Nursing Home Abuse & Mistreatment News

Pennsylvania Nursing Home Draws Ire
A local family has filed a complaint with the state about a Centre County-owned nursing home, saying it wouldn't a woman and wasn't straightforward about why. The home told the family for the past eight months that the home was not taking new patients or there were no available beds. The potential resident has health problems, including chronic asthma, diabetes, a weight of 300 pounds and lack of mobility. The family received different information about which floor at the home she could be placed on and repeated delays, despite the fact that she wouldn't require anything more than a standard bed and that other residents who weighed more have been admitted to the home. The home has 240 beds and only 220 are typically filled. The family has filed complaints with the state Department of Health and the Attorney General's Office.

Preparing More Care of Elderly
With a nudge from the new health care law and pressure from Medicare, hospitals, doctors and nurses are struggling to prepare for explosive growth in the numbers of high-risk elderly patients. More than 40 percent of adult patients in acute care hospital beds are 65 and older. Seventy million Americans will have turned 65 by 2030. They include the 85-and-older cohort, the nation's fastest-growing age group. Elderly people often have multiple chronic illnesses, expensive to treat, and they are apt to require costly hospital readmissions, sometimes as often as 10 times in a single year. The Obama administration is spending $500 million from last year's stimulus package to support the training of doctors and nurses and other health care providers at all levels, "from college teachers through work force professional on the front lines of patient care." But the administration and Congress seem to be paying less attention to geriatric health issues. For example, only 11 percent of research funding at the National Institutes of Health went to aging research last year.

York County's Personal Care Homes: Enough Oversight or Too Much?
Within three months, the state Department of Public Welfare decided to not renew the licenses for two York County personal care homes. The homes are in the process of closing because of repeated failures to correct violations found during inspections. Inspectors also found violations - ranging from untrained staff, to unmarked medication, to incomplete contracts, to lint in the trap of a clothes dryer - at each of the county's 28 personal care homes. Some personal care home owners and operators say the regulations are too strict and inspectors are inconsistent in their enforcement of regulations. Because of the need for these homes, which often serve low-income seniors, they said the state should do more to work with owners. However, the state Department of Public Welfare claims the regulations are realistic expectations for a safe, secure personal care home.

Hallucinations in Hospital Pose Risk to Elderly
Hospitals report that many patients are experiencing inexplicable disorienting episodes referred to as "hospital delirium." Disproportionately affecting older people - a rapidly growing share of patients - hospital delirium affects about one-third of patients over 70, and a greater percentage of intensive-care or postsurgical patients, the American Geriatrics Society estimates. The cause of delirium is unclear, but there are many apparent triggers: infections, surgery, pneumonia and procedures like catheter insertions, all of which can spur anxiety in frail, vulnerable patients. Some medications, difficult for older people to metabolize, seem associated with delirium. Even short episodes can hinder recovery from patients' initial conditions, extending hospitalizations, delaying scheduled procedures like surgery, requiring more time and attention from staff members and escalating health costs. Afterward, patients are more often placed, whether temporarily or permanently, in nursing homes or rehabilitation centers. Older delirium patients are more likely develop dementia later, and 35 to 40 percent die within a year.

Rape, Sex and Abuse Found at Nursing Home for Veterans
Missouri's Department of Health and Senior Services had found serious violations regarding allegations of physical, sexual and verbal abuse inside a nursing home for veterans. A 21-page report has been compiled since the state began investigating the facility. According to the state's findings, one resident made two allegations of rape, but no one from the facility made a hotline call or alerted police as required by law. The resident eventually called 911. That same resident also claimed she and a housekeeper had a sexual relationship. Though the housekeeper was then moved to another location within the facility, the director did not report the sexual relationship because she didn't believe it happened. In another case, staff sent a text message to each other about a manager who allegedly gave a resident $3 in exchange for oral sex. The director failed to tell anyone, talk to the resident or begin an investigation. Finally, investigators found that the facility failed to protect two residents who were continually called racial and degrading names. The same residents were spit on, had their hair pulled and had water thrown on them.

Pittsburgh Hospice Cited After Man Burned
The state Health Department has cited a Pittsburgh-area hospice for safety violations after a patient who was on oxygen set himself on fire while smoking. Employees told inspectors they first became aware of the emergency when they heard a beeping noise and detected a strange smell. State inspectors reported seeing a charred area on the patio where the patient was smoking. Though not seriously injured, the patient went first to the hospital's emergency room and then to a nearby burn unit. State inspectors cited the facility for placing patients in immediate jeopardy and failure to implement a policy "to maintain a safe physical environment." The violations cited by inspectors included failure to develop an individualized care plan for patients, including the burn victim, who had been admitted the day before. Other violations included failure to have a one-to-one monitor on patients who smoke while on oxygen and "pervasive problems with the oversight of patients who were permitted to smoke."

More with Dementia Wander from Home
For generations, the prototypical search-and-rescue case in America was Timmy in the well, with Lassie barking insistently to summon help. Lost children and adolescents - from the woods to the mall - generally outnumbered others. But for the first time, another type of search is marking a profound demographic shift that public safety officials say will increasingly define the future as the nation ages: wandering, confused dementia patients. Rising numbers of searches are driving a need to retrain emergency workers, police officers and volunteers around the country who say they throw out just about every generally accepted idea when hunting for people who are, in many ways, lost from the inside out. Unlike the ordinary lost child or hiker, a dementia wanderer will sometimes take evasive action to avoid detection, especially if the disease has made them paranoid about authority figures.

