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Nonprofit Nursing Homes Provide Better Care

Don Greiwe — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 08:01:00 GMT

A group of doctors from around the world have came together to take a hard look at the relationship between nursing homes and profiteering, and the results reaffirm what many of us would have guessed: Nonprofit nursing homes provide better care than for-profit nursing homes.

Dr. Gordon Huyatt, the senior author of the study, stated “the reason patients' quality of care is inferior in for-profit nursing homes is that administrators must spend 10 percent to 15 percent of revenues satisfying shareholders and paying taxes,” and as a result, “For-profit providers cut corners to ensure shareholders achieve their expected return on investment.”

Looking at 82 different statistical studies taken into account, 40 significantly favored nonprofit facilities. This means that in 40 of the 82 reports, it was obvious that patients received better care at the nonprofit facilities compared to for-profit facilities. On the flip side, only 3 of those studies favored for-profit facilities. The remaining 39 studies had inconsistent findings and were not counted either way. The study looked at four major factors in determining quality of care:

More or higher quality staffing;
Lower rates of pressure ulcers;
Less use of physical restraints; and
Fewer deficiencies cited by regulatory agencies.

These findings have significant implications for patients across America. Of the roughly 80,000 patients who have bedsores, 7,000 of those can be attributed to for-profit ownership. Additionally, the study went on to predict that if all the current for-profit nursing homes converted to nonprofit, 500,000 hours a DAY would become available to residents without additional cost.

There are many ways to interpret the study data, but the overall conclusion is clear: nonprofit nursing homes offer better care than for-profit ones. These sorts of studies may be very important in the health care reform debate, as many reformers push for an increase in “evidence-based medical treatment.”

Moving forward, if you or a loved one needs the care of a nursing home, look into whether that home is for-profit or not, because it clearly should be a factor to consider.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Don Greiwe

Empowered at Home Act Returns to the Congressional Floor

C. Todd Alley — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 10:19:37 GMT

The Empowered Home Act is common sense. The bill looks to solve a serious health care concern by ensuring America’s senior citizens are given simple and potentially cost-saving alternatives to nursing home care.

More than one million senior citizens in America live in nursing homes, and it’s no surprise that many of them would prefer to remain at home. In fact, 89% of people 50+ want to remain in their homes as they age, according to AARP's Public Policy Institute. However, under the current Social Security Act, nursing home coverage under Medicaid is required, while home and community-based health services are optional. These optional services are often far cheaper than nursing home care – but since they’re optional, they are the first on the chopping block in a poor economy nonetheless.

The Empowered Home Act makes these home and community-based services required in state Medicaid programs. AARP President Jennie Chin Hansen put it best, “there's no excuse for a program as critical as Medicaid to force people into more expensive institutions when we could be saving money and improving the quality of life for so many Americans."

According to govtrack.us, the bill was introduced by a bypartisan group of senators in 2008. Then the bill was referred to the Committee on Finance, never to be heard from again.

Now the bill has been reintroduced on both the Senate and House floor. Sponsoring the bill on the House floor is Rep. Frank Pallone [D-NJ] and Rep. Diana DeGette [D-CO]. In the Senate, Sen. John Kerry [D-MA], Sen. Susan Collins [R-ME] and Sen. Charles Grassley [R-IA] are sponsoring the bill.

Clearly, this bill has bipartisan support. And why shouldn’t it? It reduces the overall cost of Medicaid, while giving seniors more options for care and improving their quality of life.

You can track the bill’s progress here. If you see the common sense in this bill, make sure you let your local senator and congress persons know. Click here to easily contact your local U.S. Senators and U.S. Representatives.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by C. Todd Alley

Defective Drywall: More Than a Rotten Smell

Matthew Leeth — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 01:45:19 GMT

Many South Florida homeowners thought the damage done to their home was over when Hurricane Charlie left the area. Unfortunately, that's not the case.

Hurricane Charlie made landfall in August 2004 in Punta Gorda, FL as a stage 4 hurricane. This was the most powerful hurricane to hit the sunshine state since Hurricane Andrew in 1992. In the worse hit areas, homes were leveled and businesses destroyed. In other areas of the state, homes were severely damaged by wind and flooding. In most cases, homeowners rebuilt their homes or made the substantial repairs necessary to live in their home once again.

The large spike in home building and repair created a shortage of drywall. Drywall had to be purchased from distributers from around the globe in order to meet demand. Many manufacturers, some now bankrupt, utilized Knauf Plasterboard to meet their drywall needs. Knauf Plasterboard shipped the home builders drywall produced in China. With little or no regulation in the drywall industry, the drywall was installed into thousands of homes without any oversight.

It turns out the drywall used an unusually high level of organic material, which produced sulfur that became trapped inside the drywall. Florida's humidity caused the gases to escape the drywall, and has caused respiratory problems as well as corrosion of the electrical wiring and fixtures.

Fast forward nearly five years. According to the Florida Department of Health over 150 complaints have been received by homeowners complaining of a rotten egg smell (the common association with sulfur gas), corroded copper fixtures and the repeated failure of their home's air conditioning system. For those affected, the only cure is to completely remove the drywall from their home, replace all the wiring and fixtures affected, and install new, safe drywall.

