Pennsylvania Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog

Disturbing details have emerged about the White Owl Manor personal care home in Mahanoy City that caused state officials to close the facility on Friday.

According to the RepublicanHerald.com, the home failed to report the deaths of three residents in June. “We issued an emergency relocation order this morning. We feel the health and safety of the residents are in danger,” said state Department of Public Welfare spokeswoman Anne Bale.

The article added that Schuylkill County Coroner Joseph E. Lipsett said there were no pending investigations on any of the deaths at White Owl Manor and that they were cleared as not suspicious.

Relocation of the facilities 32 residents began immediately on Friday and the Department of Welfare gave no advance warning before shutting down White Owl Manor. Michael Race, the director of communications for the Department of Welfare, said, “The department, in conjunction with local human services agencies, works with residents and their family members to identify new homes of the residents’ choosing that can safely meet residents’ needs. The team helps residents pack belongings, contacts new homes to arrange transportation and takes steps to minimize any anxiety residents may experiences as a result of the action. The department also pays for the residents’ care at the new homes until permanent financial arrangements can be made.”

According to the article, the only way that White Owl owner James F. McGill, Jr. could reopen the home is if a court rules in his favor on the appeal he filed after the department revoked his license to operate the home. However, someone else could apply for a license to operate White Owl and the department would rule on the application within 60 days.

Along with the unreported deaths, there have been other violations at White Owl personal care home. On April 30, a staff member abused a resident by dragging the resident out of bed, kicking, hitting, and cursing the resident, but the home did not report the incident to the department. On May 1, the same staff member pushed, curse, and yelled at another resident. The facility allowed a 20-year-old employee to work independently on numerous occasions. There were eight days when no employees were present at the home who were certified in first aid and CPR. Medical evaluations of residents were incomplete and in some cases there was no indication that some residents had been given an annual medical evaluation. As a result of these violations, the owner McGill was fined.

In the article, Race is quoted as saying, “The department will not levy additional penalties against McGill, but has referred the case to local law enforcement for possible criminal investigation.”

In addition to the violations, the owner of White Owl personal care home was accused earlier this year of access device fraud and identity theft when he authorized an ATM care in the name of an elderly man and spent nearly $5,000. According to the article, McGill obtained the card of a former White Owl resident and used it during August 2010. McGill pleaded not guilty to the charges during a preliminary hearing. Three charges were held for court and the requirement was issued that McGill not visit White Owl Manor. Although he was not permitted to enter the building, he made all the decisions, according to staff. He is free on bail while awaiting county court action on the charges.

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PublicOpinionOnline.com has reported that a former care assistant at Magnolias Nursing Home in Chambersburg, PA has been charged with allegedly pinching, hitting, and kicking a 93-year-old dementia patient.

The incident was brought to the attention of IntegraCare, the company that operates Magnolias, by a co-worker of the care assistant. The co-worker reported that she and the care assistant were working together with the patient, who suffers from dementia, when the patient became more combative that usual with staff.

The patient pinched the care assistant, and the care assistant pinched the patient back. The patient tried to bite the care assistant, and the care assistant slapped the patient. The patient kicked the care assistant and the care assistant kicked the patient in return. The co-worker tried to explain to the care assistant that due to the patient’s condition, she didn’t understand what she was doing. The care assistant replied, “Well, she’s kicking me.”

Franklin County’s Area Agency on Aging contacted Chambersburg Police to report the incident. The Pennsylvania Department of Welfare was also notified.

“The safety of our residents, their dignity and well being is our first priority,” said Richard Irwin, president of IntegraCare. However, the article reports that online records show this same care assistant pleaded guilty in 2006 to a summary charge of harassment for subjecting another person to physical contact. No further details were available.

When interviewed by police, the care assistant did confirm that she had pinched, hit, and kicked the patient. Police are quoted in the article as saying, “She told me that is how she grew up, ‘someone hits you, you hit them back.’ She also told me that she knows it was not the right thing to do.”

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The summer can be fun, but when the temperatures start to climb into the high 80s and 90s, it can make anyone uncomfortable. That’s why it’s important to be aware that older men and women are more susceptible to heat stress and heat stroke during the hot summer months.

As we age, we lose the ability to perspire and regulate our body temperature, so older people don’t feel heat the same anymore and can tend to overdress. Also, older skin becomes thin and offers less protection from the sun.

Caregiver.org offers a number of tips to help the elderly stay cool during and avoid heat-related emergencies.

On June 8, a Senate committee unanimously approved a bill that gives long-term care nursing homes another way to challenge state findings of deficiencies or safety violations, according to an article on the StandardSpeaker.com.

The bill gives nursing homes the option to participate in an independent review process to help resolve disputes with the Health Department. So a nursing home could hire a firm that specializes in quality monitoring of health care if it wants an independent review. The Health Department would maintain the list of firms that a nursing home could use. Or, the nursing home could participate in an existing dispute resolution process run by the department.

