Nursing Home Injury Laws: Maine
Number of nursing homes in Maine: 107
Patients living in Maine nursing homes: 6,164
Occupancy rates of Maine nursing homes: 91.7%
Average number of deficiencies at each Maine nursing home: 9.4
Percent of Maine nursing homes with serious deficiencies for actual harm to patient: 19.6%
Most common deficiencies at Maine nursing homes: Professional Standards, Comprehensive Care Plans, Unnecessary Drugs, Food Sanitation
Distribution of ownership of Maine nursing homes: 70 % for profit, 29% non profit, 1% government
Most populated cities in Maine: Portland, Lewiston, Bangor, South Portland, Auburn, Augusta
Staffing levels at Maine nursing homes (daily hours): Above average, 4.5 total staff, 1.4 licensed nurse
Visit Nursing Home Injury Laws to learn more about Maine nursing homes and your legal right
**Data based upon 2009 CMS data, U.S. Department of Health and Human Service
Yesterday I was contacted by the daughter of a nursing home patient who 
While the focus of my 
When it comes to ensuring that nursing homes are compliant with regulations to protect patients, the enforcement of such provisions falls primarily on agencies within the state. When violations are discovered agencies have several options available to them in their arsenal including issuing a written citation that could become part of the facilities permanent record--- and issuing fines. 
Perhaps nursing home patients are more frail and vulnerable than we already thought? A recent study published in the Annals of Surgery essentially concluded that nursing home patients are significantly more vulnerable to 
Thousands of regulations, countless different types of facilities---- ever-changing patient needs--- sometimes the best thing a family can do is to seek out the services of a patient advocate to help in exploring different options to to help ensure the rights of the patient are not compromised.
Perhaps the biggest stigma associated with nursing homes is that they are large institutions that have little regard for personal preferences. 
I tend to harp on specific instances of misconduct where a nurse or nursing home employee makes and error that results in harm to a patient. 
Recent budget cuts imposed by Iowa's Governor Terry Branstad have almost immediately cut the number of nursing home inspectors in the state by 25%. 
I was frankly disturbed when I came across an 
Overcrowding is a common problem and complaint at many nursing home facilities. These facilities house large numbers of elderly residents, often in close proximity to each other, creating the ideal environment for dangerous outbreaks of communicable diseases. .png)
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Most people never associate dental care with with nursing homes. To be honest, I never really did either until I was contacted by a family regarding a nursing home patient who developed a horrible infection in their mouth that went untreated for months. By the time the infection was diagnosed, it had progressed to the point that the man's jaws had become infected. Within weeks of the diagnosis, the man died from the infection..png)
In the ever mounting pile of problems facing nursing home patients, we can now add another-- nursing home patients are more likely to die following gastrointestinal (GI) operations than their peers living independently. A study compared the mortality rates for nursing home patients who underwent six types of GI operations including: bleeding GDU's, benign colon disease, colon cancer, cholecystitis and appendicitis.
There's been a lot of discussion recently regarding a New York Times 
Diabetic ketoacidosis develops when you have too little insulin in your body, raising your blood sugar level.
As the number of older adults increases, families are faced with the question of where their parents and grandparents will receive the best care. 
Most of the time a family contacts my office, it is due to an incident involving abuse or ongoing neglect. Although perhaps less obvious, after we investigate many of the cases, the underlying problem may be a complex medical condition that may ultimately prove important in successfully prosecuting the matter..png)
sophisticated system that allows doctors to order tests, send prescriptions, and track medical history or a much less sophisticated system. Therefore, one of the first requirements would be establishing standards for what constitutes an electronic health records system. .jpg)
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Like many families, Kenneth Gall sought a sense of closure with respect the circumstances surrounding his mother's death after she sustained an injury during her admission to Presbyterian Homes of Arden Hills. Unfortunately, more than a year after his mother's death, questions still remain as to the facilities role in the matter-- and how a disabled, primarily bed-bound-woman managed to fracture her neck while admitted to a nursing home..png)
After discovering multiple health and safety problems, Florida officials have suspended the admission of new residents to Emeritus at Crossing Pointe-- a Florida Assisted Living Facility. .png)
Seven cases of Legionnaires' Disease have been reported at an assisted living facility in Waverly, Maryland. According to the Baltimore City Health Department, all the people were living at Stadium Place Apartments before they were diagnosed with the disease. So far, the disease has claimed the life of one of the residents..png)
If you've been reading recent 
Nursing home residents suffering from 
The results from a five-year study addressing the ability of care-givers and family to perceive pain in nursing home patients has revealed both parties fail to accurately assess chronic pain levels. In reaching this conclusion, researchers in the Netherlands studied 174 nursing home patients with and without cognitive impairments. The study also concluded that family members were better at accurately assessing pain levels in their loved ones compared with nursing home staff.
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If our government can't provide a proper environment for members of our armed forces to receive skilled nursing care-- changes must be made...immediately. 