For many of those affected by Hurricane Charlie, the nightmare is far from over. What's worse, Hurricane Katrina victims are expected to face similar problems in the coming years as the gases escape. Some homeowners who were not even directly affected by either hurricane - those who simply had their home built during the time of spiked demand - are likely affected as well. Nationwide it is estimated that upwards of 100,000 homes are affected. This leads to the question - Why was there no independent testing done prior to the installation?

Governor Crist is stepping in, asking the federal government to assist in the matter. Senator Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) has introduced legislation to institute testing of all drywall imported between 2004 and 2007. The bill also bans the types of drywall responsible for this disaster. This may be effective in the identifying drywall with high toxicity imported between 2004 and 2007, but will it be enough to prevent another massive defect of another kind from occurring? Perhaps this bill should go one step farther and institute a cost-effective testing procedure for all imported drywall, in order to ensure an economic and hazardous disaster like this does not occur again.

Concrete, steel, and other structural components are tested in order to ensure buildings don't collapse. Pipes are tested to ensure they don't leak. Why isn't drywall tested, if only sporradically, to ensure minimal toxicity?

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Matthew Leeth

Girard Nursing Home Fined for Abuse

Shannon Weidemann — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 13:57:28 GMT

A nursing home in Girard, Illinois had abuse complaints lodged against it. Investigators found that the workers at Pleasant Hill Village Nursing Home was abusing residents. A fine of $25,000 was levied against the home.

A February report by the Illinois Department of Public Health indicated the incidents might have started as early as August 2006.
Aides allegedly poked one resident with a pin to keep her from getting out of her wheelchair; held an alarm next to the ear of another to keep her in bed; intentionally grabbed a resident's injured arm and asked, "Does this hurt?"; restrained one man by holding his arms behind his back and bending his fingers backward; and forced residents to shower against their will.

The nursing home is challenging the fine saying it has taken steps to remedy the situation. The state differs with that account and says the home did nothing until the police came in to investigate.

For more information on this subject matter, please refer to the section on Medical Malpractice and Negligent Care.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

Nursing Home Must Pay Damages for Prolonging Life

Shannon Weidemann — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 21:21:55 GMT

A jury in Palm Beach County has decided that a nursing home must pay $150,000 in damages to a woman's family after they did not follow her living will and advance directive. The 92-year-old woman had stated that she did not want to be kept alive by artificial means. Workers at Morse Geriatric called paramedics and had her taken to the hosptial where she died six days later after having many procedures performed on her.

The verdict was lauded by bioethicists, who say the availability of medical technology doesn't always impose a moral duty to use it. And though the impact of the verdict likely won't stretch outside Florida, it's still a precedent that might be taken into account in future cases, according to Dr. Kenneth Goodman, director of the University of Miami's bioethics program and the Florida Bioethics Network.
"We've been watching this case closely," Goodman said. "This is a big deal. It's a reaffirmation that no means no. There are a lot of institutions and a lot of health-care professionals who have acquired the belief that you reduce liability overtreating patients. This case shows that's a bad strategy. The whole point is that advance directives survive your inability to utter them."

The jury did not find the center's former medical director to be at fault though. The patient's granddaughter filed the case in order to make other nursing home's more aware of their patients' living wills.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

Nursing Homes Have Fire Safety Obligations

Bob Carroll — Sat, 21 Oct 2006 03:21:07 GMT

Fire in a nursing home obviously can be a disaster because of the immobility of many of the residents. It would be a guaranteed disaster if the nursing home falsified fire drill reports and appointed an untrained maintenance man to oversee fire safety training at the facility, leaving employees unable to handle the crisis. That is what is alleged to have happened in Nashville.

Judge clears way for two families to pursue damages in nursing home fire case

Two families who lost loved ones in a Nashville nursing home fire can pursue punitive damage claims against the company that owned the facility for its alleged disregard of fire safety training and failures of the facility's employees on the night on the fire, a judge ruled today.
The ruling allows the plaintiffs to pursue their allegations that National Healthcare Corp. falsified fire drill reports and appointed an untrained maintenance man to oversee fire safety training at the facility, leaving employees unable to handle the crisis.
After yesterday's ruling, the plaintiffs said their primarily aim is to make sure all of the information about the fire is known publicly so a similar disaster can be prevented by the government agencies that regulate nursing homes.
"It's very important that all of this information gets out to the public so whatever needs to happen can happen to prevent this from ever happening again," said Amy Cato of Nashville, who was raised by Webb, her aunt, after her mother passed away. "There was a tremendous amount of emotional distress in watching what my aunt went through everyday for five months, and I don't want anyone else to go through that."

Those of us who have loved ones in nursing homes and assisted living facilities in Florida should inquiry about fire safety and the training of personnel. And, it may not be a bad idea to witness a fire drill.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Bob Carroll

Resident Suffocated By Clogged Tracheostomy Tube

Bob Carroll — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 06:18:23 GMT

In the category of healthcare screw-up of the week:

An Illinois jury has awarded more than $2.9 million to the family of a Healthcare and Retirement Corp. of America resident who died by suffocation when her tracheostomy tube became clogged (Sheila Albores, as Special Administrator of the Estate of Ana Carrasco, Deceased v. Healthcare And Retirement Corporation of America, d/b/a Manorcare Health Svs Homewood, No. 02 L 7024, Ill. Cir., Cook Co., Law Div.).

