On February
14 2008, McKnight's news reported that, under a new bill that was set to be introduced in the U.S. Senate that day,Nursing
home operators with severe care deficiencies could face civil money fines up to
$100,000 - 10 times the current maximum. The bill would also address another critical issue with nursing homes, an issue that is particularly important in nursing home abuse and neglect cases: nursing home ownership transparency. The bill would add to the government Nursing Home Compare website information on facility ownership, special-focus
facilities, standardized complaint forms and nursing home inspection reports. These reforms are much-needed, and will help those with nursing home abuse and neglect cases in North Carolina and elsewhere. As a nursing home abuse lawyer in North Carolina, unraveling ownership to determine who really runs the nursing homes is a critical issue.
Practice Areas
Blog 
Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect
- Skilled Nursing Facilities - Real Estate or Health Care?
- Nurse-to-Patient ratios have affected care in nursing homes.
- Omega's nursing home/long term care acquisitions: can nursing homes plead poverty?
- Nursing Homes Misuse Money Marked for Staffing: Evidence of Corporate Neglect?
- Nursing home abuse in North Carolina, Unfair Arbitration Clauses
Medical Negligence, Mistakes and Malpractice
- Medical Malpractice Myth - Tom Baker's Book
- Medical Malpractice Insurers Faked Lawsuit Crisis
- Medical Malpractice and Tort Reform: AAJ Primer
- Would Tort or Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Reform Lower Health Care Costs?
- Americans for Insurance Reform Articles on Medical Malpractice
Personal Injury & Wrongful Death
- Auto Accident Insurance (Underinsured Motorist Coverage)
- Life Care Plans for Future Care in Personal Injury Cases Add Up
- $1.9 Million Settlement to Man Killed by Drunk Driver
- Threat of Personal Injury from Dog Bites in Fayetteville North Carolina
Insurance: Unfair Insurance Claim Practices
- Assurant Insurance (formerly Fortis Insurance) Pays Dearly For Misconduct
- Buying Disability Insurance Article May Help Avoid Problems With Unfair Disability Insurance Claim Denials
- Unum Insurance, Provident Life Insurance, Paul Revere Insurance - Regulatory Settlement Details, etc.
- Independent Insurance Adjusters - Help With Insurance Claim Problems
- Insurance Bad Faith Claims on Wikipedia
General
News
- Article on Nursing Home Injury and Nursing Home Wrongful Death Lawsuit Pioneer
Posted on 5/14/2009 - Sunbridge Nursing Home Lawsuit Filed
Posted on 5/13/2009 - Family sues nursing home in alleged sex attack
Posted on 5/13/2009 - Kindred Nursing Homes and Hospitals' Profits Increased in First Quarter 2009
Posted on 5/6/2009 - North Carolina Medical Malpractice Case Filed Against Hospital Over Death Of Child
Posted on 5/5/2009
Pleasant Law Blog (Insurance Claims, Medical Misakes, and Nursing Home Claims)
North Carolina Injury and Wrongful Death Attorney Thomas Waitt Pleasant's blog, facilitating commentary on North Carolina nursing home abuse, injury, neglect, and wrongful death; as well as medical malpractice, medical mistakes and medical negligence. Topics also include unfair and bad faith insurance claims practices.Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect
Family Relationships and Nursing Home Abuse
The nature of the family relationship of a nursing home resident is critical to the success of a nursing home claim. Where there has been abuse of a loved one in a nursing home, one very common defense is to blame the family. Discord among family members can cripple a claim, giving the appearance that the family was not there to support the nursing home resident. This is especially true in situations where a wrongful death claim is brought on behalf of a deceased nursing home resident. In that case (at least under the North Carolina Wrongful Death statute, which is -- of course -- applicable to nursing homes in Fayetteville, NC), the heirs are bringing their claim against the nursing home for their loss of their loved one. Essentially, the loss of the nursing home resident and family member's society and companionship. When a family is portrayed as unloving, this hurts the claim. When family members have not visited the nursing home resident or have otherwise done things to appear not to have cared about the nursing home resident's well being, the claim is hurt dramatically. The nursing home's records will reflect family involvement with the nursing home resident (or lack of such involvement), including family involvement with nursing home staff. Extensive involvement by family members can make a huge difference in the success of a nursing home claim in North Carolina.Labels:
Nursing Home Abuse Statistics Paint Grim Picture
