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Articles Posted in Nursing Home Abuse

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10 employees of a New York nursing home neglected and mistreated a resident who was completely dependent on the nursing home staff for his care. The patient was a double amputee who also suffered from partial upper body paralysis. An investigation by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman revealed a disturbing pattern of pervasive neglect at Blossom North Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Rochester, NY. According to the footage from a hidden video camera, “nurses allegedly failed to dispense prescription medications, measure blood sugar and blood pressure levels or properly care for the resident’s catheter. Aides allegedly neglected the resident’s incontinence care and his prescribed range of motion exercises and several are alleged to have transferred him in a potentially unsafe manner. In some instances, the resident had no hands-on care during the aides’ entire shifts and was left to lay immobile in his bed for hours at a time. The nurses and aides then allegedly falsified documents in an effort to conceal their neglect”.

The employees have been charged with falsifying documents, willful violation of the public health law and for some of them endangering the welfare of a physically disabled person. They may be sentence to up to 4 years in jail.

Blossom North Nursing and Rehabilitation Center has a below average rating of 2 stars by Medicare. An inspection report from last fall shows that the nursing home had mistreatment deficiencies, quality care deficiencies, resident assessment deficiencies, resident rights deficiencies, pharmacy service deficiencies, environmental deficiencies and fire safety deficiencies. Previous complaints also show a history of abuse, neglect and mistreatment. Not surprisingly under staffing is also a major issue at this New York nursing home where a registered nurse spends in average 19 minutes a day per patient compared to a New York State average of 48 minutes.

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A nurse who physically abused a patient in a New York nursing home will spend 30 days behind bars with five years probation. She also will have to surrender her certified nurses’ aid certificate. Sarina Francis (picture) who was working for the Hudson Park Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Albany, NY at the time of the event pleaded guilty to one count of Endangering the Welfare of a Vulnerable Elderly Person or an Incompetent or Physically Disabled Person in the Second Degree in violation §260.32(2) of the Penal Law, a class E felony. As Francis was taking the resident to her room, the elderly woman struck her in the face. In response the nurse twisted the arm of the elderly woman so hard that it resulted in a bone fracture.

Read the Complete Press Release from New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.

The Hudson Park Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Albany, NY ranks among the worst nursing homes in New York in the Medicare ranking with a much below average overall rating of one star only, a much below average health inspection ranking of one star, a much below average staffing ranking of one star and an above average ranking of quality measures of 4 stars.

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skilled%20nursing%20facility.jpgNursing home negligence such as substandard treatment, inadequate monitoring of patients or failure and delay to provide necessary care are the main causes of preventable adverse events and temporary arm events for patients requiring post acute care in a skilled nursing facility according to a large study conducted by the US Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General.

The study looked at a sample of 653 Medicare beneficiaries discharged from hospitals to skilled nursing facilities (SNF) for post-acute care and who stayed at the nursing home no longer than 35 days.

The study found that 22% of Medicare beneficiaries experienced at least one adverse event during their stay. A small percentage of patients experienced 2 to 3 adverse events during their stay.

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Nursing Home Neglect may have caused the death of two residents at the Suffolk Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing, a Long Island nursing home.

Thomas Bischoff died of sepsis after bedsores grew so large on his body that a human fist could fit inside some of the holes in his skin. Bedsores of that size are a sign of nursing home abuse.

A few months after Thomas died , Raymond Curiale another resident accidentally hanged himself. According to his plan care, Curiale who suffered from dementia was to be checked on every 15 minutes. After the staff forgot to check on him for 57 minutes, he was found slumped against his wheelchair, the seat belt around his neck, strangled.

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To protect your loved one from potential abuse or neglect, when choosing a nursing home it is important to carefully consider your options. The Best Nursing Homes ranking is a trustable source for information that provides data and information on care, safety, health inspections, staffing and more for nearly every nursing facility in the U.S. Each facility’s profile displays health and fire violations, performance in important clinical categories and how much time nursing staff spends with residents. The ranking for 2014 was published Yesterday.

210 New York City area Nursing homes received a global overall five star ranking. The ranking is then divided into 3 categories: Health Inspection, Nurse Staffing and Quality Measures.

Very few nursing homes in the New York City area were actually able to obtain five stars in all categories.

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Low rated New york City nursing homes accumulate complaints of abuse and neglect and little is being done to improve the situation. Unlike other states, New York does not have a mandated minimum staff ratio or a minimum amount of hours that nursing staff is required to devote to nursing home residents. These staffing deficiencies can lead to horrific situations of nursing home abuse and neglect. The Gotham Gazette recently published five articles that looked in depth at the inspection reports, complaints and court reports for five of the lowest rated nursing homes in the city.

The Mosholu Parkway Nursing and Rehabilitation Center is so understaffed that it threatens the health and well-being of its residents. A few years ago, a resident who was supposed to be supervised when he smoked put his wheelchair bed sheet on fire and was engulfed by flames for 4 minutes until the fire was extinguished. He died from his injuries after a year of pain and suffering. Physical abuse of residents by other residents is also common at this nursing home where residents with violent behavior are not properly monitored and managed. Inspections in recent years show serious deficiencies in healthcare as well as 12% of residents suffering from bedsores, double the national average. The place is badly managed and disorganized.
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Because medical needs of long term care patients are often being neglected when they transition from a long term stay in a nursing home to a home and community based services program, they are at a greater risk of hospitalization than those with similar conditions who choose to stay in a nursing home.

A recent study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (J Am Geriatr Soc 62:71–78, 2014.) and led by Andrea Wysocki, PhD, Center for Gerontology and Healthcare Research, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island compares hospitalizations of dually eligible older adults who had an extended Medicaid nursing home (NH) stay and transitioned out to receive Medicaid home- and community-based services (HCBS) with hospitalizations of those who remained in the nursing home.

Home and Community based services programs for patients with long term care (LTC) needs have been very in demand recently not only because patients prefer to be in a home and community setting rather than in an institutional setting but also because the per-person costs are usually lower for HCBS than for nursing homes.

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An elderly patient with dementia was sexually abused in a Bronx nursing home last night. A male nurse at Manhattanville Health Care Center in the Bronx, NYC, was caught in the act of raping a 64 year old patient who was suffering from dementia. 42 year old Nanic Aidasani was picked up by the Bronx police and charged with rape.

For more info see video.

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An obvious lack of security puts patients at risk of abuse at the Rebekah Rehab and Extended Care nursing home in the Bronx, New York. Tuesday last week at 3:00 am an unidentified man walked into the nursing home and into the room of an 83 year old female patient without being identified. The man flashed his genitals at the woman and left. Read more at CBS New York

New York Nursing Home Regulations mandate that it is the responsibility of the Nursing Home to provide residents with safe surroundings and protect them from any kind of harsh and abusive treatment.

When choosing a nursing home or other long term care facility it is always important to make sure that the facility is providing a safe environment for the resident, that personal belonging are secure in the residents rooms and that the nursing home is locked at night.

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A Bronx nursing home aid physically abused an elderly woman by pushing her out of a room into the hallway. The woman banged her head against the door and sustained lacerations requiring stitches. Video surveillance captured the whole scene that led to the arrest of the abusive nurse’s aid.

Read more in the New York Daily News