State Shuts Lancaster Nursing Home
State and federal authorities have shut down a Lancaster nursing home and relocated about 30 residents because of problems with the quality of care and the facilities. The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services decided to terminate its relationship with the home last year, which meant the home could no longer care for Medicare and Medicaid patients. The state put the home on a provisional license and then moved to revoke its license six days later. Over the past year, state inspectors found numerous problems at the home relating to everything from patient care to the upkeep of the facility. In each case, the state directed the home to make changes to address the problems. Inspectors found the water temperature for bathing was too hot, then too cold. A resident also told inspectors, "The water temperature has been ice cold for weeks, which is why I'm sick." The home also failed to investigate allegations of neglect and abuse. One nurse aide told a resident that they range their care bell too much, and another staff member gave a resident a hard time about going to the bathroom.

State Lawyers Denied Access to Patients
New York State's highest court has refused to order nursing homes to give state lawyers access to hundreds of psychiatric patients so they can advocate for their rights to treatment alternatives, living conditions or even release. The Court of Appeals concluded that because the state's Office of Mental Health had decided not to license the nursing homes, lawyers for the Mental Hygiene Legal Service lacked jurisdiction there. In 1996, state mental institutions began discharging patients to nursing homes for continued but lower-level care. Six years later, many were confined to highly restrictive "neurobiological units" in nursing homes without lawyers to protect their interests. The lawyers advocate for the patients on issues like getting or refusing care and treatment, discharge planning, privileges and access to fresh air, exercise, phones and visitation, which are limited in nursing homes. The Mental Hygiene Legal Service, established in 1965 to guard the rights of the mentally disabled in institutions, investigated claims and sought access to the patients. The nursing homes said no, and lower courts agreed. Meanwhile, the nursing homes shut down the neurobiological units.

Unusual Damages Set in Philadelphia Bedsores Case
In a highly unusual step for such a case, a Philadelphia jury leveled $5 million in punitive damages against a hospital and a nursing home in the death of a man who developed ultimately fatal bedsores while at both facilities. The damages - $1.5 million against the hospital and $3.5 million against the nursing home - came almost immediately after the same jury awarded $1 million in compensatory damages in the case. The damages were awarded to the man's widow. While compensatory damages are not unexpected in such cases, punitive damages are. The man went into the hospital in 2006 after suffering weakness and confusion. he was 74 at the time and was thought to have suffered a stroke. Doctors then failed to properly diagnose a urinary-tract infection that, as a result, worsened and left him susceptible to the bedsores that ultimately killed him. After a week in the hospital, he was transferred to the nursing home, where he stayed two weeks until his condition worsened and he was returned to the hospital. He was released to his home after three days. Workers at both hospitals allowed the bedsores to fester as their patient became malnourished to the point that he lost 28 pounds. After he returned home, he was cared for by his wife until he died from the bedsores two years later.

Stressful But Vital: Finding a Nursing Home
Choosing a nursing home for a loved one is a difficult and emotional task. The horror stories are well documents, and even in the best nursing homes the transition can be wrenching for the entire family. Finding a good nursing home takes research and perseverance. Unfortunately, the typical search for a nursing home is made under duress. More than 60 percent of admissions come from hospitals. The patient may have broken a hip and now needs rehabilitative care. The hospital is in a hurry to discharge and may move quickly to get the patient moved to an available nursing home bed, regardless of the operator's quality or reputation. Paying for a nursing home is another huge source of stress. Medicare pays only for medically necessary care in a skilled nursing home, like physical therapy or intravenous medicine. It does not pay for what is called custodial care - help with walking, eating, bathing and other daily tasks. Instead, the majority of nursing home residents pay from personal money, long-term care insurance policies or, if they qualify, through Medicaid. The average cost of nursing home care is $200 a day, and that does not include additional fees for specialized services like care for patients with Alzheimer's or dementia.

Safe in Bed?
Bed rails are often seen as safety devices meant to keep sick, drugged, confused or restless people from falling or climbing out of beds in hospitals or nursing homes. Though rails may decrease the risk of falling by 10 to 15 percent, they increase the risk of injury by about 20 percent because they change the geometry of the fall. Confused or demented patients who try to climb over the rails, instead of falling from a lower level and landing on their knees or legs, are apt to fall farther and strike their heads. The greater danger is entrapment - patients getting stuck within the rails or between the rail and the mattress. By last year, the Food and Drug Administration had tallied 480 deaths, 138 injuries and 185 close calls involving hospital beds over a 24-year period. In a typical case, a person will roll into the slot next to the rail, and the mattress will slide to the opposite side. That doubles the size of the gap that a patient could drop into, allowing the mattress to press against the patient's chest. In 2006, the FDA issued guidelines to reduce the use of bed rails. In fact, bed rail use has dropped substantially, partly because of those guidelines, but also because research has shown that they don't benefit patients - and because of lawsuits by family members.

Senate Panel to Investigate Deaths at Long-Term Care Facilities
The Senate Finance Committee has opened an investigation into patient deaths and allegations of substandard treatment at long-term care hospitals, small specialty medical centers that treat chronically ill patients. The investigation focuses on the Select Medical Corporation, a for-profit corporation that runs 89 long-term care hospitals, more than any other company. Senators have demanded that Select provide records about staffing levels and quality at its hospitals. Recent articles have detailed poor treatment and patient deaths at long-term care hospitals, which treat 200,000 seriously ill patients a year nationwide, but rarely have full-time physicians on staff. In one incident at a Select hospital in Kansas, a dying patient's heart alarm sounded for 77 minutes before nurses responded. Select has said that it conducted an appropriate clinical review in the case and terminated a clinician involved in the patient's care. The articles prompted the investigation, which Select claims it will cooperate with fully. The senators have asked Select to disclose its policies for patient monitoring, emergency situations and staffing, including physician involvement at its hospitals and staff turnover. Former employees of Select have said that the company's hospitals are understaffed and rely heavily on temporary nurses. The senators also requested the Select disclose information about its discharge policies. Former employees allege that the company presses to keep patients for 25 days and then discharge them almost immediately, because patients are most profitable if they stay exactly 25 days under government reimbursement rules. At some Select hospitals, the 25th day is called the "magic day," ex-employees say.

Seniors Pinched by Rising Costs for Home Care
As states struggle with red ink, more seniors face new fees or lengthy waiting lists for in-home services like meal deliveries, personal care assistants and visiting nurses. They have just enough assets that they don't qualify for such services through Medicaid, but are likely to end up in nursing homes - at a much higher state and federal court - without the help of their state-funded programs. Officials say the fees and waiting lists, while difficult, are necessary to preserve the home care programs from elimination altogether. In Connecticut, more than 5,100 clients of its Home Care for Elders Program now pay 15 percent of their services' costs. Advocates for the elderly say many can't afford it, and state figures show 275 people have dropped out of the program since the charges went into effect this year. other states are also struggling with funding for their home care programs, even as aging baby boomers join a population of older people living longer than ever before.

State Investigates Group Home Operator
Laurel Highlands Foundation Inc., a nonprofit that operates group homes and provides services for the mentally disabled, is under county and state scrutiny after allegations surfaced of possible embezzlement. The foundation earns about $6 million a year in state contracts covering 43 Allegheny County residents. Prosecutors received a request from nearby police to investigate a report of theft at the organization. Prosecutors are awaiting the results of an independent forensic audit looking at the nonprofit's books before deciding whether to move forward with an investigation into possible criminal wrongdoing. The group's former executive director, who claims he made the report to the police, said the controller became suspicious of checks made out to an employee over "a number of years." In a letter submitted to the group's board, the former director described a stressful and "hostile work environment" in which he claimed that the board's president violated its bylaws and ethics policies and refused to communicate with him. He also accused the board of not enforcing those bylaws and policies and said he felt as if his hands were tied while working for the nonprofit.

Pennsylvania Care Home to Close After Death
After the death of a Pittsburgh personal care home resident, state officials have moved up plans to close the facility and relocate nine people living there. The Department of Public Welfare had already planned to shut down the 23-bed home because of past problems. The home had been operating on a provisional license and continuing problems during a re-inspection resulted in an order to revoke its license. The state intended to close the residence before the body of a 60-year-old resident was found at the bottom of an outdoor rear staircase at a nearby church. The home allegedly lost electrical power and heat without contacting authorities for assistance. It also did not report the resident missing or his death. The other problems discovered at the home over the past year included a lack of required training and criminal background checks for employees, failure to show evidence of required pre-admission screenings and proper medical evaluations of residents, and insufficient preparations for fire or other emergencies.

Money Seized from Ex-Nursing Home Chief to Help Elderly
Some of the money authorities seized from an imprisoned ex-nursing home administrator will buy robotic, baby harp seals from Japan. The large blinking eyes and soft mewing sounds of the Paro Therapeutic Robot soothe hospital patients and can coax response from listless dementia sufferers. The $55,000 cost of the seals will be covered by the ex-administrator's share of about $793,000 that languished in the accounts of two nonprofits created for patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease. A judge approved distributing the money to five organizations that care for the elderly. Giving the money to charities is perhaps the end of the ex-administrator's eight-year court saga, which began with an investigation into the 2001 death of an 88-year-old Alzheimer's patient. She was a resident in one of the ex-administrator's homes. She wandered outside on a 40-degree night and died from exposure, and the ex-administrator tried to cover it up. She was convicted of involuntary manslaughter, neglect of a care-dependent person, reckless endangerment and conspiracy in 2007.

Feds Release List of Nation's Worst Nursing Homes
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has released its annual report on the performance of nursing homes with a history of serious care quality issues. The report details the ongoing status of nursing homes enrolled in CMS' "special focus facility" initiative. The program requires nursing homes with a greater number of documented deficiencies and problems, such as frequent resident injuries, to undergo additional inspections by CMS and state representatives throughout the year. Survey teams visit SFF facilities about four times a year, while most nursing homes receive twice yearly inspections. Most nursing homes have an average of six or seven deficiencies per inspection. Nursing homes that fall in the bottom 15 of inspected facilities in their respective states are reported to regional CMS facilities and to the state government for consideration for the SFF program. Long term care facilities that do not improve under the SFF initiative are subject to civil monetary penalties or termination from the Medicare and Medicaid programs.

Pittsburgh Nursing Home Penalized After Suicide
The Allegheny County medical examiner has ruled that an 89-year-old nursing home resident committed suicide by throwing herself through her third-floor window. The Pennsylvania Department of Health said the nursing home has been downgraded to a provisional license until later next year because it did not do enough to prevent her death. State inspectors found that five days before her suicide, she "attempted to exit the facility via the stairs in a wheelchair and had expressed a desire to jump out the window." However, there was no record that any physician was made aware of the patient's intent or that the home developed "measures to protect the resident and to prevent injuries." A physician was told she had a urinary tract infection, but was not informed of her suicidal urges.

Court Applies Criminal Liability to Company for Workers' Actions
Following the conviction of five health care workers for failing to provide care to a patient in a persistent vegetative state and stating in company records that the care had been provided, a New York appellate panel has ruled that the workers' employer, a nursing home, also may be held criminally liable. At issue was whether a limited liability company, as opposed to a corporation, can be held criminally liable under New York law for acts its employees committed within the scope of their employment. The panel held that the principles that allow criminal liability for corporations in such circumstances apply to limited liability corporations as well. The charges against the home and its employees stemmed from an investigation by the New York Attorney General, which used video surveillance in the room of one of the facility's residents. The recording showed at least five healthcare workers failing to provide necessary services to a "total care" patient. The workers then falsified charts, claiming to have done the work.

