A group of nursing home workers is fighting for higher wages to accommodate the care they say they are giving residents. Workers say some of them are nearly making minimum wage, while still trying to increase the quality of their care giving. The group decided to picket in protest after working to reach an agreement with nursing home administrators and failing.

Some individuals are coming together to form an alliance to assist with the state ombudsman program.  Local communities are creating Nursing Home Community Advisory Committees. These committees are volunteering their time to assist nursing home residents and their families.

Statistics reveal the dire need for raised standards and greater accountability for nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Over 1 million people over 65 years of age are in assisted living facilities. The population of 75 year olds is growing by 400,000 people each year.

An 86 year old woman left a nursing home for the hospital with a broken nose, cheek bone and a bruised eye. The woman was said to have fallen out of bed, but later she was said to have fallen on the way to the bathroom.  The daughter however, was suspicious. Her daughter said the two stories were not adding up, and her injuries seemed inconsistent.

A resident had a heating pad under her knee for what should have been 30 minutes, but ended up being 3 hours. Not only did a staff member forget to remove it, but also neglected to notify the next shift about the heating pad. The burn was damaging enough to require skin graft surgery.

An attendant has been fired and is pending charges for endangerment after sleeping on the job. The attendant was nowhere to be found, causing fear in a resident who awoke at 1am to find no one around to aid him. His fear led him to pull the fire alarm.