In 2001, almost 90 percent of all nursing homes were cited by a regulatory agency for a deficiency; and a deficiency translates, of course, into potential (or actual) nursing home abuse. With the expected rise in nursing home residencies (as a result of the "baby boomer" generation) in the future, it would seem that without serious reform/incentives, nursing home abuse will continue to rise. When profits are sufficiently large, some corporations who run these nursing homes become willing to allow a pattern of nursing home abuse in their nursing homes. Punitive damges should be an effective way to deter this kind of conduct; but in North Carolina, punitive damages are currently capped at $250,000.00, or three times compensatory damages, whichever is greater. In cases of substantial harm resulting form nursing home abuse, the punitive damages can be significant. But in many cases, the "cost" of abuse to nursing homes is, unfortunately, worth it to some nursing home operators.Labels:
Perhaps Increases in Quantity and Quality of Staff Would Prevent Nursing Home Abuse and Nursing Home Neglect in North Carolina and Elsewhere
The story at the link below illustrates one of the fundamental problems with the state of nursing home care in North Carolina and elsewhere in America. Clearly, sufficient profits exist to pay for the quality and quantity of staff necessary to avoid nursing home abuse and neglect. This article deals with a large nursing home company, Atria Senior Living. It is owned by a large Wall-Street investment fund (Lazard) that manages more than $140 billion. While Atria and Lazard rake in billions, many Atria workers who spend their lives caring for fragile and elderly seniors are earning poverty wages. What could be more important than paying sufficient wages to a sufficient number of these "front line" caregivers? Who would you want caring for your elderly family member? I understand "through the grapevine" that, in 2006, Lazard's CEO earned nearly $23 million; and currently has a net worth of more than $2 billion. Atria facility workers, on the other hand, make about $8 to $10 an hour. Atria Senior Living is one of the largest senior living providers in the country, with more than 130 facilities in 27 states. The actual article can be read at: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/
healthcare-activists-call-on-lazard-affiliated-atria-senior-
living-to-stop,259185.shtml
healthcare-activists-call-on-lazard-affiliated-atria-senior-
living-to-stop,259185.shtml
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TN Tort Reform: Bad for Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect Victims and Their Families
As the nursing home industry seeks to limit "non-economic" damages in nursing home abuse and nursing home neglect (and wrongful death cases resulting from nursing home abuse and neglect), one wonders what will be left to deter the rotten conduct happening in nursing homes these days. Without non-economic damages such as punitive damages, large corporate interests operating many of these facilities these days will have little incentive to change their ways (e.g., budget pressure on nursing home administrators, resulting in severe and dangerous understaffing in some nursing homes; which equals nursing home abuse, neglect and wrongful death in many cases). One argument the nursing home industry is using is that liability costs cause unnecessary expense that could be spent hiring more staff. Unfortunately, we have seen that the nursing homes (especially the large chains we are now seeing) already have plenty of money to beef up staff. Limiting non-economic damages in nursing home cases will also devalue the true pain and suffering to which many vicitims of nursing home abuse or neglect are subjected. The following article discusses the pending proposal in TN. Hopefully, North Carolina nursing home abuse cases will not be limited. http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/feb/03/nursing-home-industry-wants-limits-in-lawsuits/
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More Nursing Home Abuse/Neglect Concern from TN
Drastic nursing home abuse and nursing home neglect legislative reform is being proposed in TN. PR-Inside.com recently reported that State Sen. Jim Tracy (R-Shelbyville) and state Rep. Randy Rinks (D-Savannah) introduced the bill last week that would severely restrict the rights of nursing home victims and their families to seek relief for nursing home abuse/death. This appears to be regardless of how serious the injury or violation of law. The type of neglect and abuse recently documented in TN nursing homes, the story says, ranges from maggots in wounds to untreated broken bones to rape. This is pretty scary stuff. Nursing home lawyers in North Carolina and elsewhere should be concerned about this trend, in terms of the negative effect it will have on relief for their clients abused, injured and/or killed in (or by) nurinsg homes. The nursing home industry is well-financed, particularly with some of the private equity invesetment we are seeing as to some of the larger more profitable groups. The full article can be found at: http://www.pr-inside.com/proposed-legislation-strips-nursing-home-r421402.htm
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USA Today Report: Nursing Home Abuse/Neglect On the Rise?
