Yourlawyer.com (Nursing Home Abuse / Negligence News)

Nursing Home Ratings System to be Online By Year's End

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0700

A new nursing home rating system should be up and running on the Medicare Website by the end of this year. The new site will employ a 5-star system to rate nursing homes based on government inspection results, staffing data and quality measures. It is hoped that the new ratings systems will act as an incentive to encourage nursing homes to improve quality, and to stem the high rate of nursing home abuse and neglect that endangers so many residents.

There are 16,400 nursing homes with over 1.5 million residents nationwide. Unfortunately, the quality of many nursing homes is questionable - according to a recent report by the General Accounting Office, approximately one-fifth of all nursing homes were cited for serious deficiencies last year. The National Center on Elder Abuse estimates at least one in 20 nursing home patients has been the victim of negligence and or abuse, though it concedes that the number is probably higher. According to the National Center’s study, 57% of nurses’ aides in long-term care facilities admitted to having witnessed, and even participating in, acts of negligence and abuse. Data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that nursing home neglect played role in the deaths of nearly 14,000 nursing home patients between 1999 and 2002. Even when the consequences are not fatal, nursing home negligence robs victims of a sense of security and their dignity.

Information on nursing home quality can be tough to come by for families in the process of selecting a facility for a loved one. The new ratings use information on a facility's staffing level, the number of patients with bed sores, violations and other data that shed light on the quality of care. It may also include information such as whether a nursing home provides care to patients with dementia or those on ventilators.

Earlier this year, the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services added the identities of so-called Special Focus Facilities — nursing homes that rank in the worst 5% to 10% for inspection results in a given state - to the Nursing Home Compare database on its website. These homes were selected for stepped-up scrutiny by regulators. The list includes about 130 facilities.

Consumer advocates are pleased that Medicare has committed to providing families with a tool they can use to find a quality nursing home, but stress that the site will only be useful if it is easy to use. Ease of use is one of Medicare's major goals for the site, and the agency will be accepting public comments in July and August on the site and its contents.

One patient advocate also told The Wall Street Journal that the new nursing home ratings will rely too much on information furnished by the facilities themselves, which may make them inaccurate. " Too often, nursing facilities report that residents are doing much better than they really are and that they have more staff than they really have," Toby S. Edelman, senior policy attorney with the Center for Medicare Advocacy said. "Relying on nursing homes to describe accurately how well they are doing -- and reporting that information as fact -- just doesn't make sense."

Nursing Home Arbitration Agreements Unfair to Residents

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Nursing home abuse and neglect has reached epidemic levels. Unfortunately, many nursing home patients and their family are signing away one of the most important tools in the fight against abuse and neglect - their right to sue.

The National Center on Elder Abuse estimates at least one in 20 nursing home patients has been the victim of negligence and or abuse, though it concedes that the number is probably higher. According to the National Center’s study, 57% of nurses’ aides in long-term care facilities admitted to having witnessed, and even participating in, acts of negligence and abuse. Data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that nursing home neglect played role in the deaths of nearly 14,000 nursing home patients between 1999 and 2002. Even when the consequences are not fatal, nursing home negligence robs victims of a sense of security and their dignity.

When abuse or negligence occurs, a lawsuit can be one of the most effective ways to force a nursing home to change its ways. Often, the conditions that lead to nursing home abuse and negligence - such as understaffing, inadequate meals, etc. - are the result of management's attempts to cut costs. Sometimes, it is only after the nursing home is forced to pay a hefty lawsuit settlement or judgment that conditions at a facility will change for the better.

Unfortunately, rather than maintain safe facilities for their residents, many nursing homes would rather find other ways to avoid lawsuits. To that end, some nursing homes have started requiring new residents and their families to sign documents that take away their rights to file a lawsuit, and must agree to submit any complaints to binding arbitration. These arbitration agreement are becoming more common, as more and more nursing homes are acquired by giant corporations.

The arbitrators in these nursing home abuse cases are usually corporations themselves, and they are generally paid by the company that owns the nursing home named in the complaint. While the arbitrator is supposed to be an independent party, critics of these agreements say they serve as a shield to for nursing home companies to avoid the consequences of budget and staffing cutbacks.

The nursing home industry defends itself by pointing out that arbitration is voluntarily agreed to and not a condition for admission. But the process of admitting a loved one to a nursing home is often stressful, and accompanied by a slew of paperwork. Many families who have complained about the arbitration process claim they were not really aware of the ramifications of signing an such an agreement.

The confusion over nursing home arbitration agreements has led to the filing of more than 100 lawsuits challenging them. And the controversy has gotten the attention of Congress, where a Senate committee is holding hearings on the issue this week. Both the House and Senate are also considering bills that would make nursing home arbitration agreements unenforceable.

Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., who heads up the Senate Committee on Aging, told the Associated Press that the proposed legislation is not seeking to ban arbitration agreements entirely. Rather, it would require that the decision to go to arbitration would need to be made by both parties after a dispute occurs, not at the time a resident is first admitted to a facility.

Nursing Home Problems Missed in Inspections, GAO Says

Thu, 15 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

In a report scheduled for release today, the Congressional Government Accountability Office (GAO) reveals a widespread “understatement of deficiencies,” that include malnutrition, severe bedsores, overuse of prescription medications, and nursing home resident abuse in the nation’s nursing home inspection reports. The report states that nursing home inspectors routinely ignore or minimize problems that pose serious, immediate patient threats.

Facilities are generally inspected once yearly by state employees who work under contract with the federal government. Federal officials attempt to validate state inspector work by joining them on visits or conducting follow-ups. It was in a follow-up that the GAO discovered the state missed at least one serious deficiency in 15 percent of all inspections. Worse, in nine states—Alabama, Arizona, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Wyoming—inspectors missed serious problems in over 25 percent from 2002 to 2007.

There are 16,400 nursing homes with over 1.5 million residents nationwide; approximately one-fifth of the homes were cited for serious deficiencies last year. “Poor quality of care—worsening pressure sores or untreated weight loss—in a small, but unacceptably high number of nursing homes, continues to harm residents or place them in immediate jeopardy, that is, at risk of death or serious injury,” the report said. Taxpayers spend about $72.5 billion annually to subsidize nursing home care and facilities must meet federal standards to participate in Medicaid and Medicare, which cover over two-thirds of their residents, at a cost of more than $75 billion a year.

Senators Charles E. Grassley (Republican—Iowa) and Herb Kohl (Democrat—Wisconsin and Senate Special Committee on Aging Chairman), requested the study and introduced a bill to upgrade nursing home care and increase penalties for federal standards violations. The maximum fine, now about $10,000, would be increased to $25,000 for a serious deficiency and $100,000 for deficiency resulting in patient death. The senators are pushing their bill for inclusion in a package of Medicare changes Congress is expected to pass in June.

