Articles Posted in Nursing Home Abuse

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There may come a time for many of us when we need to think about caring for our elderly loved ones.  Georgia residents who want to place their loved ones in nursing homes need to be sure to do their due diligence to find facilities that meet acceptable quality standards.  This is especially so since, according to federal ratings, the Georgia’s nursing homes rank poorly on care indices.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has developed a ranking based on three care parameters. Georgia nursing homes were placed on the bottom of the list for their care standards.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services rating was based on how facilities performed on three parameters – health inspections (evaluating the number and scope of defects found in the last two inspections), staffing measures, and quality measures. Staffing rankings were determined based on the number of resident nurses per resident per day, and the total staffing per resident per day. Quality ratings were determined on the basis of 16 quality measures.

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The Trump administration’s efforts to relax federal regulations could impact the ability of nursing home residents across the United States to hold the facility responsible for abuse or neglect.

President Trump has issued an executive order that requires federal agencies to relax regulatory expenses. This action could result in CMS (Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services) rescinding an Obama era rule that makes it easier for residents of nursing homes to sue these facilities in cases involving abuse and neglect. In September 2016, the Obama administration banned arbitration agreements that residents were required to sign before admission into nursing homes. That move came in response to the need for greater protection of the rights of elderly residents of nursing homes. The rule was challenged in court by nursing homes, and a trial is still pending.

The Trump administration proposes to require that all residents sign an arbitration agreement upon admission to the nursing home which would eliminate their right to sue the nursing home in case of abuse or neglect, and would impose neutral arbitration as the only means of dispute resolution. A typical arbitration agreement will inform the resident that signing the agreement removes his right to legal recourse via a trial by jury or court trial.  It would also work to establish that any dispute will be resolved through a process of arbitration.

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The explosion of social media has unfortunately meant more ways for unprofessional staff members at nursing homes to abuse vulnerable residents. A shocking exposé by ProPublica documents evidence of instances in which nursing home staff uploaded embarrassing, humiliating or degrading images or videos of vulnerable elderly residents in their care.

Many of these images were uploaded on social media networks like SnapChat, which displays pictures posted on it for a few seconds before deleting them. The ProPublica exposé investigated such instances, and found a total of 35 episodes that have occurred since 2012 alone. In all of these instances, staff members at nursing homes took pictures of residents in some of their most vulnerable states, and shared them on social media. Sixteen of the pictures or images were uploaded on SnapChat.

In some of these pictures and videos, residents were either totally or partially naked. In one instance recorded in 2014, a worker at a Washington-based nursing care facility uploaded a video of a resident sitting on a portable toilet. In yet another horrifying video, one worker can be seen slapping the face of an elderly resident using a nylon strap, to which the woman protests. In the background, other employees can be heard laughing.

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It is always unfortunate when reports arise of abuse occurring in our nations nursing homes and other assisted living facilities meant to make the lives of our elders more peaceful. Many are disturbed by elder abuse or nursing home abuse because it involves elderly individuals, who are particularly vulnerable, being taken advantage of, either medically, physically, financially, or emotionally. When individuals and facilities that are responsible for this type of abuse are held responsible, it is refreshing. However, unfortunately, one Minnesota nursing may escape liability for the abusive actions of employee against an elderly female patient.

As reported by the Star Tribune, a female resident of a St. Paul, Minnesota nursing home was sexually assaulted repeatedly over a period of months by a staff member, according to a state investigative report released Tuesday March 20, 2012. The abuse, which not only included physical abuse, but included sexual abuse, such as forced sexual acts and fondling, as well, occurred at Highland Chateau Health Care Center in St. Paul. The Health Department report did not give the age of the resident or the employee. Fortunately for the resident involved, as well as all of the other residents of Highland Chateau, the employee was fired. The administrator of the nursing home has yet to comment on the incident to the press.

According to the Star Tribune, St. Paul police tried to question him, but the phone numbers he provided weren’t working. Officials with St. Paul police were checking Tuesday afternoon to see where the investigation stands. A spokesman for the Ramsey County attorney’s office said the Health Department forwarded a case for consideration of charges but prosecutors have yet to make a determination.

According to the Health Department’s report, which did not reveal the identities of the staff member or the resident, the abused resident had limited mobility and needed help dressing, bathing and with her bathroom needs. The report also revealed that when confronted by a state investigator, the staff member responsible for the abuse denied the allegations, saying that the woman would at times not make sense and was under the impression he would marry her. However, other staff members described the woman as “alert and oriented.” One said the woman told her “she just wanted it over,” the report said.
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As an increasing portion of the United States’ population reaches its golden years, it would seem that more safeguards would be put in place to advance and protect the interests of aging Americans. However this seems not to be the case, especially in the state of Tennessee. Earlier this year, Tennessee lawmakers passed new legislation that limits the non-economic damages that a victim of nursing home abuse or nursing home malpractice may recover. This legislation comes only two year after the Tennessee legislation passed measures that greatly reduced the oversight and regulation of nursing homes in the state. Needless to say, victims of nursing home abuse, and their families, are outraged.

Dennis Matthews, whose mother, Verdie Matthews, died from dehydration and malnutrition at a nursing home owned by Life Care Centers of America, sued the Tennessee based company. At trial, the jury found the nursing home negligent, and awarded Matthews 11.5 million dollars. However, after the trial, the judge overruled the verdict, and Matthews and the company reached a private settlement. For Matthews, his ordeal did not end ideally. He did not receive the compensation he was originally awarded by the jury at trial. The company was not held fully accountable for the nursing home abuse that Matthews’ mother suffered. But, this nursing home was indeed held responsible. However, for plaintiffs bringing this type of case in the future in Tennessee, holding nursing homes accountable for their malpractice may not be a realistic possibility.

According to The Tennessean, earlier this year, Tennessee law makers passed a measure placing strict limits on the rights of nursing home patients and their families to sue nursing homes for poor care. This new law, which caps the amount a jury can award, is slated to go into effect before October. This new law comes just a couple of years after lawmakers vastly reduced oversight of the state’s nursing homes by eliminating regulations mandating that nursing home operators file detailed reports on adverse events affecting patients. The previous law also eliminated requirements that the state investigate those incidents. Combined, these laws mean lessened regulation of nursing homes, and the decreased ability of injured patients or their families to hold negligent nursing homes responsible for their actions. Overall, this seems like a poor state of affairs. So, the question is why is Tennessee choosing to take this route?

According to state politicians and state Health Department officials, the laws reducing the regulations on nursing homes were designed to decrease the backlog of nursing home abuse cases that had gone uninvestigated, and to streamline the whole investigatory process. Although this change came at the request of Health Department Officials, attorneys who regularly handle nursing home abuse or nursing home malpractice claims argue that this new law, which caps the amount plaintiffs can recover in a lawsuit, in conjunction with the previous law which resulted in lessened regulations of nursing homes, will lead to nursing homes operating negligently with impunity.
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