Spartanburg Personal Injury Lawyer - Nursing Home & Elder Abuse

Decreasing Quality of Care

Lara Pettiss Harrill — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 14:43:51 GMT

Les Wiebrod wrote this piece for the Huffington Post earlier this month, and I thought I would pass it along. he talks about two things that came out in the media this month: the Department of Health and Human Services Inspector General's report that 94% oof nursing homes around the country have violations; and, the NY Times article about Medicare no longer paying for preventable mistakes that occur in hospitals.

Wiebrod points out that the Inspector General's report indicates that for-profit nursing homes are the worst when it comes to nursing violations - which tells you a little something about which comes first, profits or patients. This little bit of informaiton is made worse by the fact that more and more nursing home admissions contracts are including binding arbitration in order to avoid litigation. As for Medicare's position that it will no longer pay for preventable errors, I think that's a fine position, but the reality is, most likely the errors will continue, and the cost will be passed on to the patients, rather than the hospital or nursing home losing money.

Its an interesting article, very much like my own rants . . . so I'll let it speak for itself.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Lara Pettiss Harrill

Making A Complaint Against A Nursing Home

Angela Lizer — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 22:43:49 GMT

The purpose of the Long Term Care Ombudsman program in South Carolina is to provide advocates for the elderly and their families. If you or a loved one is a resident of a nursing home or assisted living facility in South Carolina, the Ombudsman in your region should be able to answer your questions. Most importantly, if you have a complaint against a facility contact your Ombudsman for help. Click here for to find out more about the Long Term Care Ombudsman program and to get contact information. Another resource to try is SCDHEC, or South Carolina Department of Healht and Environmental Control. This is the agency that licenses and inspects nursing home and assisted living facilites in South Carolina. Click here for more information.

When making a complaint, whether it is made to the Ombudsman, DHEC, or the facility itself, it is best to do it writing, not verbally, and make sure you keep a copy for your records.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Angela Lizer

Where does the money go?

Lara Pettiss Harrill — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 09:54:53 GMT

I was looking around to day for new nursing home stories, and I'm glad to say Jonathan Rosenfield at the Chicago Nursing Home Lawyer Blog had something i hadn't run across already - although I should have - I really think everyone should know about this story.

In Cincinnati, there is a facility that houses the Health Care Center at Westside and The Terrace, from what i gather, nursing home and assisted living - in March of this year, the police (that's right, the police) found terrible living conditions in these facilities - just after the facility had been inspected by the state in January and the city at the end of February. During those inspetions, the facilities were cited for only minor violations. So a police officer goes in looking for someone else and finds "deplorable living conditions" and returns two weeks later with more officers and both city and state health inspectors.

Now, we're talking about a really nasty place - vomit that has not been cleaned up, pipes tied together with shoe strings, roaches and flies, cigarette butts in the floor, residents smoking near oxygen containers, soiled mattresses, lack of toilet paper, lack of diapers for the residents - the list goes on and on.

So, as usual I got interested, and i found more articles, here here and here. The thing that makes me the angriest is that this facility is one of those facilities that typically houses the mentally ill (and by the way, the staff had no training to deal with the mentally ill) or the very poor, or those with no families - and what that says to me is 'no one to complain.' And then top that with the fact that apparently the state inspectors don't complain either, and these people get to suffer without anyone to speak up for them.

The facility operator Abe Fischer believes he's being somehow railroaded, see his picture here.

The facility has been receiving $3.2 million in payments, but the conditions are that terrible? Where the hell is the money going?

I do have to say, though I cannot explain it, that many of the residents don't want to move, and I can only guess that they just have no where else to go and after some period of time a place becomes your home, no matter how bad it is. I hope to never have that experience. I hope one day that this sort of experience no longer exists.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Lara Pettiss Harrill

Nursing Home Responds To Abuse Allegations

Chrissie Cole — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 02:06:53 GMT

Following accusations of nursing home abuse and neglect, a Central Illinois nursing home is employing changes and reeducating their staff on the proper policies and procedures.

The state says the abuse occurred in February at, Odd Fellow Rebekah Home, in Matoon. A nurse employed by the nursing home is accused of holding down a resident to give him his medication and threatening another resident with an injection if they didn't take their meds. The nursing home was fined $30,000 for the incident.

Nursing home officials are fully cooperating with the public health department investigation. The nursing home plans to appeal the $30,000 fine.

For more information on this topic, please visit our section on Nursing Home Injuries and Elder Abuse.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Chrissie Cole

Nursing Home Cleared of Complaint

Christina Cole — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 19:58:17 GMT

Police have determined there is not sufficient evidence to back up a recent complaint of nursing home abuse filed against a nurse at Georgetown Healthcare and Rehablitation.

Police were called to the facility in March when a resident alleges he was choked by a nurse. He said the incident happened back in December, but he had waited until now to report it due to fear that the nurse would retaliate.

The claim was investigated by Georgetown Police and the Department of Social Services. The nurse accused of abuse was put on suspension during the duration of the investigation.

Investigators interviewed the nurse on April 3 and informed her of the allegations made against her. She contends she never has and never would harm the man that made the complaint.

On April 5, the man was shown pictures of 12 different women who work at the facility and he was asked to identify the nurse that had choked him. The photo he chose was not the nurse that he had made the report against. During the original report he had said another nurse was in the room when the assault happened but during the most recent interview he said they were alone.

Based on the investigation, there is no physical evidence or witnesses to support his claim against the nurse. At this time the case has been unfounded.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Christina Cole