Another signal that nursing home abuse and nursing home neglect is likely on the rise in North Carolina and other areas can be found in a USA Today report in December of last year, a report that states that nursing home citations increased 22% from 2000 to 2006. These were not frivolous citations, either: these were citations for "putting patients in 'immediate jeopardy." USA Today concluded this based on records from the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which regulates nursing homes that accept Mediare and Medicaid. This report on nursing home abuse does suggest that perhaps it is merely that more nursing home violations are being found, as opposed to incidents of nursing home abuse being on the rise. In any event, an increase in these kinds of claims could be on the rise as a result. In my opinion, this signals the need for families to be vigilant about their loved ones who are in nursing homes, and to get help from a nursing home abuse/neglect lawyer if abuse is suspected. The full article can be found at: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-12-18-nursinghomes_N.htm?POE=clickLabels:
Over 4000 Nursing Homes Identified as Substandard
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) today named 4,037 nursing homes with deficiencies related to both pressure sores and/or restraint rates. CMS says these nursing homes' quality measures in at least one of two areas -- physical
restraints among long-stay residents and pressure ulcers among
long-stay, high-risk residents -- substantially exceed CMS improvement targets. Being a North Carolina nursing home abuse and neglect lawyer, I suspect that my office will see cases from the nursing homes on tihs list. There are indeed quite a few North Carolina nursing homes that made the list. If you or someone you know/love is having nursing home abuse or neglect problem, check out the list at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/QualityImprovementOrgs/
Downloads/NursingHomeChart.pdf
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Hiring a Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer
If one has sufficient evidence of nursing home neglect or elder abuse against a loved one, that person has to then decide on a nursing home abuse lawyer or attorney. There are a number to choose from in North Carolina. I personally am willing to handle nursing home abuse and neglect cases throughout North Carolina, including cases in Charlotte, Raleigh, Wilmington and Fayetteville, North Carolina, to name a few places. At this time, my practice model allows me the freedom to spend larger amounts of time on cases, giving clients more personal attention than some of the larger more "high volume" practices. I usually meet personally with the right nursing home abuse/neglect clients, and am willing to travel throughout North Carolina to do so.Consider that one of the most important factors in hiring a nursing home abuse or nursing home neglect lawyer, as with hiring any personal injury or insurance lawyer, is the lawyer's patience with the client. The legal process can be scary to clients, most of whom have never had any experience with lawsuits; and certainly not with complicated nursing home abuse or neglect cases. Studies have shown that clients most want a "patient teacher" in their lawyer; and what jurors need in courtrooms is an instructor as well. In complicated cases like nursing home abuse/neglect cases, there is a lot of complicated material that must be well-organized and presented so that everyone can understand it.
Consider also that effective advocacy is primarily determined by dedication and tenacity, not necessarily by intimidation/boistrousness. The jury science, I think, bears out that jurors are turned off by lawyers who bully and intimidate, anyway.
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Underinsured Nursing Homes
A recurring problem in nursing home abuse cases is the lack of insurance coverage. In some instances, insurance coverage exists, but is a "wasting" insurance policy that reduces by defense costs/attorney fees in the event of a lawsuit. The problem, of course, is that this situation can leave the victims of nursing home abuse and neglect without any redress for their injuries (or the victim's loved ones, in the case of a nursing home wrongful death case). Justice is not all about money, but the reality is that, in the cases worth pursuing, the defendant nursing home often has no regret and no incentive the change. Indeed, problems in nursing homes are generally the result of understaffing, driven by unrealistic budget constraints. This seems to happen most often with large nursing home chains, which have actually become the rule, rather than the exception -- the bottom line is that the nursing home business is big, profitable business. Physicians, such as nursing home "medical directors" often don't realize that they are not even covered by insurance for their actions on behalf of the nursing home; and when there's abuse or neglect (and a lawsuit), their responsibilities under the applicable state/federal regulations for nursing homes makes them a likely defendant. Perhaps medical directors' liability will force them and the industry to re-think insurance coverage for personal injury, abuse, neglect and/or wrongful death related to nursing home abuse.Labels:
Nursing Home Wrongful Death in UK
