Nursing Home Law Center

Study Finds 35% to 85% of Nursing Home Residents Malnourished

BSadmin — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 18:58:23 +0000

An international panel of experts recently released new definitions of malnutrition to help healthcare workers and others identify and treat malnutrition. Before the new definitions, there was little agreement about how to define the different causes and forms of malnutrition. A 2000 study found that 35% to 85% of nursing home residents could be considered malnourished, depending on the type of malnutrition in question. The new definitions are designed to help health care providers identify and treat malnutrition.

If you are someone you know has been harmed by neglect or abuse in a nursing home or care facility, you may contact Benjamin Gideon at bgideon@bermansimmons.com

Experts Provide New Definitions for Malnutrition

Health Care Reform Bill Includes Provisions to Prevent Resident Abuse in Long Term Care Facilities

BSadmin — Wed, 05 May 2010 19:31:43 +0000

The health care reform bill signed into law by President Obama on March 23, 2010 includes important provisions to prevent abuse of long term care residents. The Nursing Home Transparency and Improvement Act, included in the bill, requires facilities to provide more information to the public about risk factors for negligence, abuse, and neglect such as staff turnover and retention, the outcome of complaints against the facilities, and proven crimes by facilities and employees against residents. The additional information will be provided on Nursing Home Compare, a databank already available on Medicare.gov, the federal government’s official Medicare website.

The Patient Safety and Abuse Prevention Act creates a national program for criminal background checks of long term care employees, so that employees convicted of abuse or neglect cannot simply move to another state to work in a different long term care facility. Holding long term care facilities and their employees accountable for negligence, neglect, and abuse is key to preventing future harm to long term care residents.

If you or someone you know has been the victim of negligence, neglect, or abuse in a long term care facility, contact Benjamin Gideon at bgideon@bermansimmons.com

For more information on the provisions affecting long term care in the health care bill, see National Consumer Voice for Quality Long Term Care website

Study Shows People With Memory Loss “Remember” Feelings Associated With Negative Experiences

BSadmin — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 14:47:29 +0000

University of Iowa researchers found that people with memory loss “remember” feelings associated with happy or sad experiences, even though they don’t remember the experience itself. The lead author, Justin Feinstein, stated the findings demonstrate that a friendly visit or phone call may make a person with Alzheimer’s happy after the visit or phone call itself is forgotten. Conversely, neglect or abuse by nursing home staff “may leave the patient feeling sad, frustrated and lonely even though the patient can’t remember why.” The study demonstrates that persons with memory loss do suffer psychological harm from neglect and abuse, and underscores the need to treat persons with memory loss with dignity and respect.

If you or someone you know has been harmed by neglect or abuse in a nursing home or care facility, you may contact Benjamin Gideon at bgideon@bermansimmons.com

For more on the study, go to: Even as Memory Fades, Emotions Linger

Survey Shows Many Nursing Homes Billing For More Services Than They Provide

BSadmin — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 20:44:31 +0000

A recent review by the Washington Post showed that many nursing homes are “up-coding” billing for care of residents. The nursing homes bill using a special billing category intended to be used only for the five percent of nursing home patients who need highly specialized care and rehabilition. One nursing home chain has billed sixty-four percent of their patients at this category. Nursing homes that provide negligent or substandard care but bill for services not received or worthless services could be liable for punitive damages.

If you or someone you know has been harmed by neglect or abuse in a nursing home or care facility, contact Benjamin Gideon at bgideon@bermansimmons.com

For more on the Washington Post review, see: href=’http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/28/AR2010032802764.html?hpid=topnews’ >Review of Nursing Home Finds Many Bill For More Services Than They Provide

Massachusetts Attorney General Concerned About Overpresription Of Antipsychotics In The Elderly

BSadmin — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 14:52:30 +0000

The Massachusetts Attorney General, Martha Coakley, is reportedly taking steps to end overprescription of antipsychotics in the elderly. She has joined a federal lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson, the maker of Risperdal, charging it with boosting sales of Risperdal to nursing homes through the use of kick-backs. She also promises to closely monitor antipsychotic use among the elderly. According to an analysis by the Boston Globe, 22% of nursing home patients in Massachusetts who receive antipsychotic drugs do not suffer from schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. As the Globe editorializes, the drugs are used “to help understaffed nursing homes control unruly patients with dementia.”

If you or someone you know has been harmed by neglect or abuse in a nursing home or care facility, you may contact Benjamin Gideon at bgideon@bermansimmons.com.

For more on the recent Boston Globe editorial, see: All eyes on antipsychotics