Some politicians have thrown 'tort reform' into the mix of President Obama's new health care plan under the guise of saving money. Several states already have full-fledged tort reform measures in place where the state legislature has set caps on the amount of money an injured person can recover. .png)
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Today's example of the vital role nursing home inspectors play in our society comes from Tennessee. After fielding complaints relating to poor patient care and conducting an annual survey, inspectors found multiple conditions at the .png)
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a mentally disabled resident at the nursing home where he was a social worker. According to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI), Harris was director of social work at Brookhaven Manor. During a period between November, 2007 and March, 2008 Harris unlawfully persuaded the resident to give him: a $20,000 check, cash, and a luxury van..png)
Dubuque Retirement Community was the largest assisted living center in Iowa. It was run by .png)
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and Rehabilitation Center. The suspension of new admissions follows the identification of problems related to the facilities administration, performance and resident rights observed during an inspection of the nursing home between April 20 and May 11. 
Following a series of cases where life-saving procedure were carried out against resident wishes and in other situations where life saving measures were withheld from residents who wished to resuscitated, Kentucky officials are considering a new law to help ensure the residents wishes were followed. A purple wristband worn by residents would alert staff that the resident executed a 'do-not-resuscitate' or 'DNR' order. .png)
The Richmond Health and Rehabilitation Complex, otherwise known as 'Madison Manor' has been added to the Special Focus Facility List following the disclosure of a videotape nursing assistants at the facility physically abusing, failing to provide food and failing to clean an 84-year-old resident at the facility in August. The family of the woman placed a hidden camera in the woman's room after they discovered more than 30 unexplained bruises on her body during a visit. 
Add another proponent of video surveillance to the mix. Oklahoma District Attorney, David Prater, publicly said in a recent hearing that he supports the use of video cameras not just in the public areas of nursing homes, but also in individual patient rooms. "If they're above-board and fully staff and take care of the residents, what to they have to hide?" Prater asked during a hearing on nursing home care. "I would think they would offer that option to the residents," he added..png)
The 
In a brazen display of greed, a nurse's aid entered the room of a disabled New York nursing home resident and removed her engagement ring directly from her hand. Local police say Chad Smith, a nurses aide at .png)
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Tennessee officials have suspended new the admission of new residents at the 
facility," said Frank Magsmen, a supervisor for the nursing home. "We believe strongly that it is a quality facility, and we have ongoing consulting coming in to address the issues and work with staff so we can provide the best possible service to the residents of County View.".png)
In many nursing home litigation cases, we will order medical charts several times--not because we are tree killers--but to assure clients that we are working with a complete set of records. Invariably, each set of records is different. Pages or even complete sections may be included in one set only be missing from another. 
I just got an email from Wes Bledsoe, founder of A Perfect Cause, regarding the Minnesota State's Attorney's indecisiveness in bringing felony charges against the young women who allegedly abused Alzheimer's patients at the Good Samaritan Society - Albert Lea Nursing Home.
Eleven people exposed to tuberculosis at 
Age has not softened the criminal propensities of many criminals. According to Wes Bledsoe, founder of 
residents in long-term care facilities, according to Kathleen Johnson of Advocacy Inc. Advocacy Inc. operates an ombudsman program in two counties in California and oversees approximately 2,500 nursing home residents in 44 facilities. All of the facilities in the two counties have been cited for deficiencies during inspections. Johnson goes on to say,
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Big Rapids. The death of Comer lead to a 
The Justice Department is investigating the quality of care at the Minneapolis Veterans Home in Minnesota. "Essentially they want to know if the civil rights of residents mights have been violated by not getting the care they should have," said Gil Acevedo, deputy commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Veterans affairs, that operates the facility.
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Treatment often includes a comprehensive program that includes: flexibility, strength training and aerobic endurance work. If a person suffers from a disability, the physical therapist should also help each resident learn how to use adaptive devices such as 
Unknown to many, some nursing homes and long-term care facilities have buses, vans, and cars to transport nursing home residents to appointments outside of the facilities. When nursing home take on this responsibility, they must take necessary steps to 
An article published in the Journal of American Geriatric Society says that although seniors may inceasing in size, they continue to have increasing longevity. After analyzing data from 4,000 senior citizens in England, the analysis determines that amongst the elderly there is not a corelation between obestiy and mortality rates. The mortality rates increase only amongst the most severely obese.
7-foot-7, Sandy Allen, the world tallest woman died yesterday in an Indiana nursing home. Sandy Allen was 53-years old. Ms. Allen received care at Shelbyville Nursing Home for medical conditions related to her extreme height. Poor circulation in her legs caused Ms. Allen to rely on a wheelchair for getting about. Although Sandy Allen weighed just 6.5 pounds at birth, she developed quickly. By the age of 10, she was 6 feet 3 inches. By the time Ms. Allen was 16, she was 7 feet 1 inch. Read more about the world's tallest woman 
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, is running a 
The elderly are particularly susceptible to flu symptoms. The elderly population who live in nursing homes is also particularly susceptible to contracting the virus. Unfortunately, the 2.5 million people living in 18,000 nursing homes, there is no vaccine or other medicine proven to prevent the flu. Moreover, the addition of new medication or vaccine can be harmful to an already weakened population..jpg)
The face of the typical nursing home resident is changing --- and becoming less wrinkled. Today, more young people are entering 