New laws going into effect for nursing homes are causing concerns for nursing home owners. The laws address the necessity for patients to be seen by a physician, physician’s assistant, nurse practitioner, or clinical nurse prior to sending patients out to the hospital. The concerns come from the unlikelihood of a medical director on staff at any given moment for a patient to be seen.

Sexual assault is on the rise for nursing home patients in one state with a former certified nursing assistant pleading guilty on two separate charges of rape.  The caregiver was seen by a nurse assaulting a patient with dementia. The caregiver pleaded guilty in court for one charge of sexual assault and settled on the other charge of in a separate lawsuit a year prior.

The CEO of a nursing home chain was fired after a recent search of his home under warrant. After several boxes of files were taken from the CEO’s home, the nursing home board let him go stating it was not an issue of patient care. The CEO’s attorney would not return calls regarding questions about the nature of the search.  The nursing home is cooperating with the investigation stating that it is an issue of certain individuals or practices.

An attorney representing families of nursing home patients with wrongful death claims is trying to prevent the owner of a nursing home from profiting on a real estate project. The issue they state is that the nursing home owner pleaded hard times and reduced nursing home care for patients resident at his nursing home facility. Cutbacks included reduced air conditioning, reduced staffing, contaminated food, and less security.

A certified nursing assistant has been charged with abuse of two elderly patients for whom she was to care. She is accused of hitting and pulling hair, among other actions of abuse. She was arrested and posted bail after her arrest.

Nursing home staff that are part of a union are interested in working with nursing home management to fix staffing problems related to nursing home care. Staffing shortages and low pay rates of less than $10 an hour are making it difficult for nurses to maintain positions and provide quality care to patients. These concerns are all focused on one particular nursing home.   The nursing home employee union representative believes improvement on staffing would improve overall care.