Many Nursing Home Elderly Get Futile Care
A surprising number of frail, elderly Americans in nursing homes are suffering from futile care at the end of their lives, two new federally funded studies reveal. One found that putting nursing home residents with failing kidneys on dialysis didn't improve their quality of life and may even push them into further decline. The other showed many with advanced dementia will die within six months and perhaps should have hospice care instead of aggressive treatment. Medical experts say the new research emphasizes the need for doctors, caregivers and families to consider making the feeble elderly who are near death comfortable rather than treating them as if a cure were possible - more like the palliative care given to terminally ill cancer patients.

Two Nursing Home Employees Plead Guilty to Abuse
Two former nursing home employees pleaded guilty to reduced charges for harassing and abusing a 94-year-old Alzheimer's patient at a facility near Pittsburgh. The elderly victim has since died of unrelated causes. The prosecutor in the case said that had the case gone to trial witnesses would have testified that the employees antagonized the elderly woman, telling her that they had slept with her husband. Witnesses also would have said that they hit the patient in the forehead and threw oranges at her.

Nursing Home Resident Falls to Her Death
Authorities are investigating the death of a resident of a Pennsylvania nursing home who fell to her death. The body of the 89-year-old woman was found below the window of her third-floor room. A staff member was getting tea for the woman at the time she fell, and members of the facility's staff called 911 immediately. Investigators found that the windows are equipped with safety features.

Upgrade to State License Likely for Adult Day Care Program
State officials met with the board of directors of a troubled Erie nursing home to discuss recent problems with the home's adult day care program. The home's license has been downgraded to provisional earlier this May, which allows a facility to continue operating but notifies it that the state is keeping a close watch. Among the problems found at the center were staff not receiving proper reviews of emergency procedures, poisonous materials being kept in service rooms, new clients not being taught fire evacuation procedures and no documentation that clients or their families had reviewed individual care plans. This is the second time this year that the home has been assigned a provisional license. The Pennsylvania Department of Health downgraded the home's license after two of its wheelchair-using residents fell, one of whom died two days later.

Violations and Finances Lead to Closing of Nursing Home
A routine inspection of a Danville personal care home led to its shuttering by the state Department of Public Welfare and the relocation of 20 of its 23 residents. The home for the mentally disabled was ordered closed after an inspection revealed 61 violations ranging from inadequate staff training and qualifications to errors in medication administration and fire and safety issues, such as blocked doorways. Fifteen of the 61 violations recorded were repeat violations at the home. The home was operating under a provisional license due to past violations, which put it on a six-month inspection rotation. Once the state ordered its closure the home's 23 residents were relocated to other homes. The state is also seeking $10,000 in fines from the home's owner.

Cost-Effective Ways to Make Homes Safer for Older People
Many older people wonder whether to stay put or sell as they age into their 70s. According to recent surveys, most older people are deciding to stay put. While home may be cozier and cheaper than a residential center, it's not always safer. Every year in this country about 7,000 elderly people die in home-related accidents, and millions are seriously injured. Falls are the leading cause of injuries, but the elderly are also at risk for being burned by the stove, scalded by hot water or drowning in the tub. An entire service industry is taking shape around the goal of letting people age in place. If you want to make your home or an older relative or friend's home a safer, more supportive place to live, there are a few basic guidelines to the most efficient and cost-effective approaches.

Department of Health Blames Staffers for Patient's Death
The Pennsylvania Department of Health claims that staff members were negligent in using a mechanical lift when they dropped an 83-year-old resident. However, the department would not identify the staffers responsible or explain how the accident occurred. She was taken the hospital after incident, where doctors found bleeding in her brain. Two weeks later, she suffered a massive stroke and died. Though the family consulted an attorney, they soon found out that the facility was owned by Northampton County, making its staff employees of the county. State law provides that local agencies, like a county, are shielded by government immunity and cannot be held liable for injuries or damages.

Court Recognizes New Cause of Action for Civil Rights Violations at Nursing Homes
In a landmark opinion that recognizes a new category of lawsuits, the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the Federal Nursing Home Reform Amendments give residents of county-run nursing homes the right to bring civil rights claims to challenge the quality of their treatment. The ruling revives a suit brought by the administrator of an 89-year-old Allegheny woman's estate. The woman died as a result of neglect, malnourishment and bed sores that were so severe they led to a fatal case of sepsis.

Man Sues Center for Death of Elderly Mother
A Pittsburgh man filed a lawsuit against a nursing home, blaming workers there for the death of his mother. The 84-year-old woman fell out of bed in 2007 and suffered a compound fracture in her lower leg. She died three days later following surgery. The lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount in monetary damages.

Personal Care Home Subject of Hearing
The owner of a Pennsylvania personal care home will attempt to have the facility's license reinstated even though he has no patients to house. All residents voluntarily moved out of the home in June. The department declined to renew the facility's license earlier this year and banned its owner from the property. The state Department of Public Welfare said, "There are many days of food shortages, staff shortages, utility shut-off warnings. We did seriously consider an emergency removal on three dates, but at the last minute, the home provided the food or paid the staff to get by for another day or another week." The department cited and removed its owner for safety and financial violations. Several violations, including a citation for having locks on doors to keep residents from coming and going, were supposed to be fixed. The state banned the owner after police charged him with forging a check for more than $20,000 from a resident's account.