The American Health Care Association, a nursing home trade group, opposes the bill. “We should not be increasing fines, adding auditors, and encouraging a ‘gotcha’ mentality. We should be testing new, less punitive ways to measure and improve the quality of care,” said Bruce A. Yarwood, association’s president. But, David P. Sloane, senior vice president of AARP, the lobby for older Americans, said it was “one of the most significant nursing home reform initiatives” in two decades. Under the bill, nursing homes must provide consumers and the government with more information about their owners and “affiliated or related parties,” including any individual or company with a role in managing operations. Lewis Morris, chief counsel to the inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services, said he has been frustrated in identifying nursing home owners for facilities providing substandard care. “We have found nursing home residents who were grossly dehydrated or malnourished. We’ve found patients with maggot infestations in wounds and dead flesh. We’ve found residents with broken bones that went unmended,” he said. After discovering such problems, the federal government now requires some companies to sign compliance agreements, which are monitored by outside experts.

Elderly in Nursing Homes More Likely to be Depressed Than Those Living at Home

Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

A recent study has shed new light on the frequency of depression among nursing home patients. The study - which involved 272 elderly patients with an average age of 81— looked at how often those patients reported feeling depressed and were prescribed antidepressants at both a long-term care facility and through a home-care agency. The research revealed that patients in a nursing home setting are more likely to be prescribed antidepressants and to self-report depression as compared to those patients being treated in a home-health care setting. Jodi Shapuras and Lindsay Egan, undergraduate students in the social work program at ISU, conducted the research at their internships as part of a senior-level field practicum class. Shapuras and Egan said they weren’t surprised by their findings.

“We are both interested in working with the elderly population in our careers, so we conducted this research to get a better feel for the prevalence of depression in those who need some level of outside care,” said Shapuras of Mitchell, Indiana. “As social workers, it is important to understand the mental health issues, such as depression, within the different care settings. We actually hypothesized that the long-term care patients would utilize antidepressants more and would self-report depression more,” said Egan of Terre Haute, Indiana. “When an individual moves to a long-term care facility, they undergo a tremendous amount of changes. They are no longer able to live independently and are relying on others for care and this greatly affects how they feel about themselves and the world around them.”

At the long-term care facility, 30 percent of the elders in the study reported feeling depressed, versus 11 percent who received care in their homes through medical and social services. The study also found that the long-term care facility prescribed antidepressants to over half of the elders in the study—62 percent—at some point following admission, compared to only a quarter of the home-cared elders.

Shapuras added that in the home-care setting, elders are still residing within a familiar environment. “They are still at home and independently able to complete some activities of daily living, such as bathing, cooking, or feeding themselves, whereas a long-term care patient may not be able to do all of these tasks,” Shapuras said.

Shapuras and Egan presented the findings of their study entitled, “Comparison of Depression in Elders Who Receive Home-Health Care to Elders Residing in a Long-Term Care Facility,” at ISU’s 12th annual Undergraduate and Graduate Research Showcase. The women received first place in the undergraduate oral presentation division.

Shapuras and Egan are hoping their findings will bring attention to the issue of depression in elderly patients who require care to the extent to which antidepressants are prescribed in long-term care settings. “I would like to see more effective alternative treatments researched, as opposed to what seems in many cases to be the automatic prescribing an antidepressants,” Egan said.

Shapuras said she would also like to see more research conducted in this area. “It seems as though medications are sometimes viewed as the ‘fix-all’ when depression becomes apparent,” she said. “I hope to work in the field of gerontology as a social worker and to make some positive changes somewhere along the line.”

Reporting Suspected Nursing Home Abuse

Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Nursing home abuse, though despicable, is hardly uncommon. Although laws vary by state, most states do have laws—which include criminal penalties—in place to protect senior citizens from elder abuse; nursing homes are not exempt from these laws.

Unfortunately, nursing home abuse tends to be underreported because individual homes do not take elder abuse seriously and residents fear embarrassment, injury, even incapacitation for speaking up. As with any abuse, the only way to prevent more instances is to stop it immediately as soon as abuse is suspected.

Thoroughly investigate any nursing home being considered. Undervalued, underpaid, and untrained employees tend to render more abuse. Ask about and watch for high employee turnover rates. Employees who are not properly trained or paid may not be concerned with the residents in their charge and even less concerned about challenging authority if they suspect abuse. In many cases, employees who have been charged with multiple incidents of abuse do not receive punishment and remain employed at the nursing home.

If someone is in life-threatening danger, call 911 immediately. If danger is not immediate, but abuse is suspected, tell someone trustworthy. Contact local adult protective services by speaking with the Eldercare Locator at 1-800-677-1116 between 9:00 am and 8:00 pm Monday-Friday Eastern Time. When making a call to report abuse, be able to provide the elder victim’s address and contact information; known medical problems, including confusion or memory loss; family or other social support system; types of abuse and if any incidents of hitting, yelling, or other abusive behavior have been witnessed; and the caller’s name, address, phone number, and contact method to discuss the abuse. When reporting abuse and not related to the victim, a nursing home abuse hotline is the best option and each state has organizations that monitor these hotlines and can offer assistance. If making a formal complaint against a specific nursing home or staff member, find a sitter to monitor the victim or remove the victim from the facility. Abuse sometimes increases following complaint initiation.

In a harrowing example of widespread elder abuse and negligence, in February, the family of a deceased Norwich, Connecticut man filed what is believed to be the first wrongful death lawsuit against officials at Connecticut’s largest nursing home chain: Haven Healthcare. The suit claimed that misappropriation of Haven funds by Chief Executive Officer Raymond Termini contributed to "deplorable conditions.” The family also sought permission to sue the state departments of public health and social services and Nancy Shaffer, the state's long-term care ombudsman, for failing to investigate and act on complaints lodged by the family. The deceased family member was a patient at Haven homes for over two years when he was rushed to a hospital after his wife found him in excruciating pain and his legs gangrenous and in early rigor mortis, allegedly due to an untreated and infected pressure sore on his hip and physical restraints that immobilized him. The man died two days later.

Also in February, the Bush administration finally published the names of 131 of the nation’s worst nursing homes. There are about 16,400 nursing homes nationwide and taxpayers spend about $72.5 billion annually to subsidize nursing home care. The document containing the nursing homes cited can be accessed at: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/CertificationandComplianc/Downloads/SFFList.pdf

Worst Nursing Homes Named on Federal Website

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Families in need of nursing care for a loved one will now have easier access to a list of the most troubled nursing homes in the country, thanks new information being added to a nursing home website developed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Consumer groups are cheering the move, and say that the site - Nursing Home Compare - is now the most complete national site available for finding specifics on nursing homes and long-term care facilities.

Nursing home abuse is one of the most serious problems facing this country’s elderly. Though it concedes that the true number is probably much higher, The National Center on Elder Abuse estimates at least one in 20 nursing home patients has been the victim of abuse. According to the National Center’s study, 57% of nurses’ aides working in long-term care facilities admitted to having witnessed, and even participating in, acts of abuse. The report sites systemic problems within the nursing home industry, like inadequate pay for workers and chronic understaffing, as contributing to the epidemic of abuse. There are nearly 1.4 million Americans living in nursing homes right now, and that number is expected to more than double in the next decade. As it does, advocates for the elderly and disabled fear that incidences of abuse will continue to climb as well.