Apparently the same problems exist in the UK that exist in nursing homes in the United States. This recent article, published in a UK periodical, highlights the kind of wrongdoing seen all too often in nursing home abuse and neglect cases in the United States; including forging records to conceal improper or lack of care, and retaliation against residents who complain. Unfortunately, as in this case, skilled nursing care requirements often force family, as a last resort, to put their elderly loved one into a nursing home. When that happens, though, the family should be able to expect reasonably that the nursing home will do its job. Medicare regulations are strict and plenty, but nursing homes often cannot comply due to understaffing imposed on management by upper-management's unrealistic budget constraints. The kind of behavior/care outlined in this article demonstrates the result. Hiring a nursing home abuse/neglect lawyer adn pursuing remedies through the courts is sometimes the only way to deter this kind of conduct by nursing homes.Labels:
Nursing Home Shell Game
North Carolinians who have experienced the nursing home abuse or neglect (or wrongful death) may be interested to know that nursing home cases/lawsuits are unusual in many ways, but particularly with regard to the element of "business law" that comes into play due to nursing home chains' attempts to avoid liability by setting up complex corporate structures. To be more specific, in order to avoid ultimate liability, larger nursing home chains are commonly taking all assets out of the actual licensed facility corporation/entity. For example, a separate corporation, affiliated with the nursing home chain, owns that real estate (building and land) from which the nursing home operates. That nursing home affiliate then leases the real estate to another “holding” company who then sub leases the nursing home real estate to an operating company that holds the license with a state such as North Carolina. Also, the “holding” company hires other corporations to provide virtually all the services, equipment and other facilities necessary to run the nursing home. In some cases, these outside companies are merely companies the nursing home chain has itself set up, and which it runs itself. The actual operating nursing home facility will pay rent, equipment leases, and charges for management and other services, and the money flows up to the top. Often all significant profits are “drained” up the ladder in this way by charges that are significantly above market value. It is a sort of “money laundering” used to squeeze everything possible out of the licensed facitlity (which will be the most clear target of any nursing home abuse or neglect (or wrongful death) lawsuit. These types of schemes make handling these cases much more difficult; but the web can indeed be unraveled by a tenacious and dedicated nursing home abuse and neglect (or wrongful death) attorney. Once unraveled, the possibility of actually being able to collect a judgment from a nursing home abuse or neglect lawsuit is increased. If you are in North Carolina and have a loved one who has been injured or killed through the abuse or neglect of a nursing home, feel free to contact my office for a free consultation.
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Nursing Home Arbitration Clauses Present Special Issues
I don't support the enforceability of arbitration clauses in consumer type contracts generally, because in virtually every instance, they are signed without any understanding whatsoever on the part of the consumer. In many instances, admissions to nursing homes are under circumstances that give the consumer no time to read or reflect upon the content of what are often long and detailed nursing home contracts of admission. Many of those I speak with about nursing home abuse and neglect cases tell me that they were not even really given an option when the time came for their loved one to be released to a nursing home from the hospital. Often, this is simply because there are not beds available in enough nursing home facilities to allow choice. A growing issue that nursing home abuse and neglect attorneys have to deal with is challenging the arbitration clauses that nursing homes are putting into their contracts. Nursing home abuse and neglect lawyers should work hard for their clients to avoid these clauses, and preserve their clients' right to a fair jury trial. The review of nurising home arbitration clauses should be iuncluded in the service provided by any North Carolina (Raleigh, Wilmington, Fayetteville) nursing home abuse or neglect (or wrongful death) lawyer or attorney.Medical Negligence and Nursing Home Lawyers Not Surprised by Results of Understaffing
One of the most common things I hear as a nursing home abuse and neglect lawyer in North Carolina is family members talking about how, when they were visiting their resident before he or she died as a result of the nursing home's neglect or abuse, they could never seem to find a nurse or other skilled medical care giver around when needed. This especially seemed to be the case on weekends and after hours. If you are concerned about the care your family is getting in a nursing home, you should make frequent after-hours visits to ensure adequate staffing. Nursing homes these days are extremely profit driven, and make budget descisions about staffing that are not necessarily tied to patient care needs. As a nursing home abuse, neglect and wrongful death lawyer, I am generally not surprised to hear these kinds of comments from family members. This is happening in many nursing homes in North Carolina, from Charlotte to Raleigh to Wilmington, and Fayetteville in between. If you suspect understaffing at the nursing home where your loved one resides, contact a lawyer who can help you determine whether the law is being broken.Nursing Home Attorneys Often See Medical Malpractice As Well
