Nursing Home & Elder Abuse | InjuryBoard Roanoke

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...

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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...

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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...

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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,...

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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...

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We all are concerned, rightfully, over the care our family members receive in nursing homes. You would have to be blind and deaf not to read, hear, and see all of the problems the nursing home industry in America!The most critical aspect of getting good care in a nursing home is the quality and training of the nursing staff. However, the problem is that most nursing homes are under-staffed and...

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Resident of a North Carolina Nursing Home dies of a Bowel Impaction - $5.4 Million dollar settlement.This is such an awful example of nursing home neglect - but we see it all the time. Nursing Homes are supposed to record how often residents use the bathroom, so this doesn't happen - but we see it often. How sad.Failure to manage catheter leads to $1.75 million dollar verdict in West Virginia....

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The National Senior Citizens Law Center (NSCLC) this week released a report entitled, Think Twice Before Signing: Improper and Unfair Provisions in Missouri Nursing Home Admission Agreements. The report summarizes the results of a study of admission agreements from 175 Missouri nursing facilities. Although focused on nursing homes in Missouri, we have seen these very same issues in our cases...

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I wish this were a fictional account.Today's LA Times reports story of an elderly man who " just stopped breathing," in the assisted living facility, or so his wife of 49 years was told. "Then came the anonymous phone call the day after the funeral.A woman claiming to be an employee of the nursing home told Rita that her 80-year-old husband's death had been anything but peaceful. She said Elmore...

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Because of our duty of confidentiality, we cannot blog about many case details. We can't share statements made by nurses, unless they are public record. Well, here is a public record about nursing home abuse and neglect, that is almost too awful to believe. Faye Clark, a nurse aide at Heritage Hill in Big Stone Gap, Virginia, had her license revoked in August after the board found her guilty of...

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In the last several weeks there have been reports in the news that many nursing homes in America are over-prescribing antipsychotics to residents who suffer from Alzheimer's disease. The medications include Seroquel, Risperdal, and Haldol.On December 12, 2007, letters to the editor of the ever conservative Wall Street Journal (WSJ) contained several readers' comments on their experiences with...

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We know it is confusing... but remember it this way. Medicaid is a state program for low income families - it is AID for those in need. Medicare is health benefits for older Americans - CARE for those who are 65/66 or older. Probably 95% of our clients are either on Medicare or Medicaid. This is something we ask immediately when investigating a claim. We ask for two reasons. (1) If you do...

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Does your mother, father, or other family member in a nursing home take Seroquel, Risperdal, Haldol, or other antipsychotics? If so, it is probably because they have a diagnosis of dementia or Alzheimer's disease. Why do nursing home patients receive antipsychotics if they do not have a diagnosis of a psychiatric condition? Great question...and the answer is MONEY!Medicaid has spent more...

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It is about time! The Federal and State governments pay a substantial portion of the costs for nursing home care through the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Taxpayers spend about $72.5 billion a year to subsidize the cost of nursing home care. So, shouldn't we demand good care for the residents and refuse to tolerate substandard nursing homes?Fifty-four nursing homes are being told by the...

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What in the world is going on in Tennessee? Either they have some of the worst nursing homes in America or investigators are just beginning to do a thorough job! In just the first 11 months of 2007 Tennessee has suspended admissions at 20 nursing homes this year -- that's double the number in 2006 and more than triple the 2005 amount!Talk about widespread abuse and neglect!This is an alarming...

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