Finding out whether or not a nursing home has been cited for violations can be a daunting task for consumers. But the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services has been working to make the task easier. According to The Wall Street Journal, Nursing Home Compare primarily offers summarized information from inspections performed by state agencies, as well as data the nursing homes must compile and submit to regulators about residents. The site, which is updated monthly, has made additions in the past few years, including information about facilities' sprinkler systems and whether the homes provide certain vaccinations. Some of the most helpful information on the site involves pain management, pressure sores and the use of physical restraints.

Now, the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services is adding the identities of so-called Special Focus Facilities -- nursing homes that rank in the worst 5% to 10% for inspection results in a given state - to the Nursing Home Compare database. These homes are selected for stepped-up scrutiny by regulators. The list, which was made public earlier but not integrated in the searchable database, typically includes around 130 facilities, out of approximately 16,000 nursing homes in the U.S

According to The Journal, The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services began making some of the information about troubled nursing homes public last fall, amid a push by Sens. Herb Kohl, a Wisconsin Democrat, and Charles Grassley, an Iowa Republican. The senators are sponsoring a bill that would reveal additional data about nursing homes.

While Nursing Home Compare is an excellent tool for consumer looking for nursing homes, experts are quick to remind that nothing can replace an actual visit for evaluating a facility. In-person observations are the best way to determine if a nursing home is at risk of becoming a neglectful or abusive environment.

"Worst Nursing Home List" Now Online

Wed, 13 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Nursing home abuse and nursing home negligence is a growing problem in the US, but now there is a new tool available to help families avoid the worst nursing homes. The Bush administration finally published the names of 131 of the nation’s worst nursing homes. The administration initially tried to protect the deficient nursing homes, claiming some of the facilities were already showing signs of improvement. But that decision drew the ire of congress, elderly advocates and others who said consumers needed the list to protect loved ones from nursing home abuse and negligence. the list was ultimately released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and represents those troubled facilities that are cited as being a "special focus facility," a designation used to identify facilities needing increased oversight. For these nursing homes, states conduct inspections at six-month intervals rather than annually.

Last November, the government released only a partial list of 54 nursing homes that ranked among the worst in their states, however, a group of Democratic lawmakers pushed for full disclosure. CMS said Tuesday it was publishing the names after cross checking information to ensure they released the most accurate data. CMS will update its list of negligent nursing homes on a quarterly basis, with its next release scheduled for April.

"This is the latest in a series of steps we will be taking to improve quality and oversight in nursing homes," said Kerry Weems, CMS acting administrator. "We are issuing more information on special focus facilities to better equip beneficiaries, their families, and caregivers to make informed decisions and stimulate robust improvements in nursing homes having not improved their quality of care. This should just be one of the tools," Weems added. "There is no substitute for visiting the nursing home in person."

The list released Tuesday shows 52 nursing homes as not showing improvement after they were cited as being a higher-risk nursing home, while another 52 indicated some improvement. Twenty-seven nursing homes were added to the list in the last six months. Of the original 54 nursing homes disclosed as poor performers last November, 21 have shown some improvement, CMS said, adding that publicity about the problems might have played a factor in the changes.

There are about 16,400 nursing homes nationwide and taxpayers spend about $72.5 billion annually to subsidize nursing home care.

While most nursing homes have some deficiencies, with the average being six to seven deficiencies per survey, the “special focus facilities” exhibited about double that amount and continue to have problems over a long period of time. Each state determines which nursing homes should receive the designation; inspection standards vary among the states.

The offenses that land a facility in the “special focus” category typically involve unnecessary use of medication for elderly residents or inadequate safeguards to protect residents, such as those with Alzheimer's disease, from day-to-day hazards in the nursing home.

Senator Herb Kohl (Democrat-Wisconsin), who chairs the Senate Special Committee on Aging, praised CMS' move saying, "We believe that Americans should have access to as much information about a nursing home as possible," he said. "We also agree that giving consumers more information about our nation's nursing homes is a good idea, but that doing so in a manner that causes a panic is not."

The document containing the nursing homes cited can be accessed at: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/CertificationandComplianc/Downloads/SFFList.pdf

Nursing Home Abuse Concerns Rise in Florida Amid Manor Care Purchase, Publication of Nursing Home "Watch List"

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 00:00:00 -0800

The issue of nursing home abuse is making news in Florida, where the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and some state lawmakers are urging regulators to examine the issues of nursing home abuse and neglect as they consider granting a nursing home license to a private equity firm that recently purchased facilities in Florida and around the country. The Carlyle Group purchased HCR Manor Care for $4.9 million, and now owns 29 nursing throughout Florida. The SEIU and other nursing home advocates fear that the Carlyle Group will move to cut costs at the nursing homes it owns, something that could put nursing home residents at risk for abuse and neglect. Those concerns have only been heightened by the Florida nursing home “watch list” which already cites some Manor Care properties for providing inadequate care to nursing home patients.

Recently, private investment firms have looked to nursing homes as a possible route to easy money. These firms buy facilities, drastically reduce their costs, then turn around and sell them at huge profits. Private investment groups have been targeting some of the biggest nursing home concerns, in turn affecting the care of millions of patients. In addition to Carlyle’s purchases of HCR Manor Car, Genesis Healthcare Corp. agreed to be bought by private equity in January, and Beverly Enterprises went private in 2005.

But these acquisitions could be coming at a great cost to nursing home patients. According to a New York Times investigation, facilities owned by private investment firms score worse than national rates in 12 of 14 indicators regulators used to track ailments of nursing home residents. And the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services says that residents of such nursing homes suffer more from depression, loss of mobility and the loss of the ability to dress and bath themselves. And both federal and state regulators told the New York Times that citations for quality-of-care deficiencies, like moldy food and restraining residents for long periods of time, rose at every large nursing home chain that was acquired by a private investment group. While the Manor Care sale has been approved by shareholders, Florida is one of several states still deciding whether to give Carlyle a license to run the nursing homes.

Meanwhile, a Florida nursing home “watch list” indicates that many nursing homes in the state are problematic, and two of Manor Care’s nursing homes are already on that list. According to inspection records, staff at Manor Care Health Services in Boca Raton served residents cold food, failed to wash their hands before administering medicines and did not follow doctors' orders to remove catheters and treat patients' wounds. In all, 139 of the state's 650 nursing homes are on the watch list. The watch list is part of the state Agency for Health Care Administration's nursing home guide, which grades facilities based on inspection results and is updated every three months. The nursing homes are ranked relative to each other with the best homes getting five stars and the worst getting one star. In addition to Manor Care, some of the homes on the list were also owned by major chains including Classic Residence by Hyatt, which owns 76 nursing homes in the United States.

Nursing Home Abuse Law Could Stiffen Penalties, Change Rules Regarding Private Equity Firms

Fri, 16 Nov 2007 00:00:00 -0800

Nursing home abuse is finally getting some attention from Congress, where two separate hearings were held yesterday to discuss the problem. Committees from both the House of Representatives and the Senate took up the nursing home abuse issue, and now Congress will consider legislation to deal with this serious problem.

