As Connecticut population ages, elder abuse rises

As Connecticut’s population ages, Abuse of the elderly is on the rise and nationwide, millions of seniors are at risk every year..
Connecticut’s population is the seventh oldest in the nation, with 14 percent of state residents over 65, and 27 percent turning 65 during the next 15 years. And as Connecticut goes gray, an increase in the rate of abuse and neglect of elderly and disabled state residents is following, social services and health care professionals say.As Connecticut population ages, elder abuse rises:

Texas nursing homes ranked worst in nation

Texas has been ranked the worst state in the nation for it's nursing home care. And Amarillo is reportedly one of the worst cities in Texas. The city has twice the amount of severe deficiencies, 40 percent compared to the states average of 20 percent, which is reported through the U.S. Government's site for Medicare.
The state of Texas, being the worst in the nation for nursing home care, is assessed in 8 categories... it failed 6 of them.
Brian Lee, the Executive Director of Families For Better Care, said Amarillo needs help.Texas nursing homes ranked worst in nation - KFDA - NewsChannel 10 / Amarillo News, Weather, Sports:

Man gets sepsis at illegal nursing home, dies

"A 23-year-old man, who was admitted to hospital for a fracture, developed septicemia / sepsis and died at an illegal nursing home, which allegedly doesn't have qualified staff. The mother of the 23-year-old has lodged a complaint with the BMC and Shivaji Nagar police. She was shocked to find that the nursing home is unauthorized and already facing action from the BMC. "Man gets sepsis at illegal nursing home, dies - Mumbai Mirror:



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Family of man killed by nursing home sues facility

 A nurse who fatally shot a patient at the Abington Manor nursing home exhibited erratic behavior in the days before the homicide, but the facility failed to take action to address the situation, the son of the victim says in a lawsuit.
Aimee Larkin, a licensed practical nurse, previously brought a handgun into the nursing home and was acting “strange” shortly before she shot and killed resident Howard Kinney on Nov. 4, 2013. Management at the facility failed to identify that she was emotionally unfit and posed an increased risk to patients, according to the lawsuit filed Friday in Lackawanna County Court.Family of man killed by nursing home worker sues facility - News - The Times-Tribune:

El Dorado Nursing Home Cited for Abuse, Neglect

The Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) has taken the action against Courtyard Rehabilitation and Health Center, LLC.
Here is a partial list of findings after an inspection in January:
Based on observation, record review, and interview, the nursing home failed to ensure adequate supervision was provided to prevent injury to a resident during staff assisted transfers.
This failed practice resulted in an Immediate Jeopardy which caused or could have caused serious harm, injury or death for resident who fell from the mechanical lift while being transferred, sustaining a laceration to the back of the head.    El Dorado Nursing Home Cited for Abuse, Neglect - Local News, Weather, Sports, and Community for Central Arkansas:

Staffing is the key to nursing home quality of life

The following article points out the correlation between good care and adequate nurse staffing in Nursing Homes:
Quality of life (QOL) incorporates various aspects of residents’ lives, including their relationships with staff, social engagement, and food enjoyment. QOL is less frequently studied than quality of care, which is an equally important long-term care quality measurement. To understand facility predictors of QOL, this study examined a broad range of facility factors and found that facilities that invested in more activity staff and registered nurse (RN) hours had higher QOL scores over time than facilities with fewer activity staff and/or RN hours. "Health News - Staffing is key to predicting nursing home quality of life:

Woman charged with abusing eight residents at Bolton Nursing home

"A CARE worker has been charged with abusing of eight residents at a Bolton Nursing home.
Pamela Wolfendale, aged 53, is alleged to have abused residents while working at Bupa’s Mill View Care Home in Bridgeman Street, Great Lever.
The care home states on its website that it is “made up of six houses, each with its own unique character but all reflecting the levels of care and hygiene you would expect from Bupa”.
A police spokesman said: “The charges relate to the abuse of eight residents at a specialist nursing home in Bolton that cares for people with complex needs.
“Greater Manchester Police has been working closely with staff at the home throughout the investigation in relation to the welfare and safeguarding of residents.""UPDATED: Woman charged with abusing eight residents at Bolton care home (From The Bolton News):

Bed bug problems at York nursing home

Visitations are temporarily on hold at the Pleasant Acres Nursing & Rehabilitation Center due to an outbreak of bed bugs. The bugs were found within separate resident rooms on Sunday July 20 and Tuesday July 29.  Nursing home staff believe visitors transported the bugs into the facility within clothing brought for a resident.
Following the initial discovery on July 20, the affected resident’s room, an adjacent room and a visitor lounge used by the resident’s visitors were each vacated, isolated and treated by a pest control company. Additional bugs were subsequently found in the second room on Tuesday, July 29. The room has been isolated pending further inspection and treatment by the pest control company.
No additional bed bugs have been found within the facility."
Bed bug problems at York’s Pleasant Acres nursing home | WPMT FOX43:

Ohio Nursing Home Being Shut Down for Series of Safety Issues

Dozens of people living in a nursing home in Gahanna are being forced out after a series of safety issues.
The Bon-Ing Care and Rehab Center on James Road will be losing its Medicare and Medicaid funding because of 16 violations state officials said were not corrected.
"There were a number of altercations between residents where residents were harmed, kicked by other residents, hit in the head by other residents," said Beverley Laubert with the Ohio Department of Aging.
Laubert said there was another incident of a worker pinning a resident against the wall. "
Nursing Home Being Shut Down for Series of Safety Issues - WSYX - Columbus, Ohio Top Stories - Breaking News, Weather, and Traffic:


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Nurse accused of hitting nursing home resident

"A nurse has been accused of a string of misdemeanor assaults of nursing home residents, including hitting one man in the face.
John Murray has been asked to attend a hearing of the Nursing and Midwifery Council on Monday over nine different allegations, and could be struck off if found guilty.
Mr Murray was working for Fulwood-based NYS Nursing Agency at Walton House in Walton-le-Dale, and Priory Park Care in Penwortham, at the time of the allegations."
Nurse accused of hitting care home resident in face - Lancashire Evening Post:

Management company retained to bring nursing home into compliance - The Anniston Star: News

The Cleburne County Hospital Board voted 6-1 Tuesday to hire Preferred Health Services to help bring the Cleburne County Nursing Home into compliance with state and federal nursing home safety standards.

The nursing home had two inspections, a recertification inspection in May and one in June generated by a complaint, in which inspectors found a total 14 deficiencies. Based on May’s recertification inspection, which found 10 deficiencies, the Alabama Medicaid Agency banned the nursing home from billing Medicaid for new admissions until it came back into compliance.Management company retained to bring nursing home into compliance - The Anniston Star: News:

Deaths at Two Nursing homes show rise in neglect

Staff members at two Minnesota Nursing homes for failed to provide adequate medical care and monitoring, resulting in the deaths of two residents, according to investigation reports released Thursday by the Minnesota Department of Health.

The fatalities come amid a sharp rise in reports of abuse and neglect at homes for senior citizens across Minnesota. The number of maltreatment complaints received by state authorities involving nursing homes, home care and assisted-living facilities nearly tripled to 1,217 in 2013 from 451 in 2010, according to a report issued last month by the Department of Health.

In the latest reports, an elderly resident with dementia was not provided with any fluids, food or monitoring for more than 18 hours in May because staffers at the home, Summit Hill Senior Living in St. Paul, were unaware that the client had been transferred to the facility’s “memory care” unit. The resident was found on the toilet with multiple abrasions and died the following morning, state investigators found.

Deaths at 2 senior homes highlight sharp rise in abuse, neglect | Star Tribune

Jury awards family $14 million — largest payment in at least a decade — for Danvers nursing home negligence - Health & wellness - The Boston Globe

Jury awards family $14 million — largest payment in at least a decade — for Danvers nursing home negligence - Health & wellness - The Boston Globe: "By the time Genevieve Calandro was rushed to the hospital after falling out of her wheelchair at a Danvers nursing home, doctors found a festering pressure sore on her back, acute appendicitis, a urinary tract infection so severe it had invaded her blood stream, kidney failure, uncontrolled diabetes, and severe dehydration.

Despite treatment, the infections prevailed, and the 90-year-old woman died a month later, in August 2008.

Now a Middlesex County jury has decided that the care Calandro received at the nursing home, Radius HealthCare Center, was so grossly negligent, that this week it awarded Calandro’s family $14 million. It is the largest nursing home-related verdict in Massachusetts in at least the last decade, according to Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, which tracks jury awards.

Calandro’s youngest son, Garry Calandro, said Wednesday that no amount of money could compensate the family for his mother’s pain, suffering, and death, but he hoped the large amount would capture the attention of the nursing home industry.

“That is the only way to send a message, or to punish people, and somebody in that business certainly needs to look at it with a more serious manner than just as a big money-making business,” he said.

Most of the award, $12.5 million, was for punitive damages, with the jury indicating on Tuesday that the “gross negligence” was a “substantial contributing factor” in causing the woman’s death.

Lawyers said it was highly unusual for a jury in Massachusetts to award punitive damages in nursing home lawsuits.

Calandro said his mother was a happy woman who devoted her life to family and seldom complained, yet they could tell she was not feeling well in June 2008, and kept asking staffers at the nursing home about their concerns. They were repeatedly assured there was no problem.

“They were telling us that there was a virus going through the nursing home, that’s why she had a fever, and that everything was under control, that they were on top of everything,” he said."



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Staffing Shortages jeopardize patient care in nursing homes

The national study on long-term care, released June 19 by AARP, the Commonwealth Fund and the SCAN Foundation, show problems with the quality of care provided to residents of New Jersey’s nursing homes.
According to the report, New Jersey ranks second-worst in the country for the percentage of high-risk nursing home residents diagnosed with pressure ulcers, or bed sores. This ailment, which is the result of prolonged lying or sitting, can often be prevented by regular turning of the patient and proper positioning. In nursing homes, this work is typically done by certified nursing assistants — or CNAs — who are responsible for most direct, bedside care.
It’s no coincidence that New Jersey’s nursing homes are failing to prevent bed sores at a time when CNA staffing levels are significantly below national standards. NJ received an “F”; in this area from Families for Better Care, a nonprofit citizen advocacy group and industry watchdog. The organization found that “New Jersey nursing home residents may be hard pressed to locate a caregiver when needing help as the state ranks near the bottom in direct care staffing hours.”Staffing crisis jeopardizes patient care in NJ nursing homes: Opinion | NJ.com:

Family says hospital ignored Father causing death

"The family of an 84-year-old man who died after contracting a badly infected bedsore may sue a public hospital that they accuse of gross negligence.
Staff at the Yan Chai Hospital in Tsuen Wan neglected a small wound on Yuen Chung-kun's back, his children say.
They say it developed into a tennis ball-sized ulcer with a bacterial infection that caused his death."

Dead man's family says hospital ignored him | South China Morning Post: