Wednesday, March 20, 2013

MRSA rampant in Southern California nursing homes, caused by understaffing

A new study shows a super bug is rampant in nursing homes.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, is a staph infection that is resistant to several common antibiotics.

The germ was found in 20 of the 22 Southern California nursing homes examined in the study.

The nursing homes agreed to be in the study only if their names weren't released.

Researchers at the University of California, Irvine, swabbed the noses of nursing home residents between October 2008 and May 2011.

The study's lead researcher said these facilities need more nursing home infection control interventions.

Marian Hollingsworth told Team 10 she saw how quickly a loved one can contract MRSA.

Her father contracted MRSA after just a day inside a San Diego nursing home. A nurse called and told her about the infection.

"I found out later that by law, a doctor was supposed to call and inform us of the infection and we were supposed to get information on how to limit the spread and we never did," Hollingsworth said.

MRSA is spread through contact -- either by touching someone with the germ or touching an object with it.

"He was kept near the front desk in a wheelchair a lot. So everyone who went in and out of the facility was exposed to him," said Hollingsworth.

10News - MRSA rampant in Southern California nursing homes, says new study - 10News.com - News

by Bernard Hamill
See more articles:
Nursing Home Abuse
Rape in Nursing Homes




Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Nursing home giant guilty in wrongful death suit - Understaffing and cost cutting

A Sacramento Superior Court jury has returned verdicts of wrongful death and elder abuse against the nation's largest assisted living company.
The Sacramento Bee reports ( http://bit.ly/15wNTw4) the trial now enters the punitive-damages phase for Emeritus Corp, a Seattle-based company with annual revenue of $1 billion.
A suit was filed on behalf of Joan Boice, an 82-year-old resident with Alzheimer's disease who died shortly after leaving an Emeritus facility in Auburn five years ago. When she left, the newspaper says, Boice had at least four major bedsores that were listed as significant factors in her cause of death.
Plaintiffs attorneys argued that understaffing and lack of training represented a strategy on Emeritus' part to cut costs.
An Emeritus spokesperson says the company stands behind the quality of care it provides.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/03/06/5240403/nursing-home-giant by Bernard Hamill
See more articles:
Nursing Home Abuse
Rape in Nursing Homes
-guilty-in-w by Bernard Hamill
See more articles:
Nursing Home Abuse
Rape in Nursing Homes
rongful.html#storylink=cpy
Nursing home giant guilty in wrongful death suit - AP State News - The Sacramento Bee

by Bernard Hamill

See more articles:
Nursing Home Abuse