Canada promise tough sentences for crimes against seniors

The Canadian federal government is introducing legislation that calls for tougher sentences for those convicted of elder abuse.
Justice Minister Rob Nicholson and Minister of State for Seniors Alice Wong announced plans to amend the Criminal Code so that taking advantage of a senior will be considered "an aggravating factor" in a crime. That "aggravating factor" would then be taken into consideration during sentencing.
"We have a responsibility to protect the most vulnerable members of our society, including older Canadians," Nicholson told reporters during the announcement at a seniors centre in Toronto on Thursday.
Nicholson explained the legislation does not call for specific penalties in cases involving the abuse of seniors, but calls on judges to use their discretion in each case.
"It's up to the judge within the offences that the individual has been charged with, to make that determination after they've been found guilty. And that's our job as legislators: to make these provisions, and that's exactly what we've done: make this an aggravating factor that the courts will have to look at," Nicholson told reporters.
Feds promise tough sentences for crimes against seniors | CTV Ottawa | CTV News

nursing home worker sexually assaulted resident

An employee of a St. Paul nursing home is accused of exposing himself and sexually assaulting a nursing home resident, according the Minnesota Department of Health report.
The state agency said the alleged nursing home assault incidents took place at the Highland Chateau Health Care Center, according to a report made public Tuesday, March 20. The nursing home, located at 2319 W. Seventh St. in the Highland neighborhood, self-reported the case.
According to the health department report, a resident told a state inspector that an employee had approached her several times while providing care and tried to touch her breasts, exposed his penis and had her provide oral sex.
The worker was not named and he denied the allegations.
"The (worker) provided inconsistent information during the course of the interview," the report states. Even though a health department investigator had found information about a similar situation in his past, the worker "denied that he had similar concerns about being sexually inappropriate with a resident," the report stated.
The worker had been the focus of two neglect allegations and one physical abuse allegation at other facilities, according to the report. Another employee at the nursing home described the resident as "alert and oriented," the report stated, and did not have a history of making false accusations.
St. Paul nursing home worker sexually assaulted resident, state says - TwinCities.com

Roscommon West Roxbury on National Watch List - Memberofthefamily.net

According to the website: http://www.memberofthefamily.net/watch/225499.htm
"Based on the annual and complaint survey data reported by CMS as of 02/26/12 , this home is listed because in at least one area they caused actual harm to a patient and/or subjected the patients to immediate jeopardy. More recent reports/corrections may be available. Check with the nursing home administrator. Actual harm is indicated by a score of G, H, I, while J, K, L indicate immediate jeopardy. The color coding scheme is explained in the site.

Study: Mass. medical board ranks poorly on MD discipline

Study: Mass. medical board ranks poorly on MA Doctor discipline
Public Citizen, a consumer group with a focus on health care, issued its annual listing comparing medical boards based on how regularly they discipline doctors. Not only does Massachusetts rank poorly, at No. 47, but it is among a handful of states that have dropped significantly in recent years. Seven years ago, the state was ranked solidly in the middle of the pack at No. 23.
The report ranks states based on the per capita number of serious disciplinary actions, or those that lead to a doctor license revocation, suspension or probation, over three years. For every 1,000 doctors in Massachusetts, there were 1.83 serious actions.
Study: Mass. medical board ranks poorly on MD discipline - White Coat Notes - Boston.com

2 El Dorado County nursing home workers charged with felony elder abuse of patient

2 nursing home workers charged with felony elder abuse of patient:
PLACERVILLE, Calif. — Prosecutors charged two nursing home workers with felony elder abuse after a 77-year-old woman was neglected at a Placerville facility shortly before she died in 2008.

The attorney general's office filed the charges after the death of Johnnie Esco, an Alzheimer's patient who spent two weeks at the El Dorado Care Center to recover from pneumonia, the Sacramento Bee reported (http://bit.ly/ADK579 ) Friday.
During Esco's stay, nurses were supposed to closely monitor her because medications left her with chronic constipation. She later died at a hospital on March 7, 2008, after suffering severe fecal impaction, and doctors also found unexplained bruising on her body.
The center's former director of nursing, Donna Palmer, 58, was arrested Tuesday and released on $75,000 bail. A warrant was issued for nurse Rebecca Smith, 38, but El Dorado County jail records did not show that she had been arrested as of Friday
2 El Dorado County nursing home workers charged with felony elder abuse of patient | The Republic

Nursing home failed to protect patient from resident with criminal record

The family of an Alzheimer’s patient who died after a physical altercation with another patient at Oak Park Healthcare is suing the west suburban nursing home for wrongful death, according to a press release issued Thursday by the family’s lawyers.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday alleges the facility violated federal and state nursing home regulations in failing to protect patient from physical abuse and failing to provide appropriate supervision, according to the press release.
Anibal Calderon, an 80-year-old resident of the Oak Park Healthcare Center, “was assaulted by a 66-year-old resident with a violent criminal record and felony background,” according to the press release.
Calderon died Feb. 14 after head injuries suffered during the fight at the facility two days earlier.
Lawsuit: Nursing home failed to protect patient from resident with ‘violent criminal record’ — Oak Park & River Forest news, photos and events — TribLocal.com

Nurses face felony charges in nursing home death

An 81-year-old Cameron Park man who served during three wars won the fight of his life this week when California's attorney general charged two nurses with felony elder abuse in connection with the 2008 death of his beloved wife.

The nurse arrest in Modesto of one nurse and the pursuit of the second, who reportedly has left the state, marks a bittersweet victory in the four-year quest of Don Esco to find justice for his late wife.
Johnnie Esco, 77, died on March 7, 2008, after a two-week stay at the El Dorado Care Center in Placerville, a skilled nursing home facility owned at the time by Horizon West Healthcare Inc. of Rocklin. The company sold its 27 nursing homes last year to Plum Healthcare Group, a San Marcos-based chain.
Read more here:Nurses face felony charges in death of Cameron Park man's wife - Health and medicine - The Sacramento Bee

whistleblowing nurse out of work

SMITHFIELD - Psychiatric nurse Jeannine Peterson, a rock-climber when she's not in uniform, is accustomed to scaling barriers, but she hasn't been able to get past the fallout from her latest role in life: whistleblower.
It was a phone call from the 59-year-old Peterson that set into motion a recent investigation of elder sexual abuse that almost cost the Hebert Nursing Home its status as Medicare and Medicaid provider.
So far the only result, as far she's concerned, is the satisfaction of believing that she did the right thing.
But the call she made has claimed her $1,000-a-week-job, her peace of mind, and any faith that the "system" works. In fact, she thinks that by reporting a bizarre, long-term situation she may have actually made things worse.
Adding to her frustration is the fact that despite eyewitness accounts that she, and others, reported to the Smithfield Police, the state Attorney General's Office has declined to prosecute, saying that what the employees saw does not rise to a criminal level.
Smithfield Police Capt. Michael Rheaume said he could not understand that, because the sexual abuse charge seemed appropriate "and that's why we brought it to their attention."
Hebert Nursing Home states: 'We are in compliance,' while whistleblowing nurse out of work, license in jeopardy | The Valley Breeze