ACLU Claims Illinois Nursing Homes Use Scare Tactics to Keep Patients
The State of Illinois recently reached a court settlement that offers supportive community-based housing and treatment to about 4,500 psychiatric patients who currently reside in nursing homes. Following this settlement, the Chicago Tribune reported that the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed court papers stating that Illinois for-profit nursing home operators were using scare tactics to keep psychiatric patients in their facilities, instead of letting them move into supporting community-based housing. Nursing Home operators deny these allegations and raise concerns about whether the State can provide appropriate housing for such patients.
The current argument between the ACLU and Nursing Home operators stems from the latter’s distribution of “information sheets” which, according to the ACLU, state that the court settlement purposefully lacks details” and may take away protections for people who do leave the nursing home. Specifically, the information sheets state that the settlement does not specify “where you’ll move, how you’ll pay rent, how you’ll be fed, who will help you with your medication and other medical needs, or what happens if you don’t like it and want to return [to the nursing home]”. Nursing Home operators state the “information sheets” are accurate, and that they are worried the State will not deliver on its promise to care for the psychiatric patients that move into the new community settings.
State officials responded that psychiatric patients are free to choose where they want to go, and that nursing home operators are wrong to deny that the smaller community settings may be less expensive and more therapeutic.
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Illinois Nursing Home Gets License Revoked
Recently, the Chicago Tribune reported that Illinois health authorities have moved to revoke the license of Evergreen Health Care Center in Evergreen Park, a southwest suburban nursing home. Evergreen Health Care is partly owned by state Senator Heather Steans, a prominent advocate of reform legislation to improve safety and care standards in Illinois nursing homes. The revocation of its license follows from repeated citations for patient neglect.
Evergreen Health Care was recently added to a federal watch list for nation's most troubled nursing homes. Previous inspections there yielded several safety breaches, such as failure to prevent maggots from infecting the scalp wound of an elderly skin cancer victim. South Shore Nursing & Rehabilitation Center was also recently added to the federal watch list due to safety violations. There are currently five Illinois facilities on the federal watch list.
Contact an Experienced Nursing Home Injury Attorney
The attorneys at the Pintas & Mullins Law Firm have extensive experience with nursing home abuse and neglect cases. If your loved one has suffered from abuse or neglect in a nursing home, contact us for a free no-obligation consultation to find out about your legal rights. You can also visit our website to learn more about nursing home abuse and neglect cases.
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Illinois Nursing Home Reforms Move Closer to Becoming Law
Recently, the Chicago Tribune reported that Illinois lawmakers have negotiated a historic bill that hopes to reform its troubled nursing homes. The reform effort was initiated by a series of Chicago Tribune investigations where chronic violence was exposed in a number of nursing home facilities. The bill contains a number of measures aimed to prevent such violence.
The bill will tighten existing criminal background checks and psychological screenings of incoming nursing home residents, and place dangerous patients into separate secure therapeutic wards. In addition, nursing homes would be required to significantly increase staffing levels and to meet stricter safety and treatment standards. Nursing homes currently agreed to increase nursing staff levels in the next four years to 3.8 hours of daily nursing care for each resident (up from the current minimum of 2.5 hours) although 4.1 hours per resident was recommended. Another key provision concerns the admittance of residents suffering from serious mental illnesses. Under this new law, nursing homes will be required to obtain a certification that they can meet the standards to properly care for these residents. These standards include requiring homes to have enough staff on a 24-hour basis, training of staff on “managing aggression and crisis prevention”, and substance abuse programs.
Lawmakers say implementing the many provisions in the 159-page bill will be difficult, but that the changes are desperately needed and it is in everyone’s best interest that the bill is passed. Late Thursday night, the bill hurdled its first obstacle by passing the House with a vote of 118-0. The bill now goes to Governor Quinn’s desk.
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Dangers of Wandering for Alzheimer's Patients
The New York Times recently reported on the dangers of wandering in Alzheimer’s patients. The tendencies to wander are usually accompanied by confusion and lack of memory. These tendencies may be dangerous and fatal. Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia. It has no known cure, and affects about 50% of people over 85 years of age. Alzheimer’s patients who wander may try to avoid being found due to a fear of authority figures, presenting dangerous problems in facilities caring for these patients. It has been reported that these patients have sometimes been found in attics and locked closets. Other patients have been left wandering outside in cold weather, resulting in frostbite or even freezing to death.
In Arizona, the state’s search and rescue coordinator reported several cases where the elderly ventured out into the desert and then vanished. Advanced age can significantly weaken patients, and they can easily pass away from dehydration in such a situation. In nursing homes, negligence of a patient that suffers from Alzheimer’s can also result in adverse consequences to their health and well-being.
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If your loved one has suffered from negligence or abuse at a nursing home, contact our law firm today. The Pintas & Mullins Firm will provide you with a free no-obligation consultation.
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Illinois Proposes Reforms to Increase Staffing Ratios in its Nursing Homes
The Chicago Tribune recently reported that Governor Pat Quinn is proposing reforms for Illinois’ troubled nursing homes. These reforms would mandate Nursing Homes raise their minimum staffing levels and nursing care hours for residents that need skilled care. Currently, Illinois rules require nursing homes to provide at least 2 ½ hours of nursing care per resident each day.
Many studies reveal that more nursing hours lead to a better quality of nursing care. Governor Quinn hopes increasing nursing care will improve overall safety of the residents. The new reforms aim to increase nursing care to a minimum of 4.1 hours per day for residents.
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If you or a loved one has been neglected or injured in a nursing home, contact our law firm today. We will provide you with a free no-obligation consultation and explain your legal rights.
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Nursing Homes Continue to Use Inappropriate Anti-Psychotic Drugs
According to the Boston Globe’s recent analysis, about 2,500 nursing home residents in Massachusetts were given powerful antipsychotic drugs last year that were not appropriate for their medical condition. In many cases, the medications were given due to the lack of behavior management techniques, experience or manpower in nursing homes to handle agitated patients.
This trend of increased antipsychotic drug use is very worrisome because a large number of nursing home residents suffer from dementia. Dementia patients taking antipsychotic drugs, also known as psychotropic drugs, have an increased risk of death. Psychotropic drugs are intended to treat patients with mental illnesses such as schizophrenia.
Officials in the Massachusetts Senior Care Association state that the state’s rank of frequency of use of psychotropic drugs, 12th in the nation, points to a need for more training in nursing homes. As Robert Stern, an Alzheimer’s specialist and brain research at Boston University School of Medicine states, “Way too many patients in nursing homes are treated with antipsychotics purely to sedate them or to control behaviors that are difficult for the staff.”
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Nursing Home Drug Abuse
Lloyd Berkley was a nursing home resident who, according to his nurse, became very angry and combative shortly after his admission to the nursing home. As a result, the nurse administered a psychotropic medication known as Haldol to sedate Mr. Berkley. Mr. Berkley was not psychotic, and Haldol is used primarily to treat schizophrenia and acute psychotic states. Shortly after the drug was injected, Mr. Berkley fell asleep. Upon waking up, he fell and struck his head on a fan. Two days later, he died from bleeding in his brain. Mr. Berkley’s case highlights a disturbing trend at nursing homes today: nursing home residents improperly receiving psychotropic drugs which lead them to fall and suffer serious injuries and sometimes death.
Nursing Homes and Psychotropic Medication Injuries
Psychotropic drugs affect the central nervous system and cause changes in behavior or perception, and are generally used to treat psychotic conditions. The Chicago Tribune recently reported that “half of Illinois’ best nursing homes-those rated four or five stars by the federal government-have been cited at least once since 2001 for misusing psychotropic” medications”. According to the Tribune, thousands of nursing home residents were given these drugs without a diagnosis of psychosis or consent by the resident. To date, the Tribune has identified 1,200 violations of this nature since 2001, with the actual number of affected nursing home residents projected to be higher than reported.Many residents who have been improperly given these medications sustain serious injuries from their side effects. Other residents become so lethargic that they need to be hospitalized.
Nursing home residents who suffer from Alzheimer’s, cancer or Parkinson’s disease are among some who improperly receive psychotropic medications. Patients who exhibit anxiety, restlessness, or confusion are also among those who improperly receive these medications. Side effects include severe lethargy, permanent involuntary muscle movements, seizures and sudden death. Medications that are commonly given include Zyprexa, Seroquel, Haldol and Risperdal.
Contact an experienced nursing home abuse attorney
At times, nursing homes may purposely add a diagnosis of mental illness to a resident’s records to justify the use of psychotropic drugs, even if they do not have such an illness. Because of our extensive experience, our legal experts can obtain medical records and determine if improper action was taken at the nursing home your loved one is at. If you suspect that a loved one in a nursing home may have been seriously injured as a result of being improperly given psychotropic medications, contact an experienced nursing home abuse attorney at the Pintas firm today. Our personal injury law firm can provide you with a free no-obligation consultation and inform you of your legal options.
