One state has a bill pending for lawmakers to decide whether or not to ban anonymous complaints against nursing homes. Proponents in favor of the bill say it would reduce prank calls, or those that are less serious. It would eliminate investigations without contact information for those that submit the complaints to the state health department.  Individuals against the bill say it will lessen the complaints made by whistleblowers who call with concerns about nursing home patients, but fear …

Two lawsuits have been filed against the owners of a nursing home chain by patients at the same facility. The patients were allowed to suffer falls, fractures, pneumonia, pressure sores, sepsis, and ultimately death. The lawsuits allege that the staffing and management structure allowed the patients to receive poor quality care.  The management structure deficits are enforced in the same way across all nursing home facilities under the same ownership.

ring A facility in one state has received three times the highest typical fine amount because of two patients’s deaths. The patients were allowed to fall out of their beds. One patient sustained two broken legs and died two days later.

One state health department is hiring 19 new nursing home inspectors in response to concerns about the department maintaining quality of care standards in the state’s 419 nursing homes. The inspectors will help to reduce the number of deficiencies already found in nursing homes and to vet new nursing home chains desiring to come into the state and open up new facilities.  The state department of health is also summoning a new team of inspectors to perform unannounced surveys to create a gre…

A nursing home patient was sexually assaulted by a caregiver. After the incident occurred, the patient reported the assault to authorities. Police are currently investigating to verify if there were any other victims of the same nursing home aide.  The health department was also alerted and is now doing its own investigation of the nursing home facility to be released in a public report.

A nursing home worker was charged with Assault in the Second Degree of a Victim over 65-years-old and Endangering the Welfare of a Vulnerable Elderly Person. The nursing home employee punched a patient in the face resulting in injuries of swelling and bleeding. Another staff member reported the injuries to police.  An investigation revealed the nursing home aide as the source of the injuries.