Three New York Nurses Surrender Licenses After Being Charged with Nursing Home Abuse
Graphic details have recently emerged about three New York nurses who subjected their nursing home patients to sustained verbal and physical abuse. According to an article in Mid-HudsonNews.com, Myrna Siegel, an RN at the Sullivan County Adult Care Facility in Liberty, forcibly held down a patient and called her an “evil witch.” In another incident, Siegel told a resident who was resisting his medication that “he had a death wish and was going to die if he didn’t take his medicine.”Behavior like this is simply unacceptable. Luckily, Siegel was caught by the Attorney General’s Office, and her license has since...
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Wait A While & Bad Nurses May Just Migrate To Your State To Care For Your Loved One
Loopholes in a reciprocity program amongst 24 states that allows nurses from one state to transfer to another may be putting a tremendous number of nursing home and hospital patients at risk for receiving poor care-- or perhaps more accurately downright dangerous care. A recent USA Today article "Bad nurses able to keep working in other states" highlights the problems associated with the lack of a national database to keep track of nurses with blemishes on their records. The article chronicles how some nurses legally obtain work in one state when they may have been disciplined for poor care in...
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Nursing Home Injury Laws Establishes Itself As A Trusted Resource For Families Seeking Information Regarding Their Legal Rights
Since its inception, Nursing Home Injury Laws has become a trusted resource for caregivers and families seeking reliable information in a time of need. Nursing home injury laws provides a comprehensive compilation of state-by-state nursing home contacts, a glossary for common legal terms, resources and legal information should the need arise. In addition to important links to important developments within each state, Nursing Home Injury Laws provides has important information on the following commonly encountered nursing home injuries: Bed sores / decubitus ulcers / pressure ulcers / pressure sores Falls Medication errors Neglect Sexual abuse Wandering Wrongful death Physical abuse Nursing...
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Children In Nursing Homes: Truly The Most Vulnerable
Many families are forced to institutionalize their disabled children in nursing homes because of many states don’t have the resources to pay for in-home care. This puts parents in the difficult position of funding expensive home care on their own or having their child live in a nursing home, surrounded by elderly adults, and many families simply cannot afford the cost of in-home care workers and nurses. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services estimates that about 4,000 children live in nursing homes in the U.S. and that number is steadily growing as health care resources are increasingly spread thin....
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Mentally Disabled Patients Are Easy Targets For Abuse In Institutional Settings
People who suffer from mental impairments are particularly vulnerable to abuse and exploitation including physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation. A mental impairment is any mental or psychological disorder, such as mental retardation, organic brain syndrome (diseases that cause decreased mental functions), emotional or mental illness, and specific learning disabilities. Caregiving can be very stressful because caring for a person with a mental impairment can require a lot of time, work, and money. Sometimes this stress can cause caregivers to provide inadequate care or even abuse the mentally impaired person. This can put the mentally impaired at increased risk for neglect...
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Golden Moments Senior Care Center Continues To Accumulate Fines Related To Providing Poor Care To Its Patients
It never ceases to amaze me how some nursing home operators would rather incur fines for continually providing inadequate care rather than make necessary changes. However, when the cost of the fines is not sufficient to improve patient care, I guess that some business manager is making a conscious business decision that it's easier (and cheaper) to continue with the game plan and pay the consequences--- when-- and if they get caught. Case in point, Golden Moments Senior Care Center. The Jacksonville, IL nursing home has agreed to pay $6,500 in fines to the state in relation to complaints connected...
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Are Group Homes A Viable Alternative To Nursing Homes?
Adult Group homes may provide an alternative to nursing homes for older adults who are at risk of living alone but do not require nursing care. These homes allow elderly family members to have more autonomy, while still providing convenient access to services. Adult group homes refer to housing for groups of unrelated adult individuals with disabilities. In Illinois, there are several categories of adult group homes: Shared Housing Establishment (SHE) – Residence for ≤ 16 persons, at least 80% of whom are age 55 or older. Assisted Living Facility (ALF) – Residence for at least 3 unrelated adults,...
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Watchdog Group Finds Neglect & Squalor In South Carolina Assisted Living Facilities
A report from the non-profit group, Protection and Advocacy for People with Disabilities, paints an ugly picture of the living conditions found in South Carolina assisted living facilities. The report entitled "No Place To Call Home" was completed after a 14 month investigation into assisted-living and analysis of state documents and resident complaints. After reading the report, most assisted living facilities bear no resemblance to any home-like environment. The report completed by volunteers details the following findings: Residents abused by facility staff, a two-by-four was used to physically abuse a resident. Unsanitary living conditions, at one facility buckets of...
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Family Of Disabled Patients Accuse Chicago Nursing Home Of Physical Abuse & Medication Errors In Lawsuit
A nursing home negligence lawsuit was recently filed against Central Baptist Village, a Chicago-land assisted living facility, for the alleged mistreatment of a disabled husband and wife who were both residents in the facility.. The lawsuit, brought by the couples guardian, claims employees at Central Baptist Village physically assaulted the wife on several occasions between December, 2008 and February, 2009. Additionally, the lawsuit claims the staff administered the wife's medication to the husband from October, 2008 through February, 2009 resulting in over-medication. The lawsuit against Central Baptist Village seeks more than $200,000 in damages. Central Baptist Village is a multi-need...
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When Bruises Can't Speak For Themselves: The Difficulty Proving Abuse Of Disabled Nursing Home Residents
The News & Observer, had an article about the difficulty proving physical abuse in disabled nursing home residents who are unable to communicate any information about the act. The article focuses on an 88-year-old disabled woman who sustained bruises to her face(consistent with abuse) while a resident at Sunnybrook Healthcare and Rehabilitation in Raleigh, N.C. The woman suffered from advanced dementia and was unable to walk or roll over-- therefore bruising due to a fall could immediately be ruled out. Read the full article about the abuse of disabled nursing home residents here. Elder abuse in North Carolina Complaints of...
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