My only comment - allowing a tracheostomy tube to become clogged seems particularly incompetent and grossly negligent. The purpose of the tube is to allow oxygen into the lungs of the patient.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Bob Carroll

One Company's Nursing Home Abuse Record - Is "Blatant" Strong Enough?

Bob Carroll — Fri, 02 Jun 2006 04:51:22 GMT

Over at OpEdNews.com there is a lengthy article that details some of the most egregious nursing home misconduct imaginable. The disgusting incidents described are truly shocking. Amazingly, all of the patient abuse and neglect occurred at the facilities of one nursing home company, Beverly Enterprises.

Beverly Enterprises - Poster Child Of Fraud And Neglect In Nursing Home Industry

Nowhere in the nursing home industry is the corruption, patient neglect and abuse and Medicare and Medicaid fraud more blatant than within the giant nursing home chain of Beverly Enterprises. Based in Fort Smith, Arkansas, it reportedly operates more than 400 nursing facilities, assisted living centers and hospices in 23 states and the District of Columbia.
Indianapolis Attorney George Gray [says] that it boils down to profits. "Most neglect and abuse that we see in our law practice," he said, "can be traced to the corporate owners and management companies understaffing their nursing homes, in other words, putting their profits over the proper care of the elderly patients who have been entrusted to them."

Beverly Enterprises - Poster Child Of Fraud And Neglect In Nursing Home Industry

Nowhere in the nursing home industry is the corruption, patient neglect and abuse and Medicare and Medicaid fraud more blatant than within the giant nursing home chain of Beverly Enterprises. Based in Fort Smith, Arkansas, it reportedly operates more than 400 nursing facilities, assisted living centers and hospices in 23 states and the District of Columbia.
Indianapolis Attorney George Gray [says] that it boils down to profits. "Most neglect and abuse that we see in our law practice," he said, "can be traced to the corporate owners and management companies understaffing their nursing homes, in other words, putting their profits over the proper care of the elderly patients who have been entrusted to them."

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Bob Carroll

Nursing Homes Understaffed - Abuses Continue

Bob Carroll — Sun, 30 Apr 2006 19:26:00 GMT

Understaffing at nursing homes appears to be the underlying reason for continued problems and abuses according to a just-released national report examining nursing home abuse and neglect. The story is from FortWayne.com:

Report IDs roots of elderly neglect
"The Faces of Neglect: Behind the Closed Doors of Nursing Homes," commissioned by the National Citizens Coalition for Nursing Home Reform, gives a look-back at the events and conditions surrounding 36 residents of long-term care facilities in 12 states.
All but one of the 36 case studies in the book tell the stories of people who eventually filed lawsuits alleging poor care and lack of enforcement of laws regulating long-term care facilities:
*Katherine J. entered a nursing home with a small, red, blistered area on her buttocks. Within five days, an 11-inch by 13-inch pressure sore covering both buttocks developed. The doctor ordered a special mattress, and the woman was to have her food pureed to receive better nutrition to help heal her pressure sore. The orders were not followed. Despite documentation by nurses of the woman's severe pain, the only pain medication she was given was an occasional Tylenol. Eight days after being admitted, she was hospitalized with a high fever, fecal impaction, infected pressure sores and sepsis, which is an infection in the blood. The woman died two days later.
*Albert S. could feed himself when he was admitted to the nursing home, but his food and drink intake dropped afterward. Staff failed to follow a care plan that addressed his continued weight loss and dehydration. Five months after admission, he aspirated food into his lungs, then began running a fever and had greenish-yellow secretions when coughing. His daughter insisted he be hospitalized; he died three days later from aspiration pneumonia and renal failure due to dehydration.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Bob Carroll

Florida's Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program

Bob Carroll — Tue, 18 Apr 2006 06:18:32 GMT

Every week I learn of an injury inflicted upon an elderly resident of a nursing home or assisted living facility in the State of Florida. Abuse and negligence often are the cause. When that is the case there is a need for our firm and other personal injury attorneys to step up and provide assistance. The effort frequently involves the filing of a claim for compensation.

There are other instances, however, where the elderly residents of long-term care facilities need a different kind of assistance. They need exactly what the State of Florida Department of Elder Affairs has created, Florida's Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program.

Real People Helping Real People
Florida's Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program is a volunteer-based organization seeking to improve the quality of life of frail, vulnerable elders who live in long-term care settings, including nursing homes, assisted living facilities and adult family care homes.
By directly responding to the concerns of residents, ombudsmen advocate for one of Florida's most treasured resources. Their mission is to protect the human and civil rights of residents while ensuring their health, safety and dignity.
"Ombudsman" is a Swedish term meaning protector or defender of citizens' rights. Here in Florida, we simply call them "real people helping real people."

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Bob Carroll