I spend a lot of time talking about injuries sustained by nursing home patients when nursing home staff are irresponsibly doing their job. The truth is that most nursing home patients suffer from some type of physical disability that makes them reliant on the staff at a nursing home and for practical purposes it is… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Dementia / Alzheimer’s Patients
Subscribe to Dementia / Alzheimer’s Patients RSS FeedAlzheimer’s Patients Wanders Blocks To His Death
Posted in Dementia / Alzheimer's Patients, Elopement & WanderingWhen it comes to caring for patients with dementia and Alzheimer’s, one of the most significant threats to the patient remains– themselves. Yes, we spend a good amount of time here discussing how outside influences– poor care, mistreatment perpetuated by other residents, a medication mix-up ect. can impact the well-being of nursing home patients. However,… Continue Reading
At Home Or In A Hospital, Alzheimer’s Patients Need Specialized Care
Posted in Dementia / Alzheimer's PatientsWith over 5 million people suffering from Alzheimer’s in the U.S. alone, it has become a strain on the families and healthcare system that try to help the victims of this disease. Part of making their lives as stress free and comfortable as possible is giving them a familiar environment where they feel safe. Unfortunately,… Continue Reading
Death of resident at assisted living facility. Are some ALF’s guilty of trying to do too much?
Posted in Assisted Living Facilities, Dementia / Alzheimer's PatientsFor many blog regulars, the flurry of discussion about troubling events at Assisted Living Facilities is enough for them to think that we’ve re-named this site to the Assisted Living Abuse Blog. While I can assure you that we have no plans to change our url structure, the profusion of concerning incidents at Assisted Living… Continue Reading
U.S. Renews Commitment To Fighting Alzheimer’s
Posted in Dementia / Alzheimer's PatientsIn the midst of budget cuts and economic turmoil, the Federal government has committed $50 million for 2012 and $100 million in 2013 for a new plan to help treat and strive to find a cure for Alzheimer’s. The fatal form of the disease is thought to affect 5.1 million Americans and current treatments have… Continue Reading
Illinois Officials Begin Examination of Nursing Home Procedures Following Elopement Of Alzheimer’s Patient
Posted in Dementia / Alzheimer's Patients, Elopement & WanderingThe Chicago area has been struck by a snap of arctic weather lately. It’s the kind of weather that quickly brings a chill to every part of your body regardless of how quickly you can do what needs to be done and get back to a warm area. When I read news clippings about a… Continue Reading
The True Costs of Caring for a Loved One With Alzheimer’s
Posted in Dementia / Alzheimer's Patients, Economics(Caption: Alzheimer’s disease can be highly stressful for caretakers.) When Andrew “Bud” Kangas, of Appleton, Wisconsin, learned he had Alzheimer’s disease, he quickly handed over his finances to a family member. Like many Alzheimer’s sufferers, he simply became overwhelmed by his caretaking costs. “It’s been a financial problem and we’re trying to get that under… Continue Reading
Making the Most of Holiday Visits to Dementia Sufferers
Posted in Dementia / Alzheimer's PatientsWith Christmas quickly approaching, it can be tempting to idealize nursing home visits – particularly if your loved one is suffering from dementia or Alzheimer’s. The nature of the diseases make family members want to believe their loved ones will be just a bit better. Seeing things from the perspective of your loved one can… Continue Reading
Are too many nursing home patients receiving psychiatric drugs?
Posted in Dangerous Drugs, Dementia / Alzheimer's PatientsIf you ask government inspectors, the answer is a resounding— YES. Today, physciatric drugs– and anti-psychotic drugs in particular– are prescribed to an astounding 14% of all nursing home patients. The bulk of the psychiatric drugs are administered to patients with dementia or Alzheimer’s in order to calm their potentially aggressive behaviors. Despite the… Continue Reading
Jury Finds Nursing Home Responsible For Alzheimer’s Patients Injuries
Posted in Dementia / Alzheimer's PatientsAfter two hours of deliberations a Kentucky jury has awarded a former nursing home patient more than $1 million in damages for injuries she sustained while a patient at the facility. The nursing home negligence lawsuit alleged that Cambridge Place Nursing Home in Lexington, KY was negligent in looking after an Alzheimer’s patient who managed… Continue Reading
Facilities Need To To Ensure That Dangerous Materials Are Properly Safeguarded To Prevent Injuries
Posted in Assisted Living Facilities, Dementia / Alzheimer's Patients, Nursing Home InjuryDepending on the individual, even the most mundane parts of a long-term care facility can pose a risk of harm. While we normally associate an injury at a long-term care facility with an error committed by staff or a faulty device, many facilities– and particularly those that care for the developmentally disabled— need to take… Continue Reading
“Awakenings” Program Helps Improve Quality of Life for Alzheimer’s and Dementia Patients
Posted in Dementia / Alzheimer's PatientsAll too often, nursing home residents with Alzheimer’s and dementia are overlooked and over-medicated. Perhaps this arises from serious miscommunications, or – more likely – a deep misunderstanding from staff. What makes the situation so tragic is that these are the very patients who truly need the most sensitive care. Luckily, a nursing home chain… Continue Reading
Nursing Home’s New Approach To Alzheimer’s Care Promises To Improve The Quality Of Life For Patients
