Articles Posted in Nursing Home Neglect

The Times-Tribune.com reported that according to county commissioners, there are no obstacles to closing the sale of the Lackawanna County Health Care Center to Millennium Management of Miami, FL.

The sale was made public in March 2009 as a way to help the county’s deficit without tax increases or layoffs. However, commissioners have called the sale is the largest reduction of county government in history. More than 320 people, about 20 percent of county government, work at the nursing home.

“And the unique thing about this downsizing is we’re not talking about laying people off. We’re moving people off the public payroll and into the private sector,” said commissioner Mike Washo.

On Feb. 18, the Schuylkill Elder Abuse Prevention Alliance held a training session at St. Clare of Assisi in Saint Clair. The purpose of the training session, that was attended by about a dozen local clergy members, was to help make the local clergy aware of resources for investigating reports of elder abuse.

In an article on the RepublicanHerald.com, Eileen Barlow, an alliance member and ombudsman for MidPenn Legal Services, said elder abuse can include financial exploitation and neglect, in addition to physical and emotional abuse.

“If suddenly Mary Smith isn’t in church, and you know Mary Smith was always at church a couple of times a week…that individual may not leave their home at all,” said Barlow.

McKnight’s Long-Term Care News reported on their website that on March 1, a federal database of potentially dangerous caregivers would become available to healthcare providers. However, it’s been reported that many disciplinary records are missing from it.

The database consists of records from various state agencies as a way to identify dangerous caregivers before they can get healthcare jobs in different states. But when the information in the federal database was compared to information on state websites, discrepancies were discovered. It was found that some states only filed reports occasionally; that many missing disciplinary actions against workers occurred within the last few years; and that some states filed incomplete records.

Because healthcare workers can be license in multiple states, background checks can be difficult to conduct. The article also mentioned that many state licensing agencies are reluctant to share information. Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary of Health and Human Services, has sent a letter to the nation’s governors asking for assistance in filling in the missing information.

In January, we blogged that Carbon County’s board of commissioners was putting the county-owned Weatherwood Nursing and Rehabilitation Center up for sale. Now, a recent article on StandardSpeaker.com points out a pattern of unloading county-owned nursing homes as a way of reducing budget woes.

According to the article, 50 Pennsylvania counties once operated nursing homes; but that number has decreased to 31. Lackawanna County will close on the sale of the Lackawanna County Health Care Center in Olyphant on March 1. And Luzerne County began leasing its former nursing home, Valley Crest in Plains Township, to an outside agency back in 2006. However, Schuylkill County’s nursing home, Rest Haven in Schuylkill Haven, will remain in the hands of the county.

Because federal and state reimbursement payments for Medicare and Medicaid have decreased and operating costs continue to rise, county homes are not as financially self-sustainable as they once were. But some question whether the short-term gain is worth it.

One of the biggest concerns an older family member may have about moving into a nursing home can be the perceived loss of his or her freedom. Meeting a friend for lunch, enjoying a cup of coffee, or staying up late to watch a movie are just a few of the things that they worry they will miss. But an article by Jennifer Zamora on Culpeper, Virginia’s StarExponent.com states that “when a person moves into a nursing home or any long-term care facility, he or she still has the right to make choices about their own life.”

The article goes on to say that residents do not lose any rights when they move into a nursing home. In fact, nursing home laws are made to protect the rights of residents. Through a written, agreed-upon care plan, nursing homes are required to provide services that maintain good health and emotional wellbeing.

Some other rights that residents should be aware of that are mentioned in the article include: the right to receive information and to be informed; the right to participate in the planning of care; the right to decide what social and religious activities to take part in; the right to decide what to wear; the right to privacy in care and confidentiality with regard to medical, personal or financial affairs; the right to be treated with dignity and respect; the right to be free from abuse and neglect; the right to be protected against transfer or discharge, unless for specific reasons; and the right to raise concerns or complaints without fear of punishment or retaliation.

Paul Muschick, The Watchdog reporter for The Morning Call in Allentown, recently published an article about inspection reports for adult day cares. He said that the benefits of adult day cares are that they allow families to “get a break from their stressful roles as caregivers knowing their loved one are in a supervised setting with proper care.” However, it can be difficult to get information on these care centers because Pennsylvania doesn’t put its inspection reports online as it does for nursing homes. Muschick reviewed reports on 55 adult day care centers in the Lehigh Valley area and summarized his finds in the following article:

http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-online19ndh-a-a.7159676jan28,0,4616283.column

If you are considering an adult day care center for your loved one, we suggest you read Mr. Muschick’s article to help in your decision making process.

Lee Bowman of Scripps Howard put together a helpful list of things to consider when discussing the options of nursing home care. We’re listing them for you, in the hopes that they may assist you in making decisions about long-term care for an elderly family member.

1. What does the patient need? Getting a clear diagnosis and outlook from health-care providers, social workers and discharge planners gives a better picture of what sort of nursing home is needed, or if such care is needed at all. There may be options including home- or community-based care or other institutions rather than a nursing facility.

2. Start close to home. The closer a nursing facility is to family and friends, the easier it is to visit. Nursing-facility staff notices who gets frequent visits, and care may be given accordingly. Use the Nursing Home Compare Web site or referral lists from state or local ombudsmen or aging agencies as a starting point in a search.

In November 2009, we blogged about an investigation by WTAE’s Team 4 of Pittsburgh. This segment reported on 2 nursing homes in the Pittsburgh area that were rated below average.

This month, Team 4 reported that another nursing home in Allegheny County has been named to a special list of troubled homes. Click on the link below to read the entire article:

http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/22142076/detail.html

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With the population of adults over 65 expected to nearly double by 2030, more assisted-living facilities are cropping up across the country. This subject was addressed in an article on an online Michigan news service, MLive.com.

As baby boomers enter their golden years, assisted-living facilities in Jackson County, Michigan are expanding and growing to meet the need. “It’s not Jackson; it’s nationwide. We’re just trying to keep up with what has to happen,” said Anne Chilcote, owner of Choice Connections, a referral service that provides a variety of living options for senior citizens.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, assisted living is designed for seniors who want to live in a community setting but enjoy services such as help with medications, housekeeping, laundry, and personal care.

Most people probably remember the old TV commercial where an elderly woman collapses in her home and calls out, “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!”

Today, more advanced at-home technology is available that can perform a number of functions for the wearer, including reminders to take medicine, alert him or her to a fire, and answer the phone. These new devices are allowing seniors to stay in their homes longer, rather than moving to a nursing home or assisted living facility.

An article we found on TheReporterOnline.com explains that some systems cost about $150 to $200 a month and can help monitor how well a senior is managing the chores of daily living. They are most successful when they are tied to an agency that can dispatch meals, medical help, or other senior services. They are often prescribed to seniors for a limited time after a hospitalization.