Articles Posted in nursing home neglect

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Florida nursing homes say state lawmakers need to break them off a larger piece of the taxpayer pie, saying legislators should restore the automatic 1 percent increase in Medicaid payments they had received up until 2011. That was the year state lawmakers halted the increase, citing budget concerns. 

But now, nursing homes say that annual increase should be restored. It would mean about $13 million more from the state every year – divided up among Florida’s 683 nursing homes – plus an additional $20.2 million from the federal government. Although most of the facilities concede they haven’t suffered substantially as a result of the cuts, they certainly could use the money to combat under-staffing and other issues that pose potential risks to nursing home residents.

Lawmakers are reticent to commit to any such change. Elder safety advocates who raise awareness about nursing home abuse and neglect say any such increase should be merit-based, denied to nursing homes that consistently fall short of providing quality care for patients.  Continue reading →

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Nursing home neglect has been cited against a facility in Minnesota, where investigators say a man with severe cognitive disabilities died after he was given 10 times his prescribed does of morphine. 

According to the Star Tribune, the alleged medication error occurred at the 42-bed facility, where the man had been transferred for hospice care. He was suffering from chronic kidney disease. The victim’s age and identity was not disclosed in the state report, which determined the mistake occurred when the nursing home staff failed to accurately transcribe the man’s prescription.

His death happened approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes after the huge dose of narcotic painkiller was delivered. State investigators determined the facility did not have adequate policies in place that would have ensured the medicines were transcribed and also administered accurately. Had the policy been in place, the man likely would not have died when he did, officials said.  Continue reading →

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A nursing home in Massachusetts is facing thousands of dollars in federal fines after a state investigation revealed the facility employees violated state law in treating an 83-year-old woman who died after falling from a mechanical lift. 

Nursing home deaths resulting from falls are far too common. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report 1,800 older adults living in nursing homes die every year from fall-related injuries. Even those who live often sustain injuries that result in permanent disability and substantially reduced quality of life.

That’s why we must treat these matters with grave seriousness. Unfortunately, as one ProPublica investigation found there are often greatly disparate penalties for deadly mistakes at nursing homes. Continue reading →

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A new report released by federal regulators indicates that the percentage of nursing homes that receive spotless deficiency records is increasing. That means, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, that nursing home residents may be receiving better care on the whole. 

Of course, that’s not to say nursing home abuse, neglect and negligence is no longer a problem. Indeed, relatives and loved ones must still remain vigilant.

But the latest information from the Nursing Home Data Compendium for 2015 is encouraging in some aspects.  Continue reading →

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The family of an 87-year-old California woman wanted to ensure she was taken care of. That’s why they invested in one of the best regional facilities money could buy for her elder age care. And yet, she still succumbed to one of the most unnecessary and painful forms of death: Complication from pressure ulcers, also known as bedsores. 

Her untimely death, according to the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, spurred a wrongful death lawsuit against the facility that recently resulted in a $1 million settlement.

Medical records indicated the woman died from sepsis after nursing home staffers allegedly erred in treating a pressure ulcer on her back. Proper care was not received until the sore became heavily infected, at which point it was too late to reverse the effects.  Continue reading →

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For some, being given the wrong dinner is a matter of simple annoyance. For a substantial number of residents in nursing home and long-term care facilities, it could be fatal. 

In a recent nursing home negligence lawsuit filed in Minnesota, the family of an 88-year-old woman who died following an Easter Sunday meal three years ago alleges her death was preventable, and occurred because she was given the wrong food. The complaint points the finger at least partially at a computer malfunction.

Decedent, known widely by the nickname, “Toots,” suffered from dementia and was placed on a dysphasia diet. That meant it was imperative she receive only pureed food. She didn’t get it that day. It was her last meal. Continue reading →

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The state attorney general in Pennsylvania has the right to pursue legal action against a number of nursing homes under consumer protection provisions for low staffing levels. 

Nursing homes targeted by the action had argued the attorney general couldn’t do this because:

  • Only the state Department of Health had the authority to investigate or pursue litigation regarding staffing levels;
  • Her office had hired a private law firm to conduct the investigation – a law firm that had contributed money to the attorney general’s campaign finances.

But now, a seven-judge panel has ruled in favor of Attorney General Kathleen Kane. The judges stated that while it was true the DOH has the authority to enforce regulations and set minimum standards for staffing levels at skilled nursing facilities, they weren’t the only agency with the authority to investigate. While the DOH may be concerned with such matters as it relates to the health, safety and adequacy of each facility, it has no authority or capacity to investigate or correct the consumer marketing or billing practices of these facilities. That is properly within the realm of the state attorney general.  Continue reading →

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The 73-year-old man from Detroit was mentally impaired, struggling with dementia. He was also physically impaired, and needed a wheelchair to move around. These were the reasons why he was living in a Michigan nursing home in the first place. 

Then, last month, the man reportedly wheeled himself out of the facility. No one stopped him. No one caught him. The following day, construction workers found him dead inside a Dumpster.

Now, just a few weeks have passed and his family has filed a lawsuit against the facility, alleging negligence proximately resulting in the man’s death. They probably have a strong case. Continue reading →

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A state government report in Minnesota revealed that drug theft by health care workers is so common there, it accounts for 20 percent of all abuse cases involving elderly patients.

The state department of health conducts regular analysis on exploitation and abuse of vulnerable, elderly residents, but this is the first time officials conducted a simultaneous analysis of so-called drug diversion incidents. From June 2013 to June 2014, researchers tallied 192 allegations of nursing home drug theft. Of those, there was proof to substantiate 27 of those incidents allegedly carried out by 14 staffers.

In a large percentage of cases, workers in nursing homes swapped over-the-counter pills for patients’ Vicodin or oxycodone. In another incident, a worker who was off-duty one day entered the facility, went to a patient’s room, lifted the bed sheet and peeled off the patient’s pain medicine patch right from his back before leaving the facility. That incident was later reported to police.  Continue reading →

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Medicaid fraud is a widespread problem within the health care industry in Florida and nationwide. The issue is especially pervasive when it comes to elderly, and nursing home patients in particular.

The reason is because these individuals often lack the ability to discern or report what is happening to them. This can involve patients undergoing procedures that are unnecessary or not in their best health interest, as well as their accounts being billed for services or medications that were never rendered. In any case, it is patients who suffer this harm.

Recently in Sunrise, a 48-year-old dentist became the subject of a search warrant in a Medicaid fraud case in which it was alleged he fraudulently billed Medicaid for dentures in patients who either never received them or didn’t need them. During the search of his computers, federal agents allegedly found evidence of child pornography as well. Continue reading →

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