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A Feline Harbinger of Death
Residents at the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Providence, Rhode Island, have their very own grim reaper...in the form of a feline. Oscar the cat displays an uncanny accuracy in predicting death of the residents on the third floor dementia unit of the nursing home. He has been accurate in 25 cases, beating even a doctor in his predictions of death. Dr. Joan Teno of Brown University, an expert in terminal illness care, had predicted the death one patient. which turned out to be ten hours too early. Oscar wouldn't stay in the room until some hours later, when the patient had two hours left to live.
Most of the families appreciate Oscar's accuracy in allowing them to say a final farewell to their loved ones. Although the cat recently received a wall plaque commending his "compassionate hospice care", animal experts say that his behavior could be driven by a desire for personal comforts, such as heated blankets placed on dying patients. Or, it could be due to a keen sense of smell or attentiveness to unconscious changes in behavior in those surrounding him upon impending death. Regardless, Oscar the cat's behavior is another example of the powers of animals that we have not yet fully comprehended, but find so phenomenal.
For more: visit edition.cnn.com/2007/US/07/25/death.cat.ap/index.html#cnnSTCText
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Nursing Home Abuse
"While the traditional view of elder abuse in nursing homes involves staff harming residents, new research suggests residents may have more to fear from their peers..."
Read the full article at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19712822/from/ET/
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$2.8 Million Settlement for Illinois Bed Sore Case
Read more at Lexis.com Posted In Nursing Home Abuse
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$750,000 Florida Jury Award for Nursing Home Rape Victim
I don't care if it was $1, it was all about the ... verdict," Sandra Banning said Friday.
Banning is happy because she thinks Thursday's verdict in the civil case will help reignite legislation to protect people from sex offenders in nursing homes. She said she wants a law to prevent what happened to her mother from ever happening again.
Read the full article in the The Florida Times-Union. Posted In Nursing Home Abuse
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Texas Jury Awards $160 Million in Nursing Home Assault Case
The Estate of Tranquilino Mendoza sued Summit Care Corporation on a negligence theory for the injuries sustained by Mr. Mendoza when he was assaulted and battered by a mentally ill patient of the nursing home where Mr. Mendoza was living who was placed in the room with Mr. Mendoza. His roommate beat Mr. Mendoza with a water pitcher, a glass and his fists two days after being moved into the room where Mendoza was living. Mr. Mendoza died from unrelated causes three years after the 1997 assault and batter. He was 81-years-old at the time of the assault. Plaintiffs asserted that Defendant knew or should have known of the risks associated with putting the assailant in the same room with Mr. Mendoza because the assailant had been involved in 30 assaults before he was paired with Mendoza.
Summit Care claimed that Mr. Mendoza's injuries from the assault and battery were not significant and that he recovered quickly from the injuries.
The verdict is one of the largest ever for nursing home abuse.
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Nursing Home Inspections Miss Violations
State inspectors often overlook serious deficiencies, including life-threatening conditions, in the nation's nursing homes, Congressional investigators say in a new report.
In the report, the investigators, from the Government Accountability Office, questioned data used by the Bush administration in arguing that its policies have fostered "significant improvements" in the nation's nursing homes.
Nursing homes must meet federal standards to participate in Medicaid and Medicare. Homes are inspected by state employees working under contract to the federal government.
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Ex-Cons Get Break in Nursing Homes
A newly enacted law to protect nursing home residents from sex offenders and other ex-cons is being watered down due to industry cries that it is too costly.
The Vulnerable Adults Protection Act requires that a criminal background check be performed on nursing home residents to keep sex offenders out of nursing homes or away from other residents within the nursing home. The proposed changes, heavily lobbied for by the nursing home industry, exempts residents from background checks unless the resident voluntarily confesses to past crimes on a questionnaire, essentially implementing the honor system to keep sex offenders away.
Read the full artice here.
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State Sued in Nursing Home Probes
Relatives of two former nursing home residents and an advocacy group have sued the state for failing to investigate complaints against nursing homes promptly, alleging the delays exposed elderly patients to abuse and neglect. The suit, filed in San Francisco Superior Court, comes after a California health official conceded in a July interview with The Times that the state has often been unable to respond to complaints filed against nursing homes within the 10 working days required by law. Over the last five years, the number of complaints against nursing homes has increased, from 9,650 in 2000 to 15,512 in 2004, according to the state. But the number of state citations has decreased, from 709 in 2000 to 464 in 2004.