Nursing home abuse is one of the most serious problems facing this country’s elderly. Though it concedes that the true number is probably much higher, The National Center on Elder Abuse estimates at least one in 20 nursing home patients has been the victim of abuse. According to the National Center’s study, 57% of nurses’ aides working in long-term care facilities admitted to having witnessed, and even participating in, acts of abuse. The report sites systemic problems within the nursing home industry, like inadequate pay for workers and chronic understaffing, as contributing to the epidemic of abuse. There are nearly 1.4 million Americans living in nursing homes right now, and that number is expected to more than double in the next decade. As it does, advocates for the elderly and disabled fear that incidences of abuse will continue to climb as well.

As a result of yesterday’s hearings, two Senators, Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) and Herb Kohl (D-Wisconsin), are working on legislation that would stiffen penalties for nursing home abuse. The bipartisan legislation would give more enforcement power to the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which oversees state inspections of the nation's 16,400 nursing homes and also pays for the care of many poor and elderly residents.

The bill would also address growing concern about increased ownership of nursing homes by private equity firms, amid media reports that such ownership leads to poor quality care. Private equity firms generally buy nursing facilities, cut costs and resell them for a profit. But these acquisitions could be coming at a great cost to nursing home patients. According to a New York Times investigation, facilities owned by private investment firms score worse than national rates in 12 of 14 indicators regulators used to track ailments of nursing home residents. And the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services says that residents of such nursing homes suffer more from depression, loss of mobility and the loss of the ability to dress and bath themselves. Unfortunately, private investment firms have created complex corporate structures that obscure nursing home ownership, making it difficult to hold them accountable for nursing home abuse. The complex ownership structure also means that sometimes managers can even legally bypass Medicare and Medicaid reporting requirements. The proposed nursing home abuse legislation would require public reporting of ownership information, including affiliates, and deny payments for new residents until problems are fixed.

Advocates for nursing home residents can only hope that the legislation proposed by Grassley and Kohl will soon become law, although similar legislation has languished in Congress before.

Nursing Home Neglect of Eye Care Erodes Quality of Life, Leave Residents at Risk of Depression

Tue, 13 Nov 2007 00:00:00 -0800

Nursing home neglect often includes a lack of vision care for nursing home residents, a recent study has found. Unfortunately, this problem can have serious implications, as the same study has also discovered that nursing home patients who lack basic eye care have a lower quality of life and are at a higher risk for depression.

Researchers at the University of Alabama, Birmingham have been looking at the lack of eye care services for nursing home patients for some time.   Earlier this summer, they published the first phase of their nursing home vision care survey. The investigation covered a total of 380 patients age 55 and older. In addition to examining medical records, each nursing home patient was interviewed about their use of eyeglasses and vision care. What the study found was startling. Even though 90 percent of the nursing home residents had health insurance, two thirds had no reference to an eye exam in their medical chart. When interviewed, 28 percent of residents said that their last exam occurred the previous year, while 20 percent said that it had been more than two years since their last exam. A third of patients couldn’t recall the last time they had an eye examination.

While the lack of vision care services is considered a form of nursing home neglect, the Alabama study found that often such care is withheld out of ignorance rather than malevolence.   Many nursing home staff – and even the residents’ own families – do not believe that providing eyeglasses to nursing home residents with physical or mental disabilities will offer them any benefits. But the second phase of the University of Alabama study suggests that such assumptions are off the mark.

For this portion of their research, the study authors followed two groups of nursing home patients to see if access to eyeglasses improved quality of life. According to an article published in the "Archive of Ophthalmology", the first group of 78 nursing home residents were given eyeglasses just a week after having received an eye exam.   The second group of 64 people received their glasses two months after the eye exam.   Of the two groups, those who received eyeglasses soonest had higher scores for vision, reading, activity and hobby participation, and social interaction compared with the second group. The first group of nursing home residents also exhibited fewer depressive symptoms than those who had to wait for eyeglasses.

While nursing home residents are 15 times more likely to have vision problems than people with other living arrangements, only 12 percent of US nursing homes have eye doctors on staff.   The authors of the nursing home eye care study wrote in the “Archives of Ophthalmology” that their findings illustrate a need for an examination into the factors that contribute to a lack of eye care availability for nursing home residents.

Nursing Home Abuse Bill Sits in Congress, as Elder Abuse Reaches Epidemic Proportions

Thu, 01 Nov 2007 00:00:00 -0700

A nursing home abuse bill, the Elder Justice Act, has been under consideration in Congress for the past five years but has received scant attention and has yet to be passed. Although nursing home and elder abuse are serious and growing problems in this country, the nursing home abuse bill has never even been voted on. While no one in Congress opposes the nursing home abuse legislation, few are trying to push it through the legislative process.

Congressional critics say that the Elder Justice Act has not been passed for a number of reasons that have little to nothing to do with the bill itself. For one thing, Congress has been distracted by the war in Iraq and partisan bickering. But for the most part, they say the Elder Justice Act has been allowed to collect dust because the issue of nursing home abuse has not garnered the kind of media attention it deserves. This past summer, while much of the media was focused on the problems of Paris Hilton and Brittany Spears, Congress held hearings on nursing home abuse. Those hearings were not covered by one major TV news network.

But the issue of nursing home abuse should be getting more attention, just based on the shear numbers of elderly affected by this crime. Though it concedes that the true number is probably much higher, The National Center on Elder Abuse estimates at least one in 20 nursing home patients has been the victim of abuse. According to the National Center’s study, 57% of nurses’ aides working in long-term care facilities admitted to having witnessed, and even participating in, acts of abuse. The report sites systemic problems within the nursing home industry, like inadequate pay for workers and chronic understaffing, as contributing to the epidemic of abuse. There are nearly 1.4 million Americans living in nursing homes right now, and that number is expected to more than double in the next decade. As it does, advocates for the elderly and disabled fear that incidences of abuse will continue to climb as well.

The Elder Justice Act, while not a cure for nursing home abuse, would bolster efforts to combat this crime. The Elder Justice Act would set up separate elderly justice offices in the U.S. Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services, provide $400 million for state adult protective services over four years and create a federal coordinating committee among agencies to monitor and direct the government's efforts. The bill would also establish forensic centers around the country to probe elderly abuse cases and give local prosecutors more support in bringing cases. And it would penalize nursing homes if they did not report crimes swiftly.

Last year, the Elder Justice Act was finally passed by the Senate Finance Committee, but it was never voted on by the full Senate. Now byzantine Senate rules mean that the nursing home abuse bill will have to go through several more committees before it is up for a vote. And some Senate watchers fear that, with a public more focused on the escapades of Brittany than the problems of the elderly, the Elder Justice Act will never be voted on.

Nursing Home Abuse at Privately-Held Facilities Should be Investigated, Say Senators Clinton and Grassley

Wed, 03 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0700

To US Senators want to know if nursing home abuse and neglect are more prevalent in facilities owned by private Wall Street equity firms, and they are asking the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to find out.   Their requests come on the heels of a New York Times investigation that found that the quality of care at nursing homes dropped sharply after they were acquired by private investment concerns.

