Nursing Home malpractice comes in many forms, and has many names. Some call it nursing home abuse or neglect, others elder abuse, but whatever the name, it’s increasingly becoming a problem in the United States. And it’s not just nursing homes. Residential facilities and home health care providers can commit…
Yesterday the Bush Administration announced that it will create a nursing home rating system by the end of the year. The criteria for ratings has not yet been established, but will likely be a combination of state and federal inspection reports, staffing reports, and resident and family satisfaction surveys. The…
A nursing home in Anaheim has received a $50,000 fine in the choking death of a resident. The resident, a brain injured man in his forties who had swallowing difficulty, choked on a piece of burrito. According to reports, a caregiver was preparing the man’s meal at Parkview Healthcare Center…
The U.S. Department of Justice is stepping up efforts to reduce nursing home mistreatment of elders through its Nursing Home Iniative. The iniative focuses on improving enforcement of existing laws, training, attention to medical forensic issues, and increasing the use of reliable criminal background checks. Through its Elder Justice program,…
The son of Maria Cobian, the elderly woman who was hit by a car and killed when she wandered away from her nursing home, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit in Vista Superior Court. The lawsuit alleges that Palomar Heights Continuing Care Center in Escondido negligently failed to supervise Ms.…
Nursing home abuse and neglect is not always perpetrated by staff members. New research from Cornell University suggests that aggression and violence between residents may be more prevalent than abuse or mistreatment from nursing home employees. According to the study, peer-on-peer abuse is nursing home is a problem that has…
Washington D.C.’s most powerful lobbyists are being hired by the nursing home industry to fight congressional efforts to reform the industry. The industry is closely watching bipartisan legislation that would significantly increase oversight and enforcement of nursing homes around the country. The new legislation, recently introduced by Sens. Grassley (R)…
The California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform has issued its 2007 Nursing Home Citation Report. CANHR has prepared a citation summary, including the name of the nursing facility, the date, the level of citation, and a brief summary of the facts that led up to the citation. There is also…
Every skilled nursing facility (nursing home) in California is licensed by the California Department of Public Health (DPH). DPH, in turn, is charged with the responsibility of monitoring nursing homes in the state, which includes conducting annual inspections and investigating complaints of abuse or neglect. Most complaints involve allegations of…
A report from the Government Accountability Office states that widespread deficiencies addressing malnutrition, bedsores, medication errors, and abuse of nursing home residents are often understated. Congressional investigators have confirmed in the report something advocates for the elderly have known for sometime. That is, nursing home inspectors routinely miss, overlook, or…