West Pennsylvania Personal Care Home May Face Hefty State Fines
Officials from the state Department of Public Welfare continued inspections of a personal care home whose license was not renewed this spring. The home has been cited and fined for not keeping financial records of its residents and not keeping enough food on hand. Additionally, the home's CEO is not permitted on the property after he was charged with forgery for attempting to deposit a check for more than $20,000 drawn on a resident's account. The facility was found in violation of several Welfare Department regulations, ranging from management issues to patient care issues. Inspections found that the facility's emergency management plans did not meet regulations and many patient files were not being updated. More recently, the violations have been of a financial nature, including a case in which inspectors said the facility did not return a $2,000 security deposit to a resident six weeks after the resident left the home.

Psychiatric Hospital in Washington County Settles Abuse Suit
A private psychiatric hospital in western Pennsylvania paid $150,000 to settle a suit alleging it over-medicated and abused juveniles the state Department of Public Welfare sent there in 2005. The settlement includes no admission of wrongdoing, but does contain an agreement outlining standards of care and oversight. The suit was filed by a Harrisburg-area psychiatrist who, while under state contract, monitored private facilities for fraud and abuse from 2001 until his firing in 2003. He alleged that the hospital held juveniles who did not require hospitalization, prescribed and administered unnecessary medication to increase government reimbursements and billed the government for care that was not provided. The facility is licensed as a school and hospital and houses as many as 132 boys between the ages of 6 and 18. The psychiatrist also claimed he was fired after he reported a pattern of rampant abuse in facilities in Pennsylvania, Florida, Texas, Oklahoma and Virginia. He also won a $374,000 civil rights whistleblower suit in 2007 for his firing.

Board Drops Adult Day Care Firm Linked to Thefts
Northumberland County has terminated a one-year lease and plans for a firm to provide adult day care services after its vice president was charged with stealing money from residents of a nursing home. The county had leased the space recently and was scheduled to approve a contract for the firm to provide daily adult day care services to about 15 people. That was until county commissioners learned that the firm's vice president was charged with felony counts of theft for allegedly bilking $40,000 from three residents of a nursing home. Although the vice president has not been found guilty of the charges, the county chose to "maintain integrity" by terminating the contract.

Defense Verdict Stands in Fatal Fall Case Against Nursing Home
A nursing home resident's family has lost its bid to overturn a jury verdict in favor of an Arizona nursing home over a series of falls that allegedly caused the woman's death. The trial court correctly allowed the case to go to the jury rather than ruling for the plaintiffs on Life Care Centers of America's liability based on its destruction of incident reports concerning the incident. The appeals panel further found that the trial court correctly instructed the jury on the unfavorable inference that may be drawn from the destruction of the reports and did not abuse its discretion by admitting two governmental agency reports favorable to Life Care. The woman's family sued Life Care in 2005, alleging that the woman fell several times at the facility and suffered severe head trauma. She died in 2003 from a subdural hematoma, a collection of blood and clots on the surface of the brain. The court found that Life Care has a policy of shredding such reports to prevent prospective plaintiffs from using any adverse information contained in the documents against it. However, the court also found that the family had not proven that the reports were destroyed other than in accordance with Life Care's policy.

How to Find the Right Nursing Home
No one looks forward to moving into a nursing home or putting a loved one there. But what to do when Dad is losing an alarming amount of weight because he lives alone and doesn't eat well, or when Mom's deepening depression and forgetfulness make her neglectful of vital medications? A nursing home may truly be the best option. First, you need to determine whether nursing home care can be put off. Then, if you conclude that a move can no longer be delayed, you need to find a home that best meets your loved one's needs. Finally, you need a plan of how to stand watch so that he or she continues to receive skilled and compassionate care as time passes.

Bedsore Bill Passes New Jersey Legislature
A bill unanimously passed by both houses of the New Jersey Legislature would require nursing homes in the state to provide residents with pressure-relieving mattresses to prevent the development of bedsores. The legislation would give facilities three years from its effective date to switch all their mattresses from regular, spring-filled models to specially designed pressure-redistribution mattresses. New Jersey nursing homes had a higher rate of bedsores than the national average, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services reported that New Jersey ranked fourth among all states and the District of Columbia in the percentage of nursing home residents with bedsores. Pressure-redistribution mattresses inflate and deflate to reduce the amount of stress and friction on problem areas of the body. Beginning one year after the enactment of the bill, any time a nursing home replaces a mattress used by a resident, it must swap it for a pressure-redistribution model.

Ex-Wrestler Accused in Nursing Home Death
Authorities claim that a former professional wrestler who suffers from Alzheimer's disease body-slammed a 97-year-old fellow patient at a suburban nursing home where they both lives, causing the man's death. The victim, who suffered from dementia himself, died three weeks after breaking his hip in the confrontation. Authorities have since ruled his death a homicide, though there is no clear indication of what set the former wrestler off. Neither man could remember the incident afterward.

Suit Progresses on Housing for Mentally Ill
A lawsuit filed nearly six years ago seeking to force New York to overhaul the system under which thousands of mentally ill people are housed in adult homes will proceed to trial, a federal judge ruled. Adult homes, which house about 4,000 mentally ill residents in New York City, have long been criticized for their isolated and sometimes sordid conditions. Lawyers for several nonprofits brought the lawsuit, charging that the state had violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by failing to provide the mentally ill with the most integrated, least restrictive setting appropriate to their needs. Many people in the homes could be better served by living in their own homes, at no greater expense to the state, lawyers contended. The state has countered that residents of adult homes are already in an integrated setting, and that the changes suggested by the plaintiffs would constitute a fundamental alteration to the state's services.