Posted in Dementia / Alzheimer's PatientsAt many nursing homes, patients are thrust into daily routine that has little regard for their personal preferences or individual care needs. After all, if there were hundreds of patients on individualized schedules it would be difficult for staff to make sure each patient got the care that they require. Right? Or, maybe not?… Continue Reading
Jury Blames Manor Care Nursing Home For Dehydration Death Of Patient
Posted in Dehydration, Dementia / Alzheimer's Patients, ManorCareAfter just two hours of deliberation, a West Virginia jury has awarded a family of a deceased woman $91.5 million in damages against Heartland of Charleston, a Manor Care facility. The verdict is comprised of $11.5 million in compensatory damages and $80 million in punitive damages against the facility. The nursing home lawsuit alleged that… Continue Reading
Criminal Charges Brought Against Nursing Home Workers Who Allowed Resident To Freeze To Death
Posted in Dementia / Alzheimer's Patients, Elopement & WanderingCriminal charges have been brought against three nursing home workers on duty the night an Alzheimer’s patient wandered from Texas nursing home to his death. The three were employed in various capacities at a facility known as Tumbleweed Nursing Home on the evening of February 3rd of this year. Surveillance video from the nursing home… Continue Reading
Caregivers Must Exercise Patience When It Comes To Caring For Alzheimer’s Paitents
Posted in Dementia / Alzheimer's PatientsNursing aide to be charged with injury: kxan.com Frustration is likely to blame for an episode of elder abuse at a Texas nursing home where a CNA attacked an Alzheimer’s patient she was trying to get dressed. Staff members at Wesleyan Nursing Home, notified nursing home administrators when they saw the CNA grab the patient… Continue Reading
Another Assisted Living Patients Wanders From Facility To His Death
Posted in Assisted Living Facilities, Dementia / Alzheimer's PatientsFree Web Directory – Add Your LinkThe Little Web Directory It’s a pretty thin line many assisted living facilities must walk between giving their patients freedom to go as they wish and protecting them from— well,… themselves. Today, I’m noticing that there are many assisted living facilities that simply view monitoring their patients as… Continue Reading
State Fines Nursing Home Where Patients Drowns In Puddle In Front Of Facility
Posted in Dementia / Alzheimer's Patients, Elopement & WanderingWandering in a potentially deadly problem for nursing home patients with dementia and other medical conditions that make them unable to appreciate the dangers around them. While not a common problem, wandering from nursing homes puts particularly vulnerable patients at risk for harming themselves when they find themselves in the outside world with no one… Continue Reading
Government Continues To Pay For Nursing Home Patients To Receive Unnecessary Antipsychotic Medications
Posted in Dementia / Alzheimer's PatientsAfter analyzing data from Medicare claims and nursing homes’ medication paperwork from 2007, officials have established that many nursing home patients are receiving anti-psychotic medications to treat medical conditions for which the drugs were never intended to be used. The disturbing conclusions about the unnecessary medicating of nursing home patients was recently made public in… Continue Reading
Alzheimer’s Patient Fractures Her Neck As She Attempts To Crawl Out Of Window
Posted in Dementia / Alzheimer's PatientsAuthorities in Missouri are looking for answers regarding how and why an Alzheimer’s patient at Springfield Skilled Care Center fractured her neck. Police were summoned the the Missouri nursing home after the staff at the facility discovered the patients dead body on the ground outside of the facility. A preliminary autopsy demonstrated that the patient… Continue Reading
Dementia Patient Found In Freezer At Assisted Living Facility: An Isolated Event Or Real Cause For Concern?
Posted in Dementia / Alzheimer's PatientsThe California Department of Social Services is busy conducting an investigation into the circumstances behind how a 94-year-old with dementia managed to lock herself in a walk-in freezer at Silverado Senior Living. The October 28th incident apparently resulted when staff were in the process of repairing a lock on a kitchen door that enabled the… Continue Reading
Swallowing Foreign Objects Is No Laughing Matter For Dementia Patients In Nursing Homes
Posted in Choking, Dementia / Alzheimer's PatientsWho doesn’t remember the shock of their first time at the circus when the fire-eater or knife-swallower made their way to center ring to perform their stunts? Surely, even when these trained performers make their way into the big top, there is always a risk of danger. Certainly, not to make light out of a… Continue Reading
Brookdale Assisted Living Facility Fails To Learn From Mistakes: Dementia Patient Dies After Ingesting Detergent
Posted in Assisted Living Facilities, Dementia / Alzheimer's PatientsIn 2008 authorities from Florida regulatory agencies warned Homewood Residence, a Brookdale Senior Living facility, to secure areas of its kitchen and other areas of the facility that were accessible to residents with dementia. The warning came after dangerous products such as: coffee pots, curling irons and chemical products were found unsecured at the… Continue Reading
More Time Must Be Spent Feeding Alzheimer’s Patients
Posted in Dehydration, Dementia / Alzheimer's Patients, MalnutritionI’ve seen a significant number of cases where an Alzheimer’s patient gets admitted to a nursing home or assisted living facility only to have their health rapidly decline within a brief period. In several cases, I’ve seen patients deteriorate so significantly that within a few weeks of their admission they needed to be rushed to… Continue Reading