Lauren and I have reviewed over 500 potential nursing home cases over the years and we see some problems over and over and over again. I decided we would share with our readers some of the more frequent problems...and the answers.
Problem #6: The Director of Nursing has a meeting with the family to tell them, "we don't have enough staff to take care of all of your father's needs...you will have to hire your own private-duty aide to provide the needed care." Can they do this?
The answer is "no." You should tell the Director of Nursing that it is the nursing home's responsibility to provide necessary care (as documented by the Care Plan or ordered by a doctor), and that claiming a shortage of staff or money is no excuse. Also, remind the Director of Nursing that federal law requires the nursing home to provide the care a resident needs to reach the highest practicable level of functioning and that requiring or suggesting private-duty aides is a violation of federal law. The federal law can be found at Section 483.25 of Title 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations
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This was an all too common occurence at Sunbridge Newport, ran by Sun Healthcare Group Inc. They understaffed, used broken equipment and had a condemned HVAC system while committed to a Calif State Injunction with the State Attorney General's office for killing patients in Burlingame, Calif in 2000 with a broken HVAC system. Administrators and Directors of Nursing changed every 6 weeks. When attorneys began visiting the facility they flew a board member in to meet with families. Finally they transferred the license to Newport Nursing. But not before successfully killing patients, including my mother. I watched Richard Laga, a man without close family, who suffered from gangrene and lost his life when they neglected to hire a wound care nurse over a 4th of July weekend. Then there was Betty Harness who suffered from fecal impaction and died because SUN lacked the appropriate staff to track bowel movements. And Stella Carter who died when "stat" orders weren't carried out by the nurse on duty and she died. And the man in his 50's who died from aspiration pneumonia when the suctioning equipment failed. And my mother, Evelyn Calvert, who suffered a stroke when their blood pressure monitor registered 120/80, yet the local acute hospital's ER registered it fourty minutes later at 210/105. She suffered a stroke rendering her unable to swallow for the remaining nine months of her life. Not before contracting the superbug MRSA from the facility. She suffered ten months of urinary tract infections in one year. Two severe fevers after their thermometers' batteries were found broken twice in three months. One Sunday a nurse called saying "If you want your mother comfortable you'll take her to the ER today -we don't have the staff to care for her". The ER informed me this facility was well known for transferring patients to the ER for treatment.The Dept of Health closed Sunbridge the week they transferred the license to Newport Nursing, stating their staff couldn't care for the 37 out of 59 patients they had remaining until properly trained. Disregard for human life by Sun Healthcare?My mother died and I sued Sun three years later. But apparently my attorney was already working for SUN. He threatened me in mediation for the CEO of Sun, stating not only would he destroy my reputation if I insisted on a jury trial, but he'd harm me too. I felt forced to sign. Then I sued for malpractice and he died 2 weeks later. Daniel Leipold, Santa Ana. SUN escaped from having to compensate for treble damages since we could prove willful misconduct - $3-$4 Million. SUN also didn't pay a fine to the Dept of Justice, Attorney General's Office for violating the injunction. The SUN fine of $2.5 Million in Sept 2005 apparently did not include the violations at this facility, according to Claude Vanderwold, Deputy Attorney General. Would you say corporate corruption is alive and well in America?This isn't rocket science, Buzz would say.Deborah Calvert, former assistant to Buzz Aldrin
I've been a nurse for 35 years. Work ethnics are horible. Look who has taken over the care of patients in the past 10 years. I work part-time at 2 places and they lie alot to make themselves look good. They cover up. UVA and others do also. No accountability. The Governors staff needs to take a good look.Ask him the questions: Is this how you want your parents to live out their last days. Is this how you want to be treated? Rich or poor os treated the same.
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