Care for Elderly Lacking
One Alzheimer's patient cried out for water before going to the hospital with dehydration. Another broke an eye socket when a wheelchair rolled down a ramp and crashed. A patient at a third nursing home died when workers adjusted a breathing tube. Two at yet another home weighed less than 80 pounds each. In other cases, inspectors cited nursing homes after a resident complained about not getting a hair wash for nearly four weeks, and another was told to "go in your pants" when requesting help with going to the bathroom. Those cases and more were drawn from an analysis of state surveys conducted at 118 nursing homes in Western Pennsylvania over the past three years. Inspectors cited homes for 3,798 deficiencies, and in 33 cases, found serious lapses posing "actual harm" or "immediate jeopardy." Among the lower-level deficiencies, inspectors noted hundreds of incidents that caused pain or discomfort for nursing home residents. Those violations have the "potential for more than minimal harm." They include failures to treat skin ulcers or to help patients when eat when they can't feed themselves. Most often, problems related to quality of care or unsanitary conditions.

Three Former Nursing Home Employees to Stand Trial
Three of the four former nursing center employees charged with abusing an elderly resident were ordered to stand trial on the charges. With the addition of a misdemeanor count of harassment to each employee's charges, the judge ordered trials. The three women, all former Allegheny County employees working as certified nursing assistants, are accused of ongoing abuse of a 94-year-old resident for almost 4 years. The abuse finally came to light after other workers noticed that her eye and jaw were swollen. The resident suffered from Alzheimer's disease and dementia. Four witnesses have given testimony that clearly implicated the women in several incidents of abuse, including smacking the resident's forehead, walking on her feet, exchanging profane insults, name-calling and pelting her with oranges.

Lawsuit Filed Over Patient Death at Alabama Veterans' Home
A lawsuit has been filed against the firm that manages Alabama's three veterans homes, charging negligence in the death of a resident. The suit was filed on behalf of the deceased veteran, a decorated World War II veteran and resident of the home who died as the result of a fall. His family claims that his fall could have been avoided if the home was operated in a responsible manner.

Feds Cut Deal with South Carolina Over Conditions at State-Run Facility
South Carolina officials have reached a settlement with the federal government to resolve allegations of inadequate nursing and health care at a state-run nursing home for patients with long-term psychiatric illnesses. The South Carolina Department of Mental Health agreed to implement immediate reforms at a Columbia care center to raise the level of care to meet federal standards. The U.S. Justice Department had alleged that conditions at the facility jeopardized residents' health and safety, leading to injuries and deaths. An investigation launched in 2006 found a host of deficiencies, including: failure to provide adequate mental health assessments, failure to provide adequate assessment and treatment of swallowing disorders, inappropriate use of psychoactive medication, failure to provide adquate psychiatric services, inadequate treatment for pressure sores, inadequate palliative and end-of-life care and failure to conduct adequate death reviews.

Kane Center Director Details Plan to Prevent Abuse in Wake of Allegations
The 1,100 employees of Allegheny County's Kane Center nursing home system will receive a special reminder with their paychecks: Report any suspicions of abuse promptly. The executive director of the four Kane centers wants to emphasize abuse reporting as one of the several steps taken in the wake of criminal charges against five former Kane Center employees. In addition, supervisors are to increase unannounced monitoring of late night shifts at the nursing home, and periodic criminal background checks are being considered for all employees. Currently, Kane Centers only follow state law mandating that background checks be undertaken of any prospective employee before they can begin working. The renewed emphasis on safety comes after police reported the arrests of four aides and a licensed practical nurse who allegedly took part over months in physical and verbal abuse of a 94-year-old Alzheimer's patient.

Nursing Home Ratings Spark Rebuke
A new national rating system for nursing homes is giving low marks to many facilities, prompting industry officials to question the validity of the ratings. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' Nursing Home Compare web site rates the quality of 15,800 nursing homes across the country. The ratings are meant to give families a way to find out the quality of nursing homes, with each receiving a rating of one to five stars in three categories, including health inspections, nursing home staffing and quality measures, along with an overall grade and fire safety inspection information. Five stars is considered "much above average," while one star is considered "much below average." According to CMS, about 12 percent of the country's homes received five star ratings, 22 percent got one star and the other 66 percent were split among two, three and four stars.

Care Home Resident Charged with Assault
An 18-year-old man is accused of sexually assaulting a resident of a personal care home that was closed by the state. The state Department of Public Welfare shut down Brunnet's Personal Care Home, citing the assault among numerous incidents there. The former patient has been charged with seven counts related to the attack on a 66-year-old mentally challenged man. Police had been called immediately after the attack, and the former patient was charged with involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, indecent assault, two counts of aggravated assault, harassment, simple assault and disorderly conduct. After executing an emergency relocation of 15 residents and shutting the home, state officials said facility operators ignored the declining health of the assault victim, which included incontinence and limping. The facility also failed to obtain psychiatric help for him, as instructed by the hospital.

UPMC Alters Safety System in Wake of Death on Roof
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center executives announced a system-wide safety reform spurred by the case of a dementia patient who wandered away from her room and was found dead 14 hours later on the hospital rooftop. The new system, called "Condition L," will improve hospital searches the way Amber Alerts have in cases of missing children. UPMC revamped its search policies after the death of a patient, who walked away from her room on the 12th floor at 5:00 pm and was found on the roof of the hospital at 8:00 am the next day. The patient was found in her hospital gown and slippers after a night in which temperatures fell to the 20s. UPMC employees insist that they checked her room two other times during their search but found no sign of her. They claim she may have wandered through other parts of the hospital before going outside.

State Shuts Care Home
Officials with the state Department of Public Welfare closed a Summerhill Township personal care home and immediately removed 15 elderly and mentally challenged residents and placed them in other facilities in the area. Welfare officials accompanied by police officers executed an emergency relocation order and move the residents out of the Brunnet Personal Care Home. The closing followed an investigation that revealed a pattern of neglect, including one incident of sexual abuse with an unidentified instrument by one resident on another. A total of 227 violations were documented, and the DPW alleges that the home's operators failed to develop a plan to protect residents from a known sexual offender residing at the facility. They are also accused of being lax in getting the victim medical and psychiatric help following the incident, which left the victim with a fractured pelvis, septicemia and an abscess so severe he was unable to urinate. Help was only summoned to the home three days after the incident when the victim's family visited him and requested medical attention. The facility's owners are also the former owners of another care home that was shut down due to neglect and abuse in 2007.

