Admission agreements at nursing homes often violate state and federal laws and mislead consumers about the level of care they should receive, says a study by Eric Carlson of the National Senior Citizens Law Center, a nonprofit legal advocacy group for seniors and elder-care lawyers.  Carlson…

A nurse who stole drugs from patients of the nursing home at which she worked was recently sentenced in federal court to four months in prison.  She pleaded guilty to acquiring a controlled substance through subterfuge.  Police and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) investigators say the nurse took oxycodone, hydrocodone, methadone,…

An 87-year-old patient of an assisted living facility disappeared and was found later the same day dead in a snowy field.  The patient was allowed to leave the assisted living facility unnoticed.  Police were called when facility staff realized she was missing.  A search…

Margaret Talley, RN was honored recently for her work on pressure ulcer prevention.  Talley, who became interested in pressure ulcer research after working as a nursing home aide, was recruited by the health care system that now employs her to help it reduce the rates at which its…

EmFinders, a Texas company, has designed an electronic monitoring system that can locate within minutes demented patients who have wandered away, or eloped, from nursing homes and assisted living facilities.  The tracking system consists of radio transmitters that look like bracelets or watchbands and fit…

A 70 year-old female patient developed severe pressure ulcers (bed sores, pressure sores, decubitus ulcers) on her left hip and thigh during a several-month stay at a Roanoke area nursing home.  The ulcers were 15 cm x 10 cm and 25 cm x 15…