Articles Posted in Elder Abuse

An 89-year-old nursing home patient in Australia was bitten by mice, which shredded parts of his ears, head, and neck. According to reports, this victim of elder neglect was bedridden, and had the tops of ears severely chewed. A federal official, who has launched an investigation into the matter, said it was “extremely disturbing and traumatic” for the resident and his family. We couldn’t agree more.

Here’s a video report:

Embedded video from CNN Video

U.S. News & World Report is out with an article on the common problems found in U.S. nursing homes in an interview with attorney Eric Carlson, author of 20 Common Nursing Home Problems. As a nursing home abuse lawyer, I found the article enormously helpful; particularly the answer to the first question, which I think is the most important:

What can consumers do to best protect themselves up front?

Be aggressive about questioning a prospective home about staffing and staff training. A nursing home generally receives $4,000 to $9,000 a month for the care of one resident, so it should be responsive to both residents and potential customers. Talk to residents and visitors without nursing home staff hovering nearby. Visit several times, at different hours and on different days. Make at least one visit at mealtime. Examine inspection reports. Each nursing home that accepts Medicare or Medicaid payment is inspected approximately once a year. And the National Citizens’ Coalition for Nursing Home Reform offers a consumer guide to getting good care in a nursing home.

California ombudsman Nona Tolentino’s job is to investigate cases of suspected elder abuse in nursing homes. Her conclusion after years as in the business: be afraid, be very afraid.

The biggest problem Tolentino faces is trying to prove the allegations. “I call it the conspiracy of silence,” she said, because many nursing home residents and their family are reluctant to talk about, frequently out of concerns of retaliation or being evicted from the facility. Tolentino believes strongly that nursing home residents have fundamental rights to be free from physical and verbal abuse, unnecessary restraints, or involuntary seclusion.

Tolentino is mostly right. If one were to visit the local office of the California Department of Public Health and pull the file of any large nursing home in the region where they lived, they would be startled by the number of complaints made and investigated. More troubling, however, would be the realization that the vast majority of complaints are “unsubstantiated;” meaning the investigator could not prove the allegations are true.

The Des Moines Register reviewed 81 bonus payment programs in over 30 states and found that numerous nursing homes with a below-average care giving rating were receiving quality-of-care bonuses. The newspaper looked at eight federal bonus programs in states where regulatory violations by a nursing home do not automatically disqualify a nursing facility from receiving a bonus. The eight programs analyzed are costing taxpayers $313 million per year.

By way of example, the Grace Living Center in Oklahoma earned approximately $96,000 in bonuses during the last year despite federal records that show the home has been cite for more violations than the state or national averages. Toby Edelman of the nonprofit Center for Medicaid Advocacy called the bonuses “preposterous,” and pointed out the incongruity of the government taking money from bad facilities by issuing fines, then returning the money in the form of a bonus. “It just doesn’t make any sense,” Edelman said, “it’s totally confusing to consumers.”

Legislation approved earlier this year says the bonuses will continue at least through June 2009.