New Mexico sues nursing home chain over care and staff

New Mexico's Attorney General Gary King sued one of the nation's largest nursing home chains over inadequate resident care and poor staffing practices.
The purpose of this action is to send a message to nursing homes that failure to provide the care that patients need and that nursing homes are paid for will have legal consequences.
The attorney general is alleging that the present company, was profiting by skimping on staff "at the expense of the physical well-being of vulnerable nursing home residents."
New Mexico sues nursing home chain over care and staff

Kentucky nursing home owner wants to limit elder-abuse lawsuits

On separate occasions in 2009, two male residents allegedly sexually abused  91-year-old Mae Campbell once within sight of a nursing supervisor. The state said the nursing home “failed to protect” its residents from roving sexual predators in their midst. The home and its administrator were spared a criminal trial by paying a $20,000 fine.
Hazard Health Rehab also was home for Glenda Lykins, a dementia patient who tended to wander and fell 11 times, finally breaking a hip in 2011 before she was moved out. Home it was, too, for Anna Ambrose, who died there in 2006 with a gaping pressure ulcer and bedsores. Eastern Kentucky nursing home owner pushes for roadblocks to elder-abuse lawsuits | Local News | Kentucky.com:

Safety studied at nursing home after resident dies from window fall

According to  the Division of Licensing and Regulatory Services of the Department of Health and Human Services  an investigation of St. Joseph Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Frenchville on Nov. 19 and 20 found deficiencies in care that resulted in DHHS issuing a finding that conditions at the facility placed patients in “immediate jeopardy.”

The death of an elderly female nursing home resident of the 42-patient facility, which resulted from an nursing home accident at the residential care center on Nov. 14, prompted the investigation. The resident died at Northern Maine Medical Center on Nov. 15 because of injuries suffered after falling from a second-story window in the St. Joseph nursing office. Safety studied at Frenchville nursing home after resident dies after fall from window — Health — Bangor Daily News — BDN Maine:

Video Proposed to Safeguard Nursing Home Residents

One of New Jersey's legislators want to protect nursing home patients by giving them the right to install videos in their rooms to help prevent elder abuse.
Not surprisingly, it has drawn strong opposition from nursing homes, who see it as a violation of residents privacy although that argument seems specious when the request is made by the resident!  The NJ bill is A-3883.

Legislation Would Let Families Record Activities in Nursing-Home Rooms - NJ Spotlight:

Summerton woman charged in alleged nursing home abuse - Post and Courier

A 24-year-old Summerton woman is charged with abuse and neglect of two vulnerable elder adults at a Sumter nursing home.
The Sumter Item reported Thursday that Andria Martrice Lawson was arrested Monday and charged with one count of abuse of a vulnerable adult and one count of neglect of a vulnerable adult.
Deputies say they were called to the Sumter Valley Health and Rehabilitation Center on July 25.
A 70-year-old woman told deputies Lawson allegedly struck her in the chest when she asked Lawson to change her clothes. A 71-year-old man told deputies Lawson allegedly abandoned him nude from the waist down in a wheelchair." Summerton woman charged in alleged nursing home abuse - Post and Courier:

Man says late mother was neglected in West Virginia nursing home

Clarence Logan, personal representative of the estate of Brenda Belcher, filed a lawsuit Sept. 16 in Kanawha Circuit Court against 1000 Lincoln Drive Operations, doing business as Valley Center, and Genesis Healthcare, citing nursing home negligence.
According to the complaint, Belcher was a resident of the Valley Center, a nursing facility on Lincoln Drive in South Charleston operated by Genesis Healthcare, from Jan. 22, 2013, until March 18, 2013, during which time she experienced neglect, falls and skin breakdown, which resulted in serious injuries and, ultimately, her death.
The defendants are accused of statutory violations, negligence, and ordinary negligence and reckless misconduct in failing to sufficiently staff and supply the facility. The defendants are also sued under a wrongful death claim.
Logan seeks damages and attorney fees. Man says late mother was neglected in nursing home | West Virginia Record:

Lawsuit says Iowa nursing home mistreated woman

"The family of an elderly Iowa woman who died this week has sued the nursing home where she was receiving care, accusing the facility of leaving the woman naked and soiled on the floor of an unfurnished room.
Kris Gerhard, the daughter of 74-year-old Rochelle Gerhard, filed the lawsuit Friday against Madrid Home for the Aging, The Des Moines Register reported (http://dmreg.co/1uatPvo ). Kris Gerhard is a judicial mental health advocate for five Iowa counties.
The lawsuit says that when she went to visit her mother Aug. 2, she found the woman on her hands and knees in a room with no furniture, screaming, "I am not a dog!" The floor of the room was covered in two-inch mats, Gerhard said, and the woman had excrement on her. She believes her mother may have been kept in the room for up to three days."
Lawsuit says Iowa nursing home mistreated woman - SFGate:

Most nursing home residents chronically constipated

"Chronic constipation is highly prevalent in nursing homes and not well controlled, leading to a high likelihood that residents develop fecal impaction, according to findings from a first-of-its kind study.
Nearly 71% of the participants from 34 Spanish nursing homes had chronic constipation, the investigators determined. Fecal impaction was “prevalent” in nearly half of these residents, suggesting that while chronic constipation is almost always correctly diagnosed, it is not well controlled."
Vast majority of nursing home residents chronically constipated, and it's not well controlled, researchers say - McKnight's Long Term Care News:

Princeton nursing home blamed for woman’s death

Linda French, as personal representative of the estate of Phyllis Simpkins, filed a Nursing Home Negligence lawsuit Aug. 4 in Mercer Circuit Court against The Havens at Princeton LLC, doing business as The Havens at Princeton, Ridge Care Inc. and Tonya Gerber, administrator, citing wrongful death.

According to the complaint, on Aug. 2, 2012, Simpkins was admitted to the defendants’ assisted living facility in Princeton, where she suffered multiple falls resulting in subdural hematoma, which contributed to her death March 2, 2013. The defendants are accused of negligent training and hiring, negligence and wrongful death.Princeton nursing home blamed for woman’s injuries, death | West Virginia Record:

Eight Nursing Homes Fined For Proper Care

Eight nursing homes have been fined more than $1,000 each by the CT. Department of Public Health in connection with incidents in which residents sustained cuts or broken bones or suffered from lapses in care.

DPH fined The Springs at Watermark 3030 Park in Bridgeport $1,440 on July 8 in connection with a Feb. 27 incident in which a resident did not receive prompt IV hydration, records show.Eight Nursing Homes Fined Following Lapses In Care - Courant.com:

Nursing home fined over missed medication

A Tucson nursing home was hit with a $4,750 civil penalty, and its director was placed on probation, for repeatedly failing to provide prescribed medication to a resident who later had to be hospitalized. 
The Arizona Department of Health Services substantiated a charge of elder neglect after conducting a complaint investigation at Emeritus at Catalina Foothills, 3701 N. Swan Road, on Jan. 17. The inspection found that on 19 occasions, staff members failed to provide the medication ordered by the resident’s primary-care physician, the blood-thinner warfarin, to treat an irregular heartbeat and history of blood clots in the lung. The department issued a $250 fine for each missed dosage. Nursing home fined over missed medication:

Elderly man dies after North Naples nursing home incident

A 90-year-old man left in the heat for three hours outside a North Naples nursing home last week died recently.
Nurses at the Aristocrat Nursing home found Robert Bernard unresponsive in his wheelchair last Wednesday afternoon.
A 911 caller told a dispatcher that the man had a 105-degree temperature and there were three nurses working to cool him down.
A police report indicated Bernard was wheeled outside about 2 p.m. and the staff discovered the mistake about three hours later. Officials say Bernard was suffering from heat stroke, dehydration and sunburn.
Elderly man dies after North Naples nursing home incident - WFTX-TV Fort Myers/Naples, FL

nursing home employees arraigned

Three former employees at Genesis HealthCare’s Edmonson Center nursing home pleaded not guilty Monday to several charges stemming from allegations of nursing home abuse.
Jerry Snyder, Kelly Duvall and Kayla Kinser will return to Edmonson Circuit Court on Dec. 15 following their arraignments.
Snyder, 30, of Leitchfield, is charged with 14 counts each of first-degree criminal abuse, knowingly abusing or neglecting an adult and fourth-degree assault, plus two counts of second-degree wanton endangerment.Former Edmonson nursing home employees arraigned - Bowling Green Daily News: News

Chatham care home Agape House closed after neglect death

 A nursing home has been forced to close after serious concerns were raised about care following the death of one resident who suffered neglect.
Inspectors found Agape House in Chatham, which looks after elderly people including patients with dementia, was failing to meet standards.
A safeguarding investigation by Medway Council found a person who died in October 2013, had suffered neglect at the privately-run homeChatham care home Agape House closed after neglect death:

nursing home workers indicted

Three people were indicted Wednesday after an investigation into reported abuse at a Brownsville nursing home.
An Edmonson County grand jury formally charged Jerry Matthew Snyder, 30, of Leitchfield, with 14 counts of first-degree criminal abuse (adult), 14 counts of fourth-degree assault, 14 counts of knowingly abusing/neglecting an adult and two counts of second-degree wanton endangerment.Ex-nursing home workers indicted - Bowling Green Daily News: News: