Articles Posted in Nursing Home Abuse

The Center for Investigative Reporting made a finding that California is failing to protect patients living in care facilities across the state. What they discovered was unsettling. By searching through years of records, the group determined that investigators from the Department of Public Health failed to look into accusations of abuse by nursing assistants. Documents show state regulators effectively shelved more than 900 cases from Southern California, including some of the most alarming allegations involving suspicious deaths. Data reportedly shows that most of investigations conducted do not result in action against caregivers, the number of caregivers’ licenses revoked has gone down, and that fewer cases have been referred for prosecution.

One such case involved a 95 year old woman who checked herself into a Pomona assisted living facility. The woman is believed to have died as a result of injuries she sustained from employees of the home. While the facility claims that the woman died as a result of injuries she sustained from a fall, family members and even a former nursing director believe that the woman was repeatedly punched, especially in the face. The former employee stated, “Her face looked like Mohammed Ali did a dance on it. And you could see knuckles.”

Despite questions surrounding her death, the Department of Health closed the case in February, seven years after the woman died. The Los Angeles County Coroner’s report ultimately concluded that the allegations of assault could not be ruled out, but no charges have been filed. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has decided to take a closer look at the woman’s death, and as a result has opened a homicide investigation.

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A 76 year old nursing home patient died last month from complications of injuries he sustained when he was tased by local police.

The man was reportedly wielding a knife and scissors and otherwise behaving erratically when the police arrived. When officers motioned to the man, who did not speak English, and ordered him to drop the weapons, he moved the knife towards his throat. Police then used a taser in an attempt to prevent the man from harming himself. As a result, the man fell and severely injured his face.

The man died shortly thereafter from pneumonia that developed during treatment for delirium and his injuries, according to the medical examiner.

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A Georgia woman was arrested following a raid on a local home in connection with a nursing home she reportedly runs. The woman was charged with abuse, neglect and exploitation of disabled persons, false imprisonment, and operating a personal care home without a license.

The arrest took place earlier this month following a raid by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Thomasville Police Department, Thomas County Sheriff’s Office and Georgia Probation at the Break Through Independent Living Center.

Investigators say the home itself is owned by a nearby church. Thomasville Police began an investigation regarding the nursing care facility nearly one month ago after a claim was made regarding a potential sexual assault. Investigators reported that they had suspected abuse and neglect at the home, and subsequently requested assistance from the GBI.

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A recent news story reported on a situation regarding some disturbing footage of abuse within a Texas nursing home. The video shows several residents being thrown or otherwise handled roughly while nursing home employees are engaged in “caretaking.”

The station also showed pictures sent in by a viewer of the woman’s aunt, depicting very large and mysterious bruises on her arms. In that case, after filing a complaint the caretaker was fired.

A former nursing home employee who witnessed many cases of abuse or neglect where she used to work recommends checking on your loved one daily. That way the staff will be less likely to neglect your family member, as they are constantly being checked on, so to speak.

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Three female former certified nursing assistants are accused of taking photographs of disrobed nursing home patients’ body parts, spraying them with water and filming the stunts for their own entertainment. A fifth individual has been charged for failing to report the incident.

Three of the women pleaded guilty to two counts of willful abuse, neglect or exploitation of a dependent adult. They each face one to two years in prison for the crimes.

The fourth individual pleaded guilty for failing to report the abuse, and faces 11 months and 29 days in jail for the misdemeanor charge.

The pleas were entered without an agreement from the state; therefore the womens’ sentences will be for the judge to decide at the sentencing hearing, currently scheduled to take place in September.

The fifth individual, who was also charged in the incident, pleaded guilty to the charges shortly after being charged.

The incidents reportedly occurred in December 2011 and January 2012. The women were charged after nursing home officials discovered that patients were being sprayed with water, and the incidents went unreported. Additional allegations claim that the women took photos of patients’ bare buttocks and breasts. According to information released after the women’s arrests, two of the women worked the night shift together and began the abuse because they thought the victims’ reactions, “would be comical.” They also reportedly took photos and videos of the incidents and showed those to other people.

The nursing home was penalized with a period of suspension of new admissions and a one-time civil penalty of $3,000 assessed by the Tennessee Department of Health, the organization responsible for regulating nursing homes and assisted living facilities in the state.

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According to a statement released by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the owner of a nursing home for Alzheimer’s patients and some 21 of her current and former employees are facing more than 70 criminal charges for allegedly abusing elderly patients under their care.

According to the statement, the allegations stem from employees reportedly using bed sheets to restrain patients, and further subjecting them to “inhumane and undignified conditions.”

The allegations include accounts of physical abuse, which included staff members reportedly striking patients and throwing water onto them. Additional claims state that employees engaged in a practice of “double diapering” patients, whereby they would therefore not have to change soiled diapers as often.

A spokesman for the Bureau revealed that the owner of the home’s individual criminal charges include charges of cruelty to a person 65 years or older, abuse, neglect and financial exploitation. As of earlier this month, 11 of the 21 suspects had been arrested, with the owner remaining at large.

According to investigator reports, when authorities arrived at the nursing home, 27 patients were still in the home’s care, three of whom were then transported to a local hospital in order to receive medical treatment. Due to the nature of the charges, the remaining patients will be removed from the home following consultation with their family members.

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In recent news, the Attorney General of Ohio is raising concerns regarding several complaints of nursing home abuse and neglect, which have reportedly doubled within the Buckeye state this year.

The Ohio State Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit is reportedly investigating 131 case at this point in time, compared with 74 for the same period in 2012. Even more shocking is the fact that nearly half of the complaints for this year to date have been received by the office within the past month.

This drastic increase is believed to be related to the AG’s announcement that his office will aggressively pursue complaints of substandard care or abuse in nursing homes.

In accordance with this agenda, earlier this year investigators placed surveillance cameras in several nursing home rooms, with the knowledge of the patients themselves and their families. However, the nursing home personnel were not informed that they were being recorded.

According to a statement from the AG, the footage captured in some of the rooms showed “absolutely shocking and disturbing” treatment of patients. While additional information was not available regarding the exact nature of the images captured, for an Attorney General to make such a broad statement means the abuse must have really been objectively unacceptable.

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An Iowa nursing home is now facing licensing and other sanctions arising out of an incident of sexual abuse of a resident.

Additionally, the Iowa Board of Nursing Home Administrators is alleging that the former administrator is guilty of professional incompetence.

The various allegations stem from the Board finding that the home and its administrator should have known that one of the residents posed a threat to the other residents, and that it further failed to take necessary precautions in order to prevent anything from occurring. A hearing is scheduled to take place in October.

According to reports, the case is unusual in that the Board rarely takes action against individual administrators for abuse or neglect in the homes that they manage.

According to state inspection reports, several employees of the home were warned not to tell anyone that sex offenders were living within the home, or they would be fired.

One individual in particular had been living in the Iowa Civil Commitment Unit for Sex Offenders just prior to his stay in the Iowa nursing home. He was reportedly there due to convictions in four separate cases, being accused of lascivious acts with a child, indecent contact with a child, and assault with intent to commit sexual abuse.

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A man was shocked to recently discover that his grandmother, who suffers from Alzheimer’s, received extensive facial injuries, including a gruesome looking gash on her head, while living in a residential care facility. The victim is 88 years old, and wheelchair bound.

It remains unclear when or how the woman suffered the injuries. Her family members are hoping that it was some sort of terrible accident, rather than blatantly violent abuse. Police and other governmental officials are continuing an investigation into the matter. The investigation is said to be focusing on who was present around the time the injury occurred, and will consult those individuals who might have more information.

Additionally, news sources revealed that the nursing home where the woman was living has been cited several times in the past by Texas State officials responsible for regulating the home.

Among prior offenses, the home was previously cited for the following:

Although we would like to think it’s not the case, reports and lawsuits indicate that abuse within nursing homes and assisted care facilities are not isolated incidents.

Following the recent U.S. trend regarding hidden cameras documenting nursing home abuse, an 85 year old resident in an Ontario long term care facility placed a camera in order to investigate his suspicions of abuse. The shocking results depicted an elderly woman with dementia being subjected to abuse and humiliation, and have since led to the suspension of at least four employees in that facility.

According to various media reports, the video footage shows one worker repeatedly wrestling and hitting the woman, another wiping his nose onto her clean sheets, and yet another taunting her with rags smeared with her excrement. This is truly deplorable, and even more so considering the poor woman is 85 years old and suffers from dementia.

The nursing home and government are conducting investigations, and police are looking into potentially filing criminal charges.

Apparently, the particular facility involved in this case was actually subject to a class action lawsuit in 1999, detailing hundreds of individual cases of abuse. Then, in 2003, tape recorders set up by families captured staff psychologically and verbally abusing residents, and led to governmental intervention, including an investigation. The initial lawsuit settled just last month, resulting in a reported $7 million pay-out, to be divided among hundreds of abused residents and the families of those who had died during the 13 year long legal ordeal. The settlement also reportedly set aside funds for foundations that are dedicated to educating seniors and patients about their rights.

It is uncommon for a single abusive act to be an isolated incident. Abuse often starts with small impositions upon patients’ rights, and then escalates. It is believed that the stem of these sorts of problems lies in the fact that homes are typically understaffed due to the low wages paid to employees there, as well as the small supply of workers willing to take these demanding jobs.

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