Senators Hilary Clinton (D-NY) and Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) based their requests on the report in the New York Times that said drastic cost cutting measures imposed on nursing homes once they were purchased by private equity firms made nursing home neglect and abuse far more likely.   Recently, private investment firms have looked to nursing homes as a possible route to easy money.   These firms buy facilities, drastically reduce their costs, then turn around and sell them at huge profits.

Private investment groups have been targeting some of the biggest nursing home concerns, in turn affecting the care of millions of patients. Just this August, the private equity firm Carlyle Group won antitrust clearance to buy Manor Care Inc, the largest U.S. nursing home owner for $4.9 billion. Another chain, Genesis Healthcare Corp. agreed to be bought by private equity in January, and Beverly Enterprises went private in 2005.

But these acquisitions could be coming at a great cost to nursing home patients. According to the New York Times investigation, facilities owned by private investment firms score worse than national rates in 12 of 14 indicators regulators used to track ailments of nursing home residents.   And the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services says that residents of such nursing homes suffer more from depression, loss of mobility and the loss of the ability to dress and bath themselves.   And both federal and state regulators told the New York Times that citations for quality-of-care deficiencies, like moldy food and restraining residents for long periods of time, rose at every large nursing home chain that was acquired by a private investment group.

Unfortunately, these privately-owned nursing homes are not always subject to the same legal consequences that other facilities would face for providing inadequate care to nursing home patients. Normally, the family of a resident suffering from nursing home abuse or neglect might sue the home’s owners, and regulators could impose stiff fines if conditions weren’t up to standard.   But private investment firms have created complex corporate structures that obscure exactly who owns a nursing home, making lawsuits more difficult. And the complex ownership structure also means that sometimes managers can even legally bypass Medicare and Medicaid reporting requirements.

In making his request to the GAO, Grassley asked that the agency analyze the number of private equity deals involving nursing homes, and quality and safety issues before and after changes in ownership. Clinton asked for an assessment of 63 firms in particular that the GAO cited in March as having a troubled history.

Advocates for nursing home residents can only hope that the Senators’ requests will eventually lead Congress to take action that will make private equity firms responsible for the nursing home abuse and neglect that occurs at the facilities they own.

Nursing Home Abuse, Neglect More Common in Facilities Owned by Private Investment Firms

Mon, 24 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0700

Nursing homes are big business, and some private Wall Street investment firms have taken notice. In recent years, large groups have been gobbling up nursing homes, which they use to rake in millions of dollars in profits.   But often, those profits come at a devastating price to nursing home residents, who must bear the brunt of an investment firm’s cost-cutting efforts.

According to a report published in Monday’s New York Times, private equity firms like the Carlyle Group and Warburg Pincus, have been buying nursing homes by the hundreds. Once they have acquired a home, these private companies often employ aggressive cost cutting measures to increase profits.   Often, this means reducing nursing staff, and cutting budgets for supplies, activities and even meals.   As a result, an environment is created that is ripe for nursing home neglect.

Take the case of Habana Health Care, a 150-bed facility in Tampa, Florida.   According to the New York Times, Habana was struggling to make ends meet when it was purchased by a group of private investment firms.   Immediately after taking it over, the new management cut costs, including reducing Habana’s staff of registered nurses by half.   Soon, the new investors were reaping large financial rewards.

But Habana’s residents weren’t doing nearly as well.   The New York Times reports that over three years, 15 Habana nursing home residents died from what their families termed negligent care.   During inspections, regulators found staffing below minimum levels, as well as malfunctioning fire doors, unhygienic kitchens and one resident forced to use a broken leg brace.

Unfortunately, Habana is not an isolated incident.   According to the New York Times, facilities owned by private investment firms score worse than national rates in 12 of 14 indicators regulators used to track ailments of nursing home residents.   And the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services says that residents of such nursing homes suffer more from depression, loss of mobility and the loss of the ability to dress and bath themselves.   And both federal and state regulators told the New York Times that citations for quality-of-care deficiencies, like moldy food and restraining residents for long periods of time, rose at every large nursing home chain that was acquired by a private investment group.

Normally, the family of a nursing home resident suffering from substandard care might sue the home’s owners, and regulators could impose stiff fines if conditions weren’t up to standard.   But private investment firms have created complex corporate structures that obscure exactly who own a nursing home, making lawsuits more difficult. And the complex ownership structure also means that sometimes managers can legally bypass Medicare and Medicaid reporting requirements.

Several groups are pushing to make such complex corporate structures illegal, but private equity firms are lobbying hard against such laws.   Meanwhile, these companies continue to see huge profits from their nursing home acquisitions, even as the nursing home residents suffer from neglect. According to the New York Times, the investment group that purchased the Habana Health Care Center recently sold it, along with 185 other facilities, for a whopping $1.4 billion.

Nursing Home Abuse and Elder Abuse Screening Programs Should be Routine In Hospitals

Wed, 05 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0700

Nursing home abuse and elder abuse are among some of the most-under reported crimes, but a new study offers hope that more cases could be uncovered.   While most victims of elder abuse won’t answer direct questions about this crime, health care professionals and social workers who have received training in this area can become adept at screening older patients for the signs of abuse whenever they are admitted to the hospital. But for such a screening system to work, those who work with the elderly must become familiar with both the signs of elder abuse, and the risk factors that make it likely.

In the United States, about 2500 cases of physical abuse by nursing home staff are being reported each year. The National Center on Elder Abuse estimates at least one in 20 nursing home patients has been the victim of abuse. And sadly, an elderly person’s home is not much safer, with three out of five cases of elder abuse occurring in the senior’s own home at the hands of family members. Because this type of abuse can easily be covered up, the true number is not really known. For this reason, an effective method of screening for nursing home abuse and elder abuse is urgently needed.

Israeli researchers studied 730 men and women age 70 and over who had been admitted to two major Israeli medical centers. They found that only 6-percent would report abuse if asked about the crime directly. However, far more had signs that indicated they were victims of this abuse.   The researchers found that when nurses and social workers assessed patients who were admitted to the hospital, they found that 21-percent exhibited signs of abuse, including unexplained bruises and burns, angry behavior, and poor hygiene or dehydration. An assessment of patients’ risk for abuse found that 21-percent exhibited the risk factors most often associated with elder abuse. Those risk factors include emotional instability and poor family relationships.

The authors of the study, which appeared in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, wrote that their findings indicate that routine screening of elderly patients should be standard practice whenever they are admitted to the hospital. Though the Israeli study looked at elderly patients who were being cared for by family members, such screening could be particularly useful with nursing home residents, who are also subject to high rates of abuse. Unfortunately, these residents can’t always count on other healthcare workers in their nursing home to help.   According to the National Center’s study, 57-percent of nurses’ aides working in long-term care facilities admitted to having witnessed, and even participating in, acts of abuse.

Because many elderly are often too frightened or confused to report elder or nursing home abuse, hospital personnel are often the only ones in a position to discover this hideous crime. The institution of routine elder and nursing home abuse screening programs at hospitals could potentially improve the lives of thousands of senior citizens.

