Nursing Home & Elder Abuse

• Tragedy and Death at a Virginia Nursing Home

  Dan Frith | August 17, 2008 1:19 PM | 1 CommentRoanoke, VA

  What a sad story! The body of a 71-year-old man missing from Bowling Green Healthcare Center (Caroline County, Virginia) nursing home since August 3 has been found. Robertson suffered from dementia....

• Nursing Home Evictions: How Can They Do That??

  Jeff Rasansky | August 07, 2008 4:44 PM | 1 CommentDallas, TX

  Nursing homes all over the country are evicting residents. According to the Wall Street Journal, complaints about these discharge practices have doubled over the past decade, which makes it the...

• Medication Abuse in the Elderly by Nursing Homes

  Beth Janicek | June 25, 2008 4:01 PM | 1 CommentSan Antonio, TX

  A recent New York Times article is criticizing the use of antipsychotic drugs for patients with dementia. The drugs have not been approved by the FDA to treat dementia but are often prescribed...

• Ken Conner and the GOP's Nursing Home Dilemma

  Dan Frith | June 14, 2008 6:56 AM | 1 CommentRoanoke, VA

  Ken Conner, the conservative Christian Republican trial lawyer came to Washington to testify in support of a bill that would ban the use of mandatory binding arbitration clauses in nursing home...

• Assisted Living Facilities

  Beth Janicek | June 10, 2008 6:18 PM | 1 CommentSan Antonio, TX

  Assisted Living Facilities (ALF) are a welcomed alternative to nursing homes for many families. However, there are issues which arise with these facilities and expose their owners to liability. The...

• Elderly Dementia Patients Given Antipsychotic Drugs

  Beth Janicek | May 29, 2008 4:29 PM | 1 CommentSan Antonio, TX

  Canadian researchers said on Monday that elderly patients with dementia that were prescribed antipsychotic drugs are three times more at risk for serious health problems or dying within a month...

• Alabama among worst in nursing home deficiency reporting

  Wendi Lewis | May 16, 2008 3:35 PM | 1 CommentMontgomery, AL

  A review of the nation's nursing home inspection reports by the Congressional Government Accountability Office (GAO) lists Alabama among nine states with the worst records of nursing home inspection accuracy, saying inspectors missed serious problems in more than 25 percent of all inspections from 2002-2007. The report said most states still fared dismally, missing at least one serious deficiency in 15 percent of all inspections.

• Nursing Homes May Be Reimbursed for Employee Screening

  Sandy Grinnell | August 04, 2007 10:51 AM | 1 CommentOrlando, FL

  A bill submitted by U.S. Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI) will allow Medicare and Medicaid to pay long term care facilities for the background check of applicants for hire. It also provides for a centralized database from all states from which the background checks can be made. The Patient Safety and Abuse Prevention Act of 2007, which is supported by the American Health Care Association, would allow...

• Project results on 75% reduction in bed sores

  Barry Doyle | July 25, 2007 8:00 AM | 1 CommentCook County, IL

  Researchers in New Jersey recently announced the results of a project which was intended to reduce the development of bed sores in patients in health care institutions. Bed sores are technically known as pressure ulcers and are caused by unrelieved pressure on the skin, usually on bony prominences. The unrelieved pressure results in tissue death, which causes pain for the patient and...

• Elder Abuse: Nursing Home Neglect Is a Widespread Problem

  Laura Blatt | June 28, 2007 6:21 PM | 1 CommentNovato, CA

  A nursing home is guilty of neglect when it fails to fulfill its duties to its residents. These obligations can range from providing special diets to taking a frail, elderly person to the toilet at appropriate times. Refusing to answer a resident's page or failing to call his or her doctor may also be neglect. A bedridden nursing home resident should be repositioned at least every two hours to...