A doctor has been sentenced this week to three years probation in connection with nursing home patients being drugged against their will. The physician was charged with conspiracy to commit an act injurious to public health. According to authorities, staff at the nursing home gave, sometimes by forced injection,  high and unnecessary doses of anti-psychotic drugs to eight elderly patients to keep them quiet.

Police are investigating an shooting that took place at an assisted living facility on Tuesday.  According to police, an 89-year-old man entered the room of his 87-year-old wife and shot her with a handgun before turning the gun on himself. The woman was hospitalized in critical condition. Her husband was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Attorney General for one state has announced a plan to combat the theft of prescription drugs in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. The initiative unveiled today is aimed at reducing the abuse of prescription painkillers statewide. As part of the initiative, the Attorney General will be sending out a letter next week to every care facility in the state reminding them of their obligations under law to report suspected illegal activity.

The State Department of Health and Human Services has ordered one nursing home to close over the weekend. Last month, a state audit found “serious deficiencies,” including failure to notify the attending physician about nine residents with issues including abnormal blood pressures, missed doses of medications, low heart rates, a choking incident and the refusal to take their medications. Other incidents involve matters such as improper feeding techniques and removal of uneaten food.

A registered nurse has been arrested in connection with the recent death of an elderly nursing home resident. The 54-year-old nurse, was arrested and charged with neglect of a vulnerable adult, according to court documents. The arrest was the result of an ongoing police investigation into the death of a 76-year-old nursing home patient at the facility.

Officials have cited a nursing home after a patient died in a wheelchair accident at the facility. According to a recent Office of Health Facilities Complaints report,  the nursing home neglected a resident in September when the man, who was placed in the wrong wheelchair, took a tumble and died from complications from the fall. The resident had dementia and a history of trying to get out of his wheelchair, which was fitted with a self-release seat belt and an alarm that sounded when the ma…