious citation against a Winchester nursing home and as a result it will lose its Medicare and Medicaid funding, according to the Lexington (Kentucky) Herald-Leader. The citation is based on claims of abuse and neglect at Winchester Centre for Health and Rehabilitation that Health and Family Services officials would not detail. However Nursing Home Ombudsman Agency executive director Kathy Gannoe says her agency has received 31 complaints about the nursing home. Almost all were resolved satisfactorily, she says. However, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services plans to move forward on its plans to terminate its contract with the home by February 7.

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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services last week posted a new system on its Web site, Nursing Home Compare, that rates all Medicare- and Medicaid-certified nursing homes with a five-star system.

Measuring the quality of a nursing home is not always clear-cut. More that 1.5 million people live in 15,000 nursing homes throughout the country. Each facility is inspected annually and must meet federal standards in order to participate in Medicaid and Medicare. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has established the site to give the public a better understanding of how nursing homes compare to others.

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An Edmond, Okla., nursing home has been fined $3,000 and is currently unable to receive Medicare or Medicaid reimbursements after an investigation found the nursing home did not respond quickly enough or adequately after learning a female resident was being sexually molested by another resident, according to KOKO-TV.

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A Norman, Okla., nursing home could face fines of up to $3,000 a day for numerous deficiencies, including allegations of not fully investigating abuse allegations and endangering patients’ health by not providing condoms to a sexually active, HIV-positive patient, according to KTUL-TV.

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The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is paying millions of dollars in taxpayer money each year to nursing homes, some of which have been cited for below-average care, according to a report by the Des Moines (Iowa) Register. The monies come from bonuses paid to nursing homes for following programs that in many cases are legally required, such as paying minimum wages and installing fire sprinklers for resident safety.

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Pleasant Manor Nursing Home in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was anything but pleasant for some residents there, according to the Tulsa World.

For one resident and her family, it was downright stressful.

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Nurse Haydee Parungano was an independent contractor who traveled Southern California to provide nursing services to Medicare patients. Her records show she worked every day between April 1, 2002, and August 31, 2003, including all weekends and holidays, averaging 20 visits per day.

During this time span, there were 60 days that Parungano claimed to have seen more than 32 patients – a feat that, at 45 minutes per patient, would take more than 24 hours to accomplish.

Last year, Parungano was sentenced to 57 months in federal prison for her role in a health care fraud scheme that ultimately cost Medicare more than $3 million.

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Nearly 8,500 Florida Medicaid recipients have filed a federal lawsuit seeking class action status for forcing them to live in nursing homes instead of where they choose, according to the Associated Press/Miami Herald. The lawsuit names the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration, the Florida Department of Elder Affairs and Florida Gov. Charlie Crist’s office.

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More than 90 percent of nursing homes were cited for violations of federal health and safety standards last year, according to the New York Times . Seventeen percent of nursing facilities had serious deficiencies such as bedsores, medication mix-ups, poor nutrition, and abuse and neglect.

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