Nursing Home Neglect Takes on Many Forms: Patients Not Always Getting the Eye Care They Need

Mon, 16 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0700

The widespread yet heavily underreported problem of Nursing Home Neglect takes on many unexpected forms, one of which being simple eye care. Nursing homes often neglect to provide residents with even the most basic vision care. A study conducted by the University of Alabama at Birmingham found that nearly a third of the nursing home patients it followed had never received an eye exam after being admitted to a long-term-care facility. This occurred despite the fact that more than half of the patients in the study had some form of visual impairment.

Researchers from the university analyzed medical records from 17 Birmingham-area nursing homes. The investigation covered a total of 380 patients age 55 and older. In addition to examining medical records, each nursing home patient was interviewed about their use of eyeglasses and vision care. What the study found was startling. Even though 90 percent of the nursing home residents had health insurance, two thirds had no reference to an eye exam in their medical chart. When interviewed, 28-percent of residents said that their last exam occurred the previous year, while 20-percent said that it had been more than two years since their last exam. A third of patients couldn’t recall the last time they had an eye examination.

The withholding of medical care like eye exams is considered a form of nursing home neglect. Eye care can be difficult for long-term-care patients to access because they often must rely on the nursing home to provide transportation to an eye doctor. There is also a shortage of eye care professionals who serve the geriatric community. But the Birmingham study is especially surprising because each of the nursing homes in the study had access to optometrists who visited frequently. The study said that some nursing home staff might believe that eye care would be of little benefit to patients with cognitive problems like dementia, and that could account for the lack of available eye care services in the facilities.

Fifty seven-percent of the nursing home patients in the study suffered from visual impairment. The researches defined visual impairment as having worse than 20/40 vision in the best eye. This is 15 times higher than rates for adults the same age who do not live in long-term-care facilities. While the study could not pinpoint a reason for this disparity, the researches did say that people who are visually impaired could be more likely to enter a nursing home. Three quarters of the residents had abnormal binocular contrast sensitivity, a condition that makes it difficult for people to see the boundaries of objects. A condition like this makes mobility difficult, and could factor into the decision to move an elderly person to a nursing home.

The data used in the study did not indicate if these visually impaired patients could be helped with treatment. However, 37-percent of visual problems, and even 20-percent of blindness can be corrected with glasses, contacts or surgery. It seems obvious that some of the nursing home patients followed in this study would have benefited from proper eye care.

Nursing Home Abuse & Violence Among Residents Common, Yet Severely Understudied

Thu, 12 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0700

Physical abuse in a nursing home is not always perpetrated by staff. According to a Cornell University Study, resident-on-resident violence in long-term-care facilities is far more prevalent than previously thought. But the authors of the study concede that they really don’t know how widespread this problem is because nursing home abuse is still woefully understudied.

The new study, funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is only the second published report to look at patient-to-patient violence. Cornell University examined the records of 747 nursing home patients over the course of the study. Of those, 42 where involved in 79 incidents at nursing homes that actually required police intervention. The finding surprised researchers, especially because the study was not even focused on nursing homes. Rather, it looked at overall community crime, and nursing homes where just one area that was examined.

The report states that “abuse” might not be the correct term for these types of patient-related incidents. Many nursing home patients suffer from varying degrees of dementia, and this often plays a factor in the violence. The violence is not usually malicious, but often is the result of confusion on the part of residents. More often than not, these incidents involve a fight between two patients. Common triggers can be unwanted touching or disputes over television.

Even though this type of violence does not fit the classic definition of nursing home abuse, it is often the byproduct of a neglectful staff. Conflicts are far more likely to escalate to physical violence when patients are unattended. However, attentive staff can take steps to separate feuding patients before the situation deteriorates.

The report also questions the wisdom of housing dementia patients together. This is standard practice in most nursing homes, which generally have a dementia ward. But, because dementia often triggers violence, the report suggests it might be better to incorporate these patients into the general population as much as possible.

The Cornell study highlights the need for more research into nursing home abuse. Some estimates suggest that as many as one in 20 nursing home residents are victims of nursing home abuse, but it is not known how often the perpetrators are residents. Because there is no uniform system for reporting nursing home violence, experts on elder abuse concede that current estimates are probably just the tip of the iceberg. Compounding the problem is the fact that many nursing homes are loath to report incidences of abuse for fear of losing their licenses. And there is no requirement to report resident-on-resident violence. In fact, the Cornell researchers only looked at cases that involved police calls. There were simply no records available to them detailing physical confrontations between residents that did not escalate to this level of violence.

Nursing Home Abuse: Neglect, Physical and Even Sexual Abuse are the Harsh Realities Facing Today's Elderly

Thu, 21 Jun 2007 00:00:00 -0700

The revolting reality of Nursing Home Abuse is on the rise. Though it concedes that the true number is probably much higher, The National Center on Elder Abuse estimates at least one in 20 nursing home patients has been the victim of abuse. There are nearly 1.4 million Americans that are living in nursing homes right now, and that number expected to more than double in the next decade. As it does, advocates for the elderly and disabled fear that incidences of abuse will continue to climb as well.

Unfortunately, a nursing home is not always the place of respite and healing it should be. According to the National Center’s study, 57% of nurses’ aides working in long-term care facilities admitted to witness, and even participating in, acts of nursing home abuse. The report sites systemic problems within the nursing home industry, like inadequate pay for workers and chronic understaffing, as contributing to the epidemic of abuse.

Anyone with a loved one in a nursing home needs to be aware of the signs of abuse. Neglect is the most common form, and is easily recognizable if family members know what to look for. Patients in soiled beds and clothes, or those suffering from bedsores and frozen joints could be victims of neglect. Indications that a patient is over or under medicated can also signal neglect.

Neglect is most often caused by understaffing at nursing homes. However, this does not mean that neglect is more benign than other forms of abuse. In fact it can be deadly, as it was for an Alzheimer’s patient living at the Atrium I Nursing Home in Pennsylvania. The 88-year-old woman was allowed to wander away from the facility and died from exposure. The nursing home administrator was later charged and convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the patient’s death.

About 2500 cases of physical abuse by nursing home staff are being reported each year. Because this type of abuse can easily be covered up by staff, the true number is not really known. Elderly people can often be victims of falls, so sometimes, bruises, sprains or factures do not alarm a patient’s loved one. However, if these injuries cannot be fully explained, or if they are occurring frequently, further investigation is probably needed.

One of the most insidious forms of nursing home abuse is sexual abuse. According to a 1996 Medicaid Fraud Report, 10% of all physical abuse cases in nursing homes are of a sexual nature. Sexual predators will usually take advantage of disabled patients who are physically unable to tell anyone about their assaults. Often, this type of abuse is only discovered when a patient shows evidence of sexual contact, perhaps in the form of a sexually transmitted disease. In Illinois the repeated rape of a mentally disabled woman wasn’t discovered until she became pregnant. A nurses’ aid was charged and plead guilty to sexual assault in that case last month.

