Nursing Home & Elder Abuse | InjuryBoard Roanoke

We often see recommendations for the use of a feeding tube (PEG tube) from Medical Directors at nursing homes for residents who have difficulty eating and swallowing. Granted, an individual cannot long survive without adequate nutrition and hydration. However, the use of a feeding tube is often used as a substitute for an insufficient number of feeding assistants or nursing aides. By...

Why does the state of Tennessee spend $1.2 billion for long-term care? That amount is 98 percent of the Tenncare (Tennessee's equivalent of Medicaid) budget, which ranks Tennessee last nationally in its funding mix of nursing homes versus home and community-based care, according to the TennCare Bureau. Why? Do you think money could be at the root of such spending?How did Tennessee get on the...

In 2 years, I have read about, or known families who have suffered the following:Loved one falls and breaks neck while in shower room, unattendedLoved one falls down two flights of stairs, while strapped into wheelchairLoved one falls while eloping from nursing home, out front door, and to the parking lotLoved one falls down back stairs of nursing home, after leaving "locked" exterior doorLoved...

We hear about it all the time - over medicating dementia patients. Why? To curb combative behavior? Make them easier to control? It is a sad state when an elderly person is given anti-psychotic medications, before an exam is done to determine what other problems would cause aggressive behavior.In Minnesota, nearly 8 percent of people 80 and older are given anti psychotic drugs -- six times the...

Most people are familiar with physical restraints. These safety devices include bed rails, lap buddies, Geri-chairs, and wrist restraints. These devices are used to prevent injury to the resident or others. But what about "chemical restraints?" Have you ever heard of them?Chemical restraints are medications used by the nursing home to "control" active residents. They are psychotropic...

A controversial new law endorsed by Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley and Democrat Sen. Herb Kohl seeks to force nursing homes to provide more information about ownership and accountability. The Act would force nursing homes to file paperwork clearly stating ownership--something that has become increasingly complicated for outsiders to figure out, as private investment groups have bought up...

Not sure how often the nursing home physician is supposed to come by?What about medications - is that the job of the CNA, MedTech or Nurse?Want to know who to complain to, and how to do it?ASK FOR THE FACILITY POLICIES AND PROCEDURES. Ask for all of them, and then, remind the staff of what needs to be done according to their own policies.Policies are usually pretty good - have a whole bunch of...

We deal with calls all the time from ordinary people who do not know which nursing home is best for their loved one. We try to spend time with each caller and provide a checklist of items to consider. Those important items include: 1. Staffing ratios - does the nursing home have enough nurses and aids to take care of its residents? 2. What is the facility's history of violations of health...

If I hadn't read medical records from the victim of sexual assault in a long term care facility, I wouldn't believe it possible. Out of Ohio, staff assaults residents - physically and sexually, and other staff do nothing about it! "Nursing home worker John Riems had a temper and spent long periods in patients' rooms with the doors closed, neighbors and former co-workers say, troubling...

There is a new website at www.seniordecision.com where consumers can rate and review senior care and housing. May be a source of some useful information on defendant facilities. Sounds good to me - hop on there friends, and get to posting!

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) today named 4,037 nursing homes whose pressure sore and/or restraint rates it says have targeted them for improvement. Although CMS officials maintain these are "not the worst nursing homes in the country," it says their quality measures in at least one of two areas -- physical restraints among long-stay residents and pressure ulcers among...

The Washingto Post has a disturbing (although not surprising) article in yesterday's paper. The article, entitled "A Hidden Crime," reports on how America cares for its elderly...and it is not a pretty picture! Decubitus ulcers, malnourishment, dehydration, repeated falls, medication errors causing death and disability, and more...Elder abuse typically conjures visions of nightmarish nursing...

Let's face it. Many of the elderly who live in America's nursing homes are at increased risk for falls and resulting hip fractures. This fact is due to many factors including muscle weakness, coordination and flexibility problems, arthritis, medications, as well as the presence of dementia and Alzheimer's disease. The risk for hip fractures is higher among elderly persons who are...

I cannot tell you how many times we have been involved in medical malpractice cases against hospitals and nursing homes where a patient has been seriously injured as a result of being dropped. Typically, the patient is being transferred from bed to wheel chair or wheel chair to shower chair and, as a result of improper technique and training, is dropped to the floor suffering fractured hips,...

I have never sued a Sunrise facility - although I have loved ones who lived in one of their assisted living facilities in Northern Virginia many years ago. As the Nation investigates for-profit health care providers, it seems like Sunrise may not be without controversy themselves.The nation's largest owner of assisted living facilities, announced the departures of Thomas Newell, president since...