Suspect in Nursing Home Abuse Charged with Harassment Once Before
One of the five employees charged with abusing an elderly woman at the Kane Regional Center in Allegheny County previously pleaded guilty to two harassment charges from separate incidents while she worked for the county. Kane officials did not know about the incidents and are expediting a plan to do periodic background checks on employees. Administrators do background checks on job applicants, but might not be alerted if an employee is arrested. The employee was charged with misdemeanor simple assault in 2003 and felony aggravated assault in 2005. Both times she pleaded to lesser harassment charges. The employee is currently accused of elbowing and swearing at a 94-year-old Alzheimer's patient. Police allege that she cursed at the patient and then put her elbow into the patient's chest and pushed hard for as long as a minute, repeating this once more.

Workers Fired from Nursing Home Dispute Abuse Allegations
Lawyers representing nursing aides accused of abusing a 94-year-old Alzheimer's patient at the Allegheny County-owned Kane Regional Center disputed the allegations and said their clients performed their best in difficult jobs. Allegheny County officials recently revealed that the nursing home workers had been charged with offenses such as assault and neglect of a care-dependent person after other staff members witnessed alleged abuse. The nursing aides have been accused of punching the patient in the face and chest, throwing oranges at her, stomping on her foot, pouring lotion on her head and repeatedly cursing at her. Lawyers for the aides argued that the patient was unusually combative, unable or unwilling to listen to instructions.

Nurse Supervisor Among 5 Charged with Abuse
Five caretakers accused of abusing or harassing a 94-year-old Alzheimer's patient at an Allegheny County nursing home worked together on the overnight shift, and their activities apparently escaped notice for a time because a supervisor was among their ranks. The nursing supervisor, who has been charged with a summary count of harassment, worked as a licensed practical nurse overseeing the four nursing assistants charged in the case of more serious crimes. Affidavits in the case described the victim as being cursed at, told to "shut up," elbowed, stomped on, punched, pelted with oranges in the face and doused with lotion.

Nearly a Dozen Valley Nursing Homes Under Fire
At least 11 area nursing homes rated below average in the new five-star ranking system that is coming under a bit of fire from administrators. About 22 percent of the nation's nearly 16,000 nursing homes received the lowest rating in the system, while 12 percent received the highest ranking possible. The ratings reflect three major criteria based on self-reporting: state inspections, staffing levels and quality measures, such as the percentage of residents with bed sores. The nursing homes will receive stars for each of those categories as well as for their overall quality.

Hospital May Face Lawsuit Over Woman's Death
The family of the 89-year-old woman who died on the roof of a Pittsburgh hospital has asked Common Please Court to give it access to reports from authorities regarding the woman's death. A writ of summons would allow the family to gather information to prepare a wrongful death lawsuit. The family is currently seeking subpoena power for investigative reports on the death prepared by the Allegheny County medical examiner, the district attorney's office, Pittsburgh police and the Department of Health. The woman, who suffered from dementia and heart problems and had a history of wandering, left her room through a fire exit. Her body was found the next morning by a maintenance worker with injures that suggested a fall. She was wearing only a hospital gown.

Florida Adopts Silver Alerts for Mentally Impaired Elderly Who Wander Off
Similar to the Amber Alert, which is declared when a child is abducted, a Silver Alert is circulated when a person 60 or older who suffers from dementia or another cognitive impairment like Alzheimer's disease goes missing. About a dozen other states, including neighboring Georgia, have adopted similar programs, and legislation creating a national program is pending in Congress. In Florida, where the elderly are so large a share of the population which accounts for half a million Alzheimer's, the Silver Alert has had an immediate impact. All of the 19 people for whom the state has issued bulletins since adopting the program have been found.

Money Blocking Pennsylvania Adult Abuse Act
Currently, Pennsylvania is one of only five states that does not have an adult protective services law. Unless abused adults file a protection from abuse order, which many elderly are physically incapable of doing, authorities have no standing to step in and end or prevent the abuse. Currently, Senate Bill 1049, which has languished in committee, will be reintroduced when the Pennsylvania Legislature returns to session in January. The bill would create an Adult Protection Services branch within the Department of Public Welfare that could investigate claims of abuse and neglect of dependable adults. The bill would also authorize existing groups to be more aggressive in pursuing the allegations, the same way the system operates for children and seniors. However, the Legislature refuses to act on a program that would cost about $6 million annually during the state's budget crisis.

Hospitals Face a New Epidemic: Bedsores
The number of hospital patients with bedsores has risen dramatically over a 14-year period, leading to longer, more expensive hospital stays. Some 503,300 patients admitted to U.S. hospitals in 2006 suffered from a bedsore that developed either before or during their stay. That figure is an increase from 281,300 in 1993, or 78.9 percent. By contrast, overall hospital admissions increased by just 15 percent between 1993 and 2006. Most of the patients who had bedsores were ages 65 and older.

Nursing Home Pays $27,000 Fine
Laurel Crest, a Cambria County-run nursing home, has paid a $27,560 civil fine by a federal agency for deficiencies found in a state inspection. The deficiencies were cited when the nursing home was dealing with a virus similar to the type that hits cruise ships. Because of the virus, the state imposed an 18-day ban on admissions. But it took the nursing home about a month until operations were back to normal. The 53 days the home was fined for represent the time between when the state inspectors reported the deficiencies and when its corrections plan was completed.

