Articles Posted in Nursing Home Residents

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The internal documentation that is recorded and housed by the owners and/or management companies responsible for operation of a nursing home is vitally important in litigating against a nursing home. This internal documentation may be the framework of a successful prosecution of the case.  Nursing home documentation varies from nursing home to nursing home. Most nursing homes record data in three major categories:

  • Staffing/payroll
  • Clinical issues
  • Financial analysis

One of the most common causes of nursing home resident injury or abuse is the lack of staffing or a shortfall in competent staffing. Internal documentation of the nursing home can be revealing about staffing and payroll information. The largest expense of operating a nursing home is the cost of its labor force. Therefore, to be more profitable, nursing homes will reduce labor in an effort to increase its profit margins. Accordingly, there is detailed information stored by the nursing homes showing labor costs in comparison to other years.

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Jesse Harvey Sr. reached the age of 99. While hospitalized he underwent a pharyngogram. This is essentially a radiographic procedure of the pharynx.  Mr. Harvey was a resident of Arcadian Rehabilitation & Nursing Center. The pharyngogram test showed that he had an inability to swallow. His doctor ordered a nasogastric tube and directed the nursing home not to feed him anything by mouth.

However, two days after Mr. Harvey returned to Arcadian Rehab & Nursing Center, he pulled out the nasogastric tube. A staff member at the nursing facility told the nurse practitioner investigating that there was no pharyngogram in his chart. Assuming that the tube was present because of inadequate nutrition, the nurse practitioner ordered the staff to feed Mr. Harvey grits. 

After the feeding, Mr. Harvey developed breathing difficulties. He was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was diagnosed with aspirational pneumonia. Unfortunately, Mr. Harvey died several days later. He is survived by his five adult children. 

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An epidemic of sorts has been uncovered in nursing homes around the country. It has become apparent that nursing home residents stricken with dementia or other mental and physical deficiencies are unable to take care of their daily toothbrush chore.  What that means is that residents are not brushing their teeth regularly. Nursing home residents’ teeth may become increasingly decayed with plaque or cavities, which often leads to gum disease, cracked teeth and other hygiene-related diseases.

Nursing homes have long overlooked the need to care for disabled residents’ dental hygiene. Late this past summer, the New York Times disclosed that many nursing home residents across the country were stricken by cavities, gum disease and cracked teeth, in part because their teeth were not kept clean. 

Nursing homes most often focus on resident health and safety issues at their facilities, but many overlook dental hygiene. 

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The state of California recently reported that long-term facilities across that state were the subject of elder abuse, but the resolutions of those cases were incomplete. These nursing home facilities have been the site of resident injuries and deaths. A state investigation found that the Department of Public Health chose not to investigate accusations of abuse of nursing assistants in many of those facilities across the state or there were open and unresolved cases.

In one instance, a resident at an assisted living facility in southern California believed that she would be safe there. Instead, the 95-year-old died from injuries she sustained while at the assisted living facility. Seven years after her untimely death, the family is still waiting for answers from investigators at the California Department of Public Health. This apparently is not an uncommon occurrence.

The nursing home facility claimed that the resident, Elsie, had died from injuries that she sustained when she fell. However, it was stated by a former nursing director at the same facility that Elsie’s injuries came as a result of being punched by a nursing home assistant.

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