Pleasant Law Blog (Insurance Claims, Medical Misakes, and Nursing Home Claims)

Nursing Homes and Private Equity Investors

Nursing home chains have worked hard to avoid accountability for their wrongdoing in cases of nursing home abuse, neglect, injury and death. The purchase of large nursing home chains by large private equity groups has, arguably, made accountability more difficult. If you or someone you love has been hurt by a nursing home, the link contained in this title will take you to an interesting article on this subject. This Baltimore Sun article is about the impact and concers about arge private equity groups, such as the Carlyle Group, purchasing nursing home chains. Concerns include the difficulty this can present in holding nursing homes accountable for nursing home injury, wrongful death, abuse and/or neglect. Because so many nursing home chains have grown so much in the recent past, homes in even the most rural areas of North Carolina and other states are often owned by huge nursing home operators. Whether you are in Fayetteville, Wilmington, Raleigh, Charlotte, or any other North Carolina city, the nursing home your loved one is in may be owned by one of these large chains.  A bill is pending in Congress that would help vicitms of nursing home abuse and neglect, and their attorneys, hold nursing homes accountable in this regard.

Nursing Homes Sometimes Use Unnecessary and Harmful Tactics to Save Time Due to Understaffing

The New York Times ran an article on June 24, 2008 regarding nursing homes overuse of medications, in the sense that certain drugs are being given simply to keep residents calm, and to decrease the nursing home residents' care needs. this is sometimes referred to as they "chemical restraint." the interesting point that this article raised was that often the effects of the drug lead family to believe that their loved one is experiencing/developing dementia or Alzheimer's disease. this over use of medications to keep nursing home residents "happy" is part of a pattern seen in nursing homes -- a pattern that is harmful inappropriate.  For example, a 2003 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that feeding tubes were used on nursing home residents suffering from dementia and/or Alzheimer's disease in greater proportions, despite that these residents were capable normal feeding methods.  The implication is, of course, that these nursing home residents were more easily cared for through the use of a feeding tube.  It takes much more time and effort to feed a nursing home resident by normal feeding methods than it does by simply "plugging in" a feeding tube.  The problem is, though, that feeding tubes -- if not necessary -- may increase the risk of injury or harm to the nursing home resident.  At least at the time of that study, the Medicare reimbursement amount for needing to use arguably provided nursing homes and incentive to use more feeding tubes than was truly necessary because it helped the nursing home make more money.  I have also heard anecdotally that some studies have shown that feeding tubes are used as proportionately in the poor/minority nursing home resident population.  Perhaps this simply reflects discrimination in care (in other words, nursing home staff finds ways to provide less care for the poor and/or minorities).  In any event, families of nursing home residents should carefully consider and evaluate the use of drugs and feeding tubes on their loved one.  If you are concerned about nursing home injuries, abuse, neglect, or even a possible wrongful death; feel free to contact my office with any questions.  It may be that simply discussing your concerns with the nursing home administration will help. We are available to discuss your matter, and you can reach us to hold free at 888.435.7156.