"Lowered Expectations" in Massachusetts Nursing HomesMassachusetts Long Term care report cards including Nursing Home care marks graded Massachusetts at the third out of fourth quadrants for nursing care quality.For these importatnt indicators see the state rank (out of 50)- Quality of Life & Quality of Care: 34th- Support for Family Caregivers: 39th- Percent of home health episodes of care in which interventionsto prevent pressure sores were included in care plan for at-risk patients: 40th- Percent of adults age 18 with disabilities living...
Monday, November 28, 2011
Friday, November 25, 2011
Posted by Unknown on 8:21 PM with No comments
Appendix PP - Guidance to Surveyors for Long Term Care Facilities CMS 11.9999 Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";...
Posted by Unknown on 9:24 AM with No comments
Direct care workers -- certified nurse aides, home health aides, and personal and home care aides -- are the primary providers of paid hands-on care for more than 13 million elderly Americans. They assist individuals with a broad range of support including preparing meals, helping with medications, bathing, dressing, getting about (mobility), and getting to planned activities on a daily basis. Although direct care workers constitute one of the largest and fastest-growing sectors of the workforce, there is a documented critical and growing shortage...
Posted by Unknown on 9:17 AM with No comments
The nation’s largest nursing home pharmacy, Omnicare Inc. of Covington, Kentucky, will pay $98 million, and drug manufacturer, IVAX Pharmaceuticals of Weston, Florida, will pay $14 million to resolve allegations that Omnicare engaged in kickback schemes with several parties, including IVAX, the Justice Department announced today. Approximately $68.5 million of the settlement proceeds will go to the United States, while $43.5 million has been allocated to cover Medicaid program claims by participating states.Nation’s Largest Nursing Home Pharmacy...
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Posted by Unknown on 12:06 PM with No comments
I attended a criminal sentencing in a Massachusetts Superior Court for an aide who had been found guilty of 4 counts of assaults on and mistreatment of nursing home elder residents. The sentencing Judge did not sentence the aide to jail because, astonishingly, he apparently felt sympathy for the aide. Th CNA (Certified Nurse Aide) had been "forced " to work too many hours. And the residents she cared for were sometimes difficult if not "violent" because they had suffered from Alzheimer's disease. As if "resistance" by an ill resident...
Friday, November 18, 2011
Posted by Unknown on 11:45 AM with No comments
Federal Regulations (42CFR§483.10) require that in a nursing home setting: "The resident has a right to a dignified existence (see also §483.15(a) Dignity) self-determination, and communication with and access to persons and services inside and outside the facility. A facility must protect and promote the rights of each resident, including each of the following rights" 42CFR§483.10 Residents Rights are not only good medicine, they are mandated by Federal; and state laws and make up the Standard of Care in nursing homes.These rights include the...
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Posted by Unknown on 10:16 AM with No comments
The Desmoine Register had this article the same day I wrote about placement of past felons in nursing homes and how they increase risk of crimes upon nursing home residents.State officials say doctors did not view convicted sex offender William Cubbage as a sexual predator when they recommended moving him to an Iowa nursing home where he’s now suspected of sexually assaulting an elderly woman. At one time, a psychologist hired by the state believed Cubbage had victimized “a large number of female children” without being charged or prosecuted for...
Monday, November 14, 2011
Posted by Unknown on 10:47 AM with No comments
According to a study conducted to measure pain in elderly nursing home residents showed a marked disparity between racial groups:- About one-quarter of all nursing home residents reported or showed signs of pain.- Forty-four percent of nursing home residents with pain received neither standing orders for pain medication nor special services for pain management (i.e., appropriate pain management).- Among residents with dementia and pain, nonwhite residents were more likely than white residents to lack appropriate pain management.- a significantly...
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Posted by Unknown on 4:50 PM with No comments
Afte publishing the post about Pressure Ulcers v Deep Tissue Injury vs Blisters I received an excellent email from Sue Hull, MSN, RN, CWOCN, who operates WoundConsultations.com"The reason DTI is discussed along with pressure ulcers in the NPUAP document is because it is caused by pressure. If it occurs while a person is a resident of a nursing home, it would indicate negligence in that the measures had not been taken to prevent pressure. I believe it is standard care that a pressure ulcer risk assessment is done on admission...
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Posted by Unknown on 6:28 AM with No comments
What happens when an elder applies to a nursing home who is a convicted felon or a dangerous criminal? What safety meassures are taken by the nursing home to protect the elder residents from predatory actions such as sexual assaults and criminal assaults? Shouldn't they be screened for the protection of all residents? Shouldn't residents families be warned about these types of admissions?Nursing homes report more felons - chicagotribune....
Posted by Unknown on 5:45 AM with No comments
Our law office has handled several Pressure Sore, Pressure Ulcer cases where the defense tries to categorize a pressure ulcer as a "deep tissue injury" which was hidden and not visible to caregivers thereby excusing the caregivers from observing and treating the wound. They usually contend that the wound popped up out of nowhere suddenly and in an advanced stage. In other words this wound was unpreventable and untreatable in its earlier stages because it was hidden under the surface of the skin. This defense distorts the definitions...
Friday, November 11, 2011
Posted by Unknown on 5:54 AM with No comments
11-11-11Surgery is ridiculousy common in older people during the last year, month and even week of life, researchers reported Wednesday. Are these types of surgery just another form of Elder Abuse?The most comprehensive examination of operations performed on Medicare recipients in the final year of life found that nationally in 2008, nearly one recipient in three had surgery in the last year of life. Nearly one in five had surgery in the last month of life. Nearly one in 10 had surgery in the last week of life!Do doctors too often operate...
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Posted by Unknown on 10:53 AM with No comments
Family of fallen resident recently hired the Hamill Firm to represent them to investigate a possible civil action against Sweet Book of Williamstown Rehab (CareOne LLC) . John S., a 72 year old resident died from fall related injuries in 2011 according to an autopsy.Sweet Brooks latest nursing home performance surveys are discussed here. Sweet Brook scored in the lowest 5% percentile according to state performance survey results for 2011.The Hamill firm has successfully suited nursing homes for wrongful death and fall related cases.Federal...
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Posted by Unknown on 7:32 AM with No comments
20 percent of the 11.8 million elderly patients in hospitals develop delirium.Distinguishing between delirium and dementia, which even medical professionals often mix up, is critical. Delirium signals that something in the body is seriously wrong and needs attention, fast. Dementia, not so; it’s chronic confusion and memory loss that comes on gradually and gets worse. Delirium is confusion that comes on suddenly, often within hours, brought on by such triggers as infection, the stress of a disease or operation, not getting enough food or water...
Friday, November 4, 2011
Posted by Unknown on 10:25 AM with No comments
A recent New York Study on Elder Abuse found that:■ The findings of the study point to a dramatic gap between the rate of elder abuse events reported by older New Yorkers and the number of cases referred to and served in the formal elder abuse service system.■ Overall the study found an elder abuse incidence rate in New York State that was nearly 24 timesgreater than the number of cases referred to social service, law enforcement or legal authorities whohave the capacity as well as the responsibility to assist older adult victims.■ Psychological...
Posted by Unknown on 9:56 AM with No comments
One Year after passage of the landmark Elder Justice Act, reforms and enforements have not been instituted due to lack of funding!The Act would have addressed Elder care in Nursing Homes and promoted "coordinated planning among all levels of government; generating and sharing knowledge relevant to protecting elders; providing leadership to combat the abuse, neglect, and exploitation of the Nation’s elders; and providing resources to States and com munities to promote elder justice. The problem of elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation requires...
Posted by Unknown on 9:39 AM with No comments
The historic health care reform bill that President Obama signed into law includes the Elder Justice Act, the Nursing Home Transparency and Improvement Act, the Patient Safety and Abuse Prevention Act, the CLASS Act and provisions designed to improve the ability of people to get needed long-term care services at home.It took three years to enact Nursing Home Transparency and Improvement, seven to pass the Elder Justice Act, and a dozen to create a national program of criminal background checks on long-term care workers. They all became law when...
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Posted by Unknown on 11:40 AM with No comments
Boston Massachusetts nursing home abuse attorney Bernard J. Hamill says a 2011 federal study of safety “culture” in nursing homes highlights the need to consider certain factors in choosing the right facility for a loved one.Hamill, founder of the Massachusetts personal injury lawyers of Hamill Law Group, says the multiple factors were looked at in the study to evaluate the atmosphere regarding elder safety in nursing homes. The safety culture factors measured included:perceptions of resident safetycommunication about incidentssupervisor actions...
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Posted by Unknown on 7:29 AM with No comments
An advocacy group says many patients in MI have experienced severe nursing home neglect and abuse.The Michigan Protection and Advocacy Service says one of the worst cases involves a resident who had to have maggots suctioned out of her throat, after she was taken to an emergency room because she was having trouble breathing.Another resident had maggots infesting her body near her catheter.But state officials say these are isolated cases, and most nursing homes do a good job caring for residents.Mike Pemble is with the Department of Licensing...
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