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 in California is licensed and regulated by the California Department of Public Health. Through its Licensing and Certification Division, the Department of Public Health is responsible for overseeing nursing homes throughout the state. This oversight includes conducting routine inspections, investigating complaints, and enforcing state and federal…
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…
A jury in Arizona has awarded $6 million to the family of Sylvia Culpepper after the 81 year old died from an overdose of morphine in a nursing home. Culpepper, who was an active senior, was in the ManorCare nursing home only to recover from a back injury, and was…
When entering a nursing home, residents or their family are usually presented with a stack of documents that address everything from the fees to be paid to the type of pillow the resident prefers. More than a dozen signatures can be required to complete the admissions process. Often buried within…
In California, approximately 200,000 claims of elder abuse are investigated every year by California social services. Because of proposed cuts to the California state budget, the ability to investigate claims of neglect or abuse could be reduced dramatically at a time when a greater portion of our population will be…
Dehydration and malnutrition remain two of the most serious and most overlooked forms of neglect in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. While these conditions may sound simple or even mild, the reality is far more dangerous. In elderly and dependent adults, dehydration and malnutrition can rapidly lead to organ…