In screening nursing home injury, accident, abuse, neglect and/or wrongful death claims, lawyers often see claims that are really more traditional medical negligence or medical malpractice type claims. Suppose a loved one goes to a North Carolina rehabilitation facility or nursing home for rehabilitation following a stroke. The treatment that resident gets as that nursing home could be substandard or negligent; and the resident may end up injured or in serious jeopardy health-wise. That nursing home resident could end up in a hospital's intensive care unit, and then later be inappropriately (e.g., too early) transferred out for further rehabilitation. A seriously or critically injured or ill person transferred to another facility can sometimes be put in worse shape just through the trauma of travel. This can lead to a medical malpractice claim against the hospital itself for prematurely and negligently releasing this patient to a nursing home. If you have a loved one who is being released from a hospital before you think it is time, pay close attention, and consider contacting a North Carolina lawyer for help if you feel the hospital or medical facility is not doing the right thing.Detecting Nursing Home Abuse or Neglect Is Not Always Easy
I recently had a client (who holds power of attorney for her loved one) see her loved one's "Stage 4" pressure ulcer (bed sore) for the first time, despite that the loved one had suffered from this avoidable injury for more than a couple of months. It wasn't through lack of concern or care, it was apparently just that throughout the whole ordeal, nobody ever thought about showing it to her, and, frankly, she did not understand how serious the pressure sore was. She was practically in tears after seeing it. Pressure sores/ulcers can get grotesquely large and deep, and clearly cause the nursing home resident much pain and suffering. I hear time and time again from nursing home abuse, neglect and wrongful death clients that they were totally unaware that their loved one was suffering from such a wound. Often, the hospital "blows the whistle" when the nursing home resident is admitted to the hospital (often due to healthcare emergencies related to neglect while in the nursing home, and sometimes emergencies related directly to the pressure sore itself). If you have a loved one in a nursing home, try to be involved with that person's care. Be there for changings, etc., so that wounds will be exposed. People with questions about pressure sores that develop in nursing homes in North Carolina should contact a nursing home injury, abuse, neglect or wrongful death attorney/lawyer.Medicare 2008 Action Plan for Nursing Home Improvement Released
Medicare report outlining plans for improvement in nursing homes, including North Carolina nursing homes. This should be of interest to nursing home abuse and neglect lawyers in North Carolina and in other states.Injuries From Nursing Home Falls Can Be Difficult Cases
As a Nursing Home Abuse/Neglect Attorney I am often presented with cases involving falls and related injuries in nursing homes. At first glance, many of these cases appear to be cases of solid liability. It is important, however, to analyze nursing home fall cases closely. Take, for example, the situation where a nursing home resident falls from bed, and is injured. In many cases, no bed rails are used to keep a resident from falling. This is because there is constant tension between the requirements that nursing homes not unnecessarily restrain their residents; and the need to prevent residents from falling and injuring themselves. Further, bed rails can in many instances themselves cause injury (for example, when a resident gets caught in a bed rail and sustains injuries to limbs, or even gets choked). Nursing homes, in order to avoid liability, may take other actions to reduce or eliminate the potential for injuries from falls for their nursing home residents. For example, even when bed rails are inappropriate for a particular nursing home resident, a lowered bed, or even an additional mattress on the floor, might be an acceptable and relatively safe solution. Alarms attached to the resident which detect a resident’s movement can also be used in order to alert staff that a resident is attempting to get out of bed. Obviously, this should trigger a staff response to assist the resident with his or her needs. Unfortunately, none of these measures can ultimately totally prevent the risk of falls and fall injuries in nursing homes where the nursing home is understaffed or inattentive. If you or a loved one has fallen in a nursing home, don’t jump to conclusions about nursing home liability for injuries or death related to that fall. Consider contacting a North Carolina Nursing Home Injury, Abuse, Neglect or Wrongful Death Attorney for assistance in evaluating the situation and making a determination as to whether you have a claim against the nursing home.
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Pressure Ulcers in Adults: Prediction and Prevention (Nursing Home Clinical Practice Guidelines)
I am attaching a link to the "Quick Reference Guide" regarding pressure ulcers, which occur in nursing homes pretty commonly (but inexcusably) in my opinion. These shorter clinical practice guidelines, along with the full-length guidelines, are found at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services website. If you or someone you love was injured via pressure sores/ulcers from neglect in a nursing home, you might check out these guidelines. They should apply to North Carolina nursing homes as a "standard of care" for preventing, assessing and caring for pressure sores. If you have recently put a loved one into a nursing home, you might consult these guidelines to help ensure your loved one is being properly cared for so as to prevent pressure sores/ulcers from developing. Pressure sores are serious, hurt badly in some instances, and can even be deadly if they become infected. If you are in the Raleigh, Fayetteville, Wilmington, Charlotte, or other North Carolina areas; feel free to contact me if you have questions about pressure sores or other nursing home questions.When the Nursing Home Claims Pressure Sores are Inevitable or Unavoidable
Often when I am reviewing potential Nursing Home Abuse, Neglect, Injury or Wrongful Death cases, the client tells me that the nursing home involved has told them that (with respect to the particular resident's pressure sores) pressure sores or pressure ulcers are "inevitable" or "unaviodable." Depending on the severity of the pressure sore (i.e., Stage 3, Stage 4, etc.), this kind of sentiment may or may not carry much weight. For example, Stage 4 pressure ulcers are almost never unavoidable if proper care is given. I believe nursing homes inform the family of a resident suffering from pressure sores that those pressure sores are inevitable in order to discourage the family members from realizing that improper care is being given. The Medicare Regulations applicable to nursing homes actually do make use of the term "unavoidable" in the context of pressure sores. However, the unavoidability of pressure sores is absolutely dependent upon the nursing home facliity's first having provided and exhausted all possible care interventions before a pressure ulcer can be classified as unavoidable. If a pressure sore is not unavoidable, there is liability. So, lawyers examining nursing home claims should pay close attention to the available guidance for nursing home surveyors in this respect. Again, before a nursing home lawyer can claim on behlaf of his nursing home client that a pressure sore was unavoidable, he must first be sure that all necessary treatment was given. Until that point, "unavoidability" is not even a factor. This is true whether the nursing home is in North Carolina or in another state - as long as the facility accepts Medicare Reimbursements, it is subject to the Medicare Regulations, and the previous analysis applies. A careful analysis of pressure sores in a nursing home cases is very important. There are pressure sores involved in almost every Nursing Home Neglect or Wrongful Death case I screen, and most often these pressure sores have resulted in serious infections (e.g., sepsis or blood infection). If you or someone you love is in a North Carolina nursing home and having problems with pressure ulcers, whether in a facility in the Raleigh, Wilmington, Fayetteville, Charlotte, Greensboro, or Winston-Salem area; feel free to contact my office for assistance evaluating your rights.Labels:
Harmful Care Rampant in Nursing Homes According to Official
This link takes you to an article from McKnights regarding the substandard care people are getting in nursing homes. Unfortunately, this appears to be the case in North Carolina nursing homes as well, giving rise to lots of nursing home abuse/neglect/injury and wrongful death claims. Statements have been given to Congress about the recurring and apparently systematic abuse and neglect in nursing homes. "More needs to be done to stop 'egregious instances of poor care,' said ... the chief counsel to the Department of Health and Human Services' inspector general."Dehydrated Nursing Home Patients: Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect Lawyers Can Provide Guidelines
Weight loss is the most obvious and critical factor in determining whether the nursing home is properly feeding and hydrating the resident-patient. There are industry standards and guidelines that can be used to determine whether the rate and amount of weight loss is acceptable, and these are a good starting point for determining whether there is a problem. If the nursing home staff tells you that the weight loss is because the resident just won’t eat, know that this is, in itself, not an acceptable excuse. If a resident is not eating, it could be because he or she is not getting the proper help. Stroke and dementia victims, for example, require a lot of patient help: patience and help an understaffed nursing home might be unable/unwilling to give. Stories of nursing home staff leaving trays of food beside residents’ beds, out of reach, are not uncommon. There is rarely a good excuse for resident weight loss, and you should “investigate” when weight loss is significant in accordance with the above guidelines. In some cases, nursing home residents may actually have a feeding tube. Amazingly, some feeding tube patients still lose weight. There is virtually no excuse for this. The nursing home controls the quantity of food, and should ensure that the resident receives proper nutrition. Residents on feeding tubes often lose weight when staffing is inadequate, and the work required to ensure proper feeding tube feeding is simply not done. For example, in some patients the feeding must be stopped and started again at certain intervals, which requires more monitoring. If your loved one is a patient in a nursing home, and suffering from weight loss, contact my office for a consultation. We can discuss the weight loss guidelines and other issues in your case, and make a determination as to what to do.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 Home Transparency Act: Some Hope For Nursing Home Injury/Death Victims and Their Attorneys
Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Ranking Republican on the Senat Finance Committee, and Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI), Chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, introduced the Nursing Home Transparency and Improvement Act (S. 2641) on Valentines Day 2008. It is the first comprehensive nursing home reform bill since the Nursing Home Reform Act, OBRA '87. Read the statement of the National Citizens Coalition for Nursing Home Reform (NCCNHR) on this bill, as well as press releases from these lawmakers at the link in the title to this blog. As I have stated in other blog entries, this bill is important to nursing home abuse, neglect, injury, and death victims, their families, and their lawyers; whether in North Carolina or other states.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.
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