The Health Department would need to approve any independent recommendations made through this process before they could be implemented. If the department disagrees with a recommendation that a finding of deficiency be reversed, a written explanation would be required.

An article published on the American Association for Justice website (justice.org) raised an alarming concern which is that many elderly nursing home residents with dementia are being prescribed atypical antipsychotic drugs even though there is an increased risk of death with their use.

The article explains that a report was released by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) showing that 88 percent of reimbursement claims submitted to Medicare for atypical antipsychotic drugs prescribed for nursing home residents during a six-month period were for residents with dementia. However, these drugs carry a warning that states they pose an increased risk of death in elderly patients with that condition.

HHS Inspector General Daniel Levinson is quoted in the article as saying, “Government, taxpayers, nursing home residents, as well as their families and caregivers should be outraged–and seek solutions. It is of great concern that so many nursing home residents are prescribed these drugs in the first place.”

Attorney O’Connor was featured in the May 25 edition of USA Today as one of the Legal Elite. Read more about it in the following article by Jonathan Widran.

“Michael J. O’Connor Returns to Pennsylvania to Become One of His Home State’s Top Workers’ Comp Attorneys”
When it came to pursuing his career in law, Michael J. O’Connor could have easily established himself as a high powered attorney in almost any area of expertise.

Instead, the son and grandson of working union men chose to return to his roots in Pennsylvania and devote his career to helping injured workers obtain workers’ compensation benefits, as well as defending against insurance companies attempting to terminate, suspend or modify lost wage benefits.

Growing up, O’Connor experienced first-hand the struggles of working class people. His father worked for Alcoa, the world’s top aluminum manufacturer for 35 years, and was leader of the local union and head of the Job Evaluation Committee. O’Connor’s great grandfather was killed in a mining accident. He was repeatedly told stories about the trials of his grandmother’s childhood of not only losing a father at a very young age but also her family’s only source of income. He had many other relatives who were injured in industrial accidents and had to battle through the workers’ comp process.

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A nurse at Northampton County’s Gracedale Nursing Home has filed a civil suit against the facility, claiming racial discrimination and retaliation by the nursing home for filing a complaint at the state and federal levels.

LehighVallyLive.com reports that the nurse, an African American female, claims when she reported to her supervisor that a resident’s family member called her a racial slur, that the supervisor told her “maybe you should try being nicer” and “get over it, it’s just a word.”

The nurse also claimed that she was retaliated against when she filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. She said other employees were granted time off, but when she requested a day off to celebrate her anniversary with her husband, her request was denied.

In the lawsuit, the nurse is seeking back pay from the period she was terminated; reimbursement for unused sick, vacation, and personal days; and tuition reimbursement for a class she took.

A county-owned nursing home, Gracedale has been part of a tug-of-war between those who believe selling Gracedale to a private company will mean more quality services, versus those who are afraid a private company may discriminate against those who cannot afford its services.

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It’s become a recurring theme in Pennsylvania: the question of whether selling a county nursing home will save taxpayers money while providing adequate care to nursing home residents.

The Morning Call of Allentown reported that this issue is now being discussed in Lehigh County as they weigh the pros and cons of keeping Cedarbrook county-owned or allowing a private company to take the reigns.

There are concerns that privatization could cause the elderly with limited financial resources to be turned away from a privately-run home. Executive Don Cunningham is quoted in the article as saying, “There has to be somewhere for seniors to go who do not have resources to pay for private care, to receive care in their golden years in a quality way.”

We’ve been keeping track of the developments in the story of alleged abuse that occurred last month at the Quadrangle Nursing Facility in Delaware County, PA. This week, the Haverford-Havertown Patch (Haverford.Patch.com) reported that the facility’s license has been restored on a temporary basis.

According the online article, the director of communications of the Pennsylvania Department of Welfare (DPW), Michael Race, is quoted as saying, “DPW reached a legal settlement agreement, formalized this (Thursday afternoon), with Quadrangle’s operator (Sunrise) to issues a six-month provisional license (as opposed to a standard, one-year license) and they have agree to make some major changes to Quadrangle’s operations under the terms of the agreement.”

Some of the changes that will be made are:

WPVI News in Philadelphia reported today that all 123 residents of Brighten Nursing Home in Delaware County were being relocated to other area nursing homes after a leaking roof required evacuation of all the facility’s residents.

Evacuation began with the 49 patients on the second floor due to what officials are quoted as calling “a serious roof problem with water coming into the building.”

WPVI reported that fire officials who were called to the Brighten Nursing home found arching electrical wires and smoky conditions in the building. Officials decided to move all the patients from the facility as a precautionary safety measure.

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