Death on Roof Prompts Hospital Probes
The death of an 89-year-old woman on the roof of a Pittsburgh hospital is prompting several investigations, and the hospital could face fines, a change in its accreditation status and a lawsuit from the woman's family. Pittsburgh police, the state Health Department and the hospital itself will examine how the woman, who suffered from dementia and heart problems, was able to wander unnoticed from her room on the 12th floor to the roof. Her body was found there by a maintenance worker the next morning. She was wearing only a hospital gown and slippers in overnight temperatures that dipped to 23 degrees.

County Shells Out $1 Million to Settle Fatal Fall Suit
An Illinois county has paid $1 million to settle a wrongful-death lawsuit alleging a county-owned nursing home failed to prevent an Alzheimer's patient's fatal fall even after she had fallen several other times. The settlement is the largest ever in the county in a nursing home negligence case. The patient's daughter filed the suit in 2005. Her mother had Alzheimer's, an unsteady gait and poor balance. The nursing home failed to update the patient's care plan to address her risk for falls or to follow several interventions the plan required. Between March and October, the woman fell six times at the facility. After a particularly terrible fall, alarms were installed on the patient's bed and wheelchair; however, during her final, fatal fall, none of the alarm systems were in place or functioning properly.

New Laws Would Change Senior Care
Pennsylvania is one of only a handful of states that doesn't have specific regulations for assisted-living facilities; however, state lawmakers passed a bill in 2007 to mandate licensing standards for these facilities. Consumer groups and assisted-living operators argue that the regulations will be too weak and won't help residents, while operators are concerned the regulations will force them to completely renovate their buildings or stop providing care to people.

Violations Reported at 94 Percent of Nursing Homes
More than 90 percent of nursing homes were cited for violations of federal health and safety standards last year, and for-profit homes were more likely to have problems than other type of nursing homes. About 17 percent of nursing homes had deficiencies that caused "actual harm or immediate jeopardy" to patients. Problems included infected bedsores, medication mix-ups, poor nutrition and abuse and neglect of patient.

Ban on Nursing Home Arbitration Agreements Takes Step Forward
A bill prohibiting nursing homes and other long-term care facilities from having prospective residents sign arbitration agreements before any disputes arise has received the approval of the U.S. Senator Judiciary Committee. The legislation seeks to end the fast-growing trend in the nursing home industry of requiring patients to agree to arbitration as the sole way to resolve disputes.

Silver Alerts Help Track Wandering Seniors
With the elderly making up the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. population, police and caregivers will have to spend ever-increasing time and money in coming years to keep tabs on older Americans with Alzheimer's disease, lawmakers and advocates for the elderly warn. The number of Americans living with Alzheimer's is expected to triple by 2050, and about 60 percent of such patients wander away from their homes or care facilities; about half of those who are not found within 24 hours suffer serious injury or death. That is where Silver Alerts come in, which broadcast media bulletins and posts lookout information on highway signs for missing seniors.

Duo Charged in Neglect Case
Lebanon County detectives have charged two officials of Phoenix Services Inc. with neglect  of a care-dependent person and conspiracy after an investigation into the case of a mentally retarded man who police said was found hours from death in 2006. The man, then 50-years-old, was found on the front lawn of a private home suffering from septic shock, acute renal failure, bruises, a urinary tract infection, profound malnutrition, dehydration and a blistering wound on his leg that extended from his knee to his ankle. He subsequently spent five months in the hospital. Investigations revealed that workers routinely left the victim unattended, were absent from the home for several days at a time, sometimes did not give him his medications or meals, and financially exploited him.

Pennsylvania's Assisted Living Facilities Get New Regulations
The Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare is developing new requirements and regulations for assisted living facilities in the state. The new regulations are meant to protect residents, but consumer advocates think the regulations don't go far enough.

State Bid to Close Home Angers Some
Though some residents and staff of Windsor Place in Pittsburgh are trying to save it from shutdown, inspectors from the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare have cited the nursing home for multiple recent incidents in which residents were hospitalized after alleged neglect or abuse. Officials contend there is a sufficient pattern of risk and that residents would be better off relocated.

For Families of the Ailing, a Brief Chance to Relax
In an aging population, nine million people take care of someone with Alzheimer's or another form of dementia, and for many it is a responsibility without a break. But as health professionals and the federal government have recognized the strain on these family members, a growing number of facilities now offer short-term respite stays. In its simplest form, respite might be a home aide a few hours a week or use of an adult day care service. To caregivers at the end of their rope, real respite means a short time away.

Assisted Living Rule Changes Upset Some
Last summer, the Pennsylvania Legislature voted to create a new assisted living category in Pennsylvania, and next summer, the first such housing settings will be licensed. Now is the hazy part in between, with the Department of Public Welfare unveiling new regulations that some provider groups contend are too costly and some consumer representatives criticize as inadequate to ensure safe, quality care.

Simulating Age 85 with Lessons on Offering Care
As the population in the developing world ages, simulation programs like Xtreme Aging have become a regular part of many nursing or medical school curriculums, and have crept into the corporate world, where knowing what it's like to be elderly increasingly means better understanding one's customers or even employees, how to design signs or instrument panels, how to make devices more usable.

State Trying to Close Care Home for Second Time
For the second time this year, the state is attempting to shut down a personal care home in western Pennsylvania. Department of Public Welfare officials sent a notice to the home that they would not be able to renew their license following a series of inspections that showed "repeated violations and current violations." Among the most serious allegations was that a staff member pushed a resident to the floor in a shower, causing a broken hip. In another case, the care home is accused of neglecting a resident's failure to eat and drink so much that the person required hospitalization with signs of starvation and dehydration.

If you think you may have a Nursing Home Abuse & Mistreatment case, we can help.  Contact us today.