Because its victims are so helpless, nursing home abuse is one of the most underreported crimes in our nation Families of nursing home patients must become aware of the signs of abuse, and they must be willing to advocate for their loved one. Often, family members are the only people who can prevent a tragic outcome for a long-term care patient.

Many Nursing Home Residents Fail to Receive Adequate Pain Control Due to Deficiencies in Medication Prescribing Practices Study

Sun, 05 Mar 2006 00:00:00 -0800

A new study conducted by an interdisciplinary team of researchers, and published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, has found that the medication prescribing practices in place at many nursing homes results in poor pain management in residents.

As reported in Medical News Today (3/4/06), the researchers “designed and tested a Nursing Home Pain Medication Appropriateness Scale (PMAS) to screen the overall suitability of prescribing practices for pain in a nursing home setting.”

The team then compared pain assessments performed by trained assistants to the actual medications being prescribed to the residents being evaluated.

The results of the analysis were disappointing in that the “mean” total PMAS was only 64% of optimal and less than 50% of the residents who had “predictably recurrent pain” were actually receiving pain medication. Prescribing of pain medication on the PMAS was found to be better in situations where residents were not in recurrent pain.

Pain is a significant problem in older people and nursing home residents are certainly no exception. The American Geriatrics Society estimates that between 45% and 80% of nursing home residents experience significant pain (Panel on Persistent Pain in Older Persons).

Living in pain, as a result of inadequate pain management, tends to lower a persons overall quality of life and leads to other consequences such as sleep deprivation, poor nutrition, depression, anxiety, agitation, decreased activity, and delayed healing.

According to the researchers: "The inclusion of pain as a quality measure for both short-term and long-term residents is intended to provide an incentive for nursing homes to improve their practices in this area. The use of evidence-based process measures will permit an organization to begin addressing persistent problems in pain management."

Texas Jury Returns $160 Million Verdict for Vicious Beating of 81-Year-Old Nursing Home Resident by Violent Roommate

Thu, 23 Feb 2006 00:00:00 -0800

Although the award will likely be substantially reduced by the trial judge or a Texas appellate court, a San Antonio jury has returned a verdict $160 million in favor of the family of Tranquilino Mendoza, an 81-year-old man who was viciously beaten by a mentally disturbed roommate at the Comanche Trail Nursing Center in 1997.

The jury found that Summit Care Corp., its Texas affiliate, and two of its employees shared responsibility for this particularly brutal beating and its aftermath. Mr. Mendoza survived the attack but died less than three years later from unrelated causes.

"I wish my daddy was here. "I'm glad I had the opportunity to finish what he started.” said an emotional Rosamarie Paradez, who brought the action on behalf of Mr. Mendoza’s estate as his administratrix.

The attorney for the defendants said members Mendoza's family had testified that he had received excellent care the Mr. Mendoza received at the Comanche Trail Nursing Center before the attack. Moreover, defendants argued that, despite the severity of the beating he received, Mendoza made a full and speedy recovery from his injuries.

Defense counsel claimed that, while defendants always wanted “to reasonably compensate Mr. Mendoza and his family for the injuries he sustained," the “enormity of the jury's verdict” makes it necessary for defendants “to pursue available legal remedies."

The evidence at trial showed that Mendoza's roommate had been involved in some 30 assaults prior to his being moved in with the elderly Mendoza on September 26, 1997.

Only two days later, the violent roommate brutally attacked Mendoza with a water pitcher, a glass, and his fists. Although he lived for almost three years after the attack, the jury was convinced that Mendoza never recovered from the severe trauma he suffered as a result of the beating.

(Source: Express-News [San Antonio] 2/23/06)

Jury awards $160 million in nursing home suit

Thu, 23 Feb 2006 00:00:00 -0800

After hearing claims that a nursing home knowingly paired a frail 81-year-old man with a violent, mentally ill roommate who viciously pummeled him, a jury responded Wednesday with one of the largest civil judgments ever awarded in San Antonio.

Finding that Summit Care Corp., its Texas affiliate and two nursing home employees shared the blame for the beating and its after effects, the jury awarded a total of $160 million to the estate of Tranquilino Mendoza, who died less than three years after the attack, from unrelated causes.

Mendoza's daughter was overcome with emotion upon hearing the verdict.

"I wish my daddy was here," said a sobbing Rosamarie Paradez, who as administrator of Mendoza's estate pursued the case after his death.

"I'm glad I had the opportunity to finish what he started."

An attorney for the defendants, said members of Mendoza's family agreed during trial that he received excellent care at the Comanche Trail Nursing Center until the attack. She said medical records demon-strated that Mendoza recovered quickly and fully from his injuries.

"It has been our desire to fairly and reasonably compensate Mr. Mendoza and his family for the injuries he sustained," the defendants attorney said. "Because of the enormity of the jury's verdict, we intend to pursue available legal remedies."

During a trial that ran nearly two weeks before 73rd District Judge Andy Mireles, attorneys for the plaintiffs offered evidence that Mendoza's roommate was involved in 30 assaults before he was paired with Mendoza.

On Sept. 28, 1997, two days after they were assigned to live together, the roommate beat Mendoza with a water pitcher, a glass and his fists. Attorneys said Mendoza was seriously injured and never recovered from the trauma.

There is no definitive list of the largest civil judgments awarded in Bexar County, but the nursing-home case easily ranks among them. In recent memory, three juries in San Antonio's county and federal courts awarded larger sums.

In 1992, a jury awarded $1.3 billion to two men and an Australian firm in a breach of contract lawsuit in a purported con involving 1.75 million ounces of gold.

Mexican-based grocery wholesaler Valores Corp. won a 1999 breach-of-contract lawsuit against Wal-Mart Stores. The jury awarded $624 million in actual damages; the case was settled before punitive damages were awarded.

In 2002, a jury ordered Hillenbrand Industries to pay nearly $174 million to San Antonio-based Kinetic Concepts in a federal antitrust lawsuit.

Class-Action Lawsuit Seeks $600 Million in Connection with Outbreak of Legionnaires' Disease in Toronto Nursing Home that Has Already Killed 21

Thu, 27 Oct 2005 00:00:00 -0700

In the aftermath of one of the deadliest outbreaks of legionnaires’ disease ever, a 58-year-old Toronto resident, who contracted the illness, has commenced a $600 million class-action lawsuit according to a report by CTV News.

That report states in part: “Gerald Glover, 58, was infected with legionnaires' disease earlier this month during the outbreak at the Seven Oaks Home for the Aged in Scarborough. His family is baffled because Glover lives in a building across the parking lot from the home, and they say he hasn't even been in Seven Oaks.

Glover collapsed on Oct. 5 and was admitted to hospital with kidney failure, pneumonia, and temporary loss of memory and hearing. Glover’s daughter Cheryl Glover told CTV News that the suit is aimed at addressing her family's suffering.

‘It's never been about the money,’ she said. ‘We've been to the hospital and seen what they go through my dad has been hooked up to IVs in his arms and a huge one in his neck because of kidney failure, his stomach is all bruised up from being a pin cushion, and we still have no answers.’

The Glover family's lawyer, Glyn Hotz, said he has received phone calls from others interested in joining the class action suit. He said residents should have been better protected.”

According to Hotz: “Toronto Public Health should have taken measures to protect people in the home. They should have had preventative antibiotics and maybe even have moved people. They certainly should have shut the ventilation off, and instead they warned nobody."

After autopsy results confirmed at least three of the deaths at the Seven Oaks Home for the Aged in Toronto were directly linked to legionnaires’ the disease, the search intensified to find the source of the outbreak.

Although health officials had been stressing the fact that all of the dead have been elderly and infirm and that there is no danger to the general public, 30 employees, 26 visitors to the home, one hospital worker, and four people who live or work in the area (including Glover) had also been affected. Including residents of the facility, 127 cases of the disease have been diagnosed.

The search for the source of the disease was conducted by the Public Health Agency of Canada. Plumbing and air conditionaing systems at Seven Oakes were checked and a scan of a one-mile radius around the facility was conducted.

Three scientists and two technicians from the agency’s National Microbiology Laboratory were also sent to Toronto to conduct numerous tests aimed at locating the point of origin of the bacterium known as legionella pneumophilus bacterium. Environmental specialists were also called in to help identify possible sources of the bacteria.

Finally, last Friday, it was announced that the source of the outbreak was traced to the cooling tower on the roof of the nursing home. The bacteria samples from the cooling unit were found to be the same as those taken from the infected residents.

The cooling tower had been shut down on October 6, the day that legionnaires’ disease was identified as the probably cause of the outbreak.

Health officials concluded that an air intake for the home's ventilation system located next to the cooling tower allowed droplets of water containing the bacteria to be spread through the home by the ventilation system. There was no immediate evidence that the cooling tower had been improperly maintained.

Airborne droplets from the tower were blamed for spreading the illness to the four people in the vicinity of the nursing home who were also infected.

Shortly before Friday’s press conference, the 20th death among the home’s residents was announced. That number has since risen to 21 with the death of an 89-year-old resident of the home. Presently, eight victims of the disease remain hospitalized.

Indiana Nursing Home Investigated in Series of Abuse Incidents

Sat, 22 Oct 2005 00:00:00 -0700

State officials in Indiana (U.S.) have banned the Hanover Nursing Center from admitting any new residents as the result of an investigation into a series of incidents involving the abuse of several elderly inhabitants.

One such incident involved a 79-year-old woman who was severely beaten and left with a bloody face.

The Indiana Department of Health has released a report indicating that four Hanover residents were physically or verbally abused since August of 2005. The agency issued an emergency order banning the admission of new residents to the facility. A daily fine of $4,050, which began at the end of August, was also recommended.

Two former Hanover aides are facing charges in relation to the abuse allegations. One is facing a felony battery charge for an attack on a female Alzheimer’s patient and the other is facing a misdemeanor charge for failing to report the event. Both aides pleaded not guilty but are now facing trial on January 12, 2006.

The former aide charged with felony battery is Amy Johnson, who is accused of attacking a female resident in the center’s Alzheimer's unit on August 30.

According to the state's report, Johnson, 28, wrapped her left arm around the resident's neck, punched her in the face, and then asked her "how she liked it." Following the assault, the elderly woman had blackened eyes and blood gushing from her mouth and nose.

Seven other employees were fired because of claims of abuse, including an incident where a male resident was choked "so hard he was turning blue." He also had his thumbs bent back by two aides when he refused to go to bed.

Hanover is managed by Medical Rehabilitation Centers Inc., of Lexington, Kentucky. Executives of the company have called these abuse claims isolated incidents and said that they are enforcing a zero-tolerance policy on abuse like many other nursing homes. The Hanover nursing home is one of 15 such facilities in Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin managed by Medical Rehabilitation Centers.

Medical Rehabilitation Centers claims that the rest of the employees at Hanover are angered and outraged about the alleged abuse. The company has also established an anonymous abuse hotline.

A state monitor and two consultants are currently working at the nursing home to effect changes designed to prevent such incidents in the future. The Department of Health plans to conduct a follow-up inspection within the next 45 days to determine if remedial measures have been implemented at the center.

Nursing Home Lawyer Abuse Attorney Negligence Lawsuit Victim

Sat, 22 Oct 2005 00:00:00 -0700

Nursing Home Abuse and Negligence

Keywords: Lawyer| Nursing Home | Attorney | Abuse | Victim | Negligence

The nursing home abuse attorneys at Parker Waichman Alonso LLP have represented the victims of nursing home abuse for over 15 years. Our nursing home abuse and negligence lawyers and attorneys understand how devastating these crimes are to victims and their families. We can make sure those guilty of this horrendous crime are held accountable, and they will assure that the victims of nursing home abuse receive the compensation and care they deserve.

No nursing home patient should ever become a victim of nursing home abuse. Nursing home residents’ rights are guaranteed by the federal 1987 Nursing Home Reform Law. The law requires nursing homes to “promote and protect the rights of each resident”. The nursing home abuse attorneys at Parker Waichman Alonso LLP are experts in the area of elder law, and can help the families of nursing home residents insure that they are receiving the care the law requires.

Our Dedicated Lawyers and Attorneys Have Years of Experience
Handling Nursing Home Abuse and Negligence Lawsuits!

Nursing homes must meet federal residents' rights requirements if they participate in Medicare or Medicaid. Some states have residents' rights in state law or regulation for nursing homes, licensed assisted living, adult care homes, and other board and care facilities. A person living in a long-term care facility maintains the same rights as an individual in the larger community. The nursing home abuse attorneys at Parker Waichman Alonso LLP are dedicated to insuring that nursing homes live up to their responsibilities.

Nursing Home Abuse and Negligence are at Epidemic Levels

In spite of the law, nursing home abuse continues to be a serious problem. The National Center on Elder Abuse estimates at least one in 20 nursing home patients has been the victim of negligence and or abuse, though it concedes that the number is probably higher. According to the National Center’s study, 57% of nurses’ aides in long-term care facilities admitted to having witnessed, and even participating in, acts of negligence and abuse.

Nursing home abuse takes a serious toll on residents. Data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that nursing home neglect played role in the deaths of nearly 14,000 nursing home patients between 1999 and 2002. Even when the consequences are not fatal, nursing home negligence robs victims of a sense of security and their dignity. Unfortunately, the signs of nursing home abuse are not always easy to discern. But the nursing home negligence attorneys at Parker Waichman Alonso LLP can help families determine if a loved one has been a victim of nursing home abuse.

If You or a Loved One Has Been a Victim of Nursing Home Abuse or
Neglect, Please Contact Us and a Lawyer / Attorney Will Review Your Case.

A sure sign of nursing home abuse is physical neglect where the nursing home staff fails to provide residents with the necessities of daily living. Residents who suffer from frequent falls may not be receiving adequate oversight from the nursing home staff, or they may be victims of poorly maintained equipment or facilities. Withdrawal or isolation can be a sign that staff is failing to provide a nursing home resident with adequate assistance to that they can fully participate in activities offered at the nursing home. Frequent infections among nursing home residents could mean that nursing home staff is failing to employ proper hand washing techniques.