Get the full article here.
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The Pending Nursing Home Crisis
Consider this all too familiar story. Texas resident Noe Martinez, Sr., lived with his son and daughter-in-law up until they could no longer care for him. He suffered from late stage Alzheimers and needed constant care. His son took him to the McAllen Nursing Center, where late one evening a nurse gave him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Mr. Martinez had no teeth, and without his dentures or glass of water he choked on the sandwich and suffered a heart attack. Mr. Martinez eventually died as a result of the heart attack.
However, bringing suit against the nursing home is extremely difficult thanks to the sweeping tort reform laws passed in Texas in 2003.
The problem begins with the Republican majority in the Texas legislature. The nursing home lobby in Texas stuffed the pockets of Republican campaigns. This money, along with money from corporations and insurance companies, funded illegal Party tactics to put more Republicans in office. The indictments continue, but not before the damage was done.
Nursing homes in Texas are currently regulated by the state less now than in the last decade. With minimal state regulation, and caps on nursing home negligence cases, there is little deterrant for a nursing home to minimalize care in the name of big profits.
When you consider the current state of nursing home care in Texas with the aging baby boomer population, the potential problems are frightening. You have a potentially overwhelming population headed for facilities that are poorly regulated and protected from lawsuits.
Read the full article here.
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Study Shows Non-Profit Nursing Homes Offer Better Care
A recent study performed by the University of Toronto indicates that non-profit nursing homes in the United States offer better care than for-profit homes. The study considered 40 cases comparing non and for-profit nursing homes between 1993 and 2002. The study showed that residents in for-profit nursing homes had higher rates of development of pressure ulcers, were subjected to greater use of psychoactive medications, and were more frequently placed in restraints.
The study does not explain the descrepancy, but reason would dictate that the pressure to make money often predominates over patient care. This ultimately leads to a focus on the bottom line rather than the best care of the residents.
On another note, be very leary of any nursing home that purports to be "non-profit." Often non-profit nursing homes pay out huge sums of money to those with an ownership interest in the home. Some investigation into the financial workings of the home is always a good idea.
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Increase in Nursing Home Violence
An alarming trend of violent acts by and against residents of nursing homes is surfacing. Statistics from the federal Administration on Aging shows that in 2003, the number of reported patient-on-patient assaults increased to 5,515, from 5,000 in 2000. During this same period, the number of reported nursing home patient-on-patient sexual assaults shot up 51 percent, to 1,302 in 2003.
This increase is due to a variety of reasons, but is most often the result of lack of supervision. Failure to consider an incoming resident's criminal history including sexual assault is another cause.
From more information, check out the National Association of State Units on Aging.
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Choosing the Right Nursing Home in Chicago
There is an alarming rate of nursing home injuries including physical, psychosocial, cognitive and financial harm. The most common physical injuries are the result of an unnecessary fall. Of the 1.5 million nursing home residents nationwide, approximately 50% fall at least once per year. Of the residents that fall each year, 10-20% of the falls result in serious injury. Among people 85 years of age or older, 20% of fall related deaths occur in nursing homes.
The best way to protect a loved one from one of these injuries is by choosing the right nursing home...
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Chicago Area Nursing Home to be Shut Down
On April 27, 2005, Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced that proceedings have been initiated to close down the Emerald Park Health Care Center in Evergreen Park. At the request of the Illinois Department of Public Health, Attorney Madigan filed an emergency motion in Cook County Circuit Court to appoint an administrator to oversee the Home's closing. You can read the IDPH press release here.
Violations and fines have plagued Emerald Park for years, including a $20,000.00 fine for not providing sufficient nursing care in 2003, and $5000.00 fine for not protecting a resident from mental and physical abuse in 2002.
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State Finds Sex Offenders Living in Nursing Homes
The Chicago Sun Times recently reported the rash of convicted sex offenders currently living in nursing homes in Illinois. State law does not require that the sexual abuse conviction be disclosed to residents of the nursing home. A check with the State revealed that there are 100 convicted sex offenders living in 54 nursing homes, long term care facilities, and supportive living centers in Illinois.
Worsening the issue is the fact that workers at the nursing facilities are not told of the criminal past either. This is becoming a disturbing trend across the country's assisted care facilities. See related article here.
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