Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog

As suspected, the hearing for Brianna Broitzman, the second of the "Barbie Abusers" charged with abuse of the residents at Good Samaritan Society nursing home in Albert Lea, Minnesota, was continued on Monday, with no new date provided. The attorney for Broitzman called the court on Monday morning and requested a contested omnibus hearing. This hearing could be held in conjunction with the hearing for Ashton Larson, the other woman charged with abuse. Attorneys for both women have filed motions questioning the constitutionality of the women's statements to investigators.

Robert "Pee Wee" Stewart

The man suspected of killing eight people at a nursing home in North Carolina remains in a prison hospital after being shot in the chest by a police officer during his rampage. Robert "Pee Wee" Stewart, a six-foot-two, three hundred pound painter, entered Pinelake Health and Rehab in Carthage, North Carolina and opened fire on defenseless residents and employees inside, killing eight before being taken down by a bullet shot by a Carthage police officer.

Detectives investigating the shootings have been unable to conduct a complete interview with Stewart, but suspect the shootings were not random. They believe Stewart's rampage is connected to his recent separation from his wife, Wanda Luck, who works at the facility as a nursing assistant. The couple's relationship has been on and off over the years and in between other failed marriages. The couple first married in 1983, divorcing three years later. Over the years, they both were involved in other marriages before reuniting and remarrying in 2002.

Recently, Stewart had been telling family members that he had cancer and that he was preparing for a long trip and to "go away".

Stewart appeared in court on March 30, 2009 on eight counts of first-degree murder and one charge of felony assault of a law enforcement officer. He is scheduled to appear in court again next month.

Eighty-seven year old Florence Warren's family moved her to Good Samaritan Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Avon, Ohio earlier this month because of the facility's secure lock-down ward. Ms. Warren was in the beginning stages of dementia and had a history of running away from care centers. Her daughter, Linda Meldrum, said, "That was my overriding, number one concern right from the get-go, that they would take her on in a locked unit. We didn't want it to be a prison, of course. We just wanted her to be safe."

Ms. Warren walked out of the nursing home around 8:00 p.m. on March 13, 2009. She was walking down Detroit Road when a car struck and killed her - just ten days after she was admitted to Good Samaritan. The driver kept on going. Ms. Warren, who was supposed to be living in the locked-down area, somehow was either able to disarm a security door or the door was not adequately secure. Reports claim that the facility was short-staffed that night and that there was a loud alarm going off, but no one went to find out why.

There is a $10,000 reward for information about the hit-and-run.

The Terry Law Firm is experienced in handling cases of nursing home abuse and neglect. Please contact us at 1 (888) 317-2525 or visit us at www.nursinghomejustice.com.

Brianna Broitzman is due in Court to faces the charges of alleged abuse of elderly residents at Good Samaritan Society nursing home in Albert Lea, Minnesota.

Ashton Larson's attorney, the other woman charged in this tragic incident, filed motions with the court questioning the constitutionality of her statements to investigators. Brianna Broitzman's attorney also filed those motions aas well as an order with the Court to dismiss the criminal complaint for lack of probable cause.

Larson is due back in Court on April 21 for a contested omnibus hearing. It is likely that a contested omnibus hearing will also be scheduled in Broitzman's case today.

Jason Lynn Pearl

Silver Lake Care Center in Bartlesville, Oklahoma is in the process of shutting down, but the closure wasn't soon enough to stop Jason Lynn Pearl from abusing residents. Pearl was charged on March 26, 2009 with two felony counts of caretaker abuse and one misdemeanor charge of verbal abuse.

On February 28, 2009, a resident's wife complained that she found a scratch on her husband. Her husband testified in a court affidavit that he repeatedly complained that Pearl removed his clothes and touched him inappropriately, spit in his face, and threatened to hurt him. Family members initially thought the man's complaints stemmed from his dementia, but when the scratch was discovered, they were forced to investigate the situation. The resident also had difficulty sleeping, was hard to calm down, and was fearful for his wife's safety at their home.

Police investigated the man's accusation and found that Pearl had videotaped three incidents involving Silver Lake residents on his cell phone and several witnesses had viewed the videos before Pearl erased them. The videos revealed Pearl yelling at one resident and jerking the shirt of another. Staff members reported that most patients involved were in a condition that they would not be able to capable of reporting abuse.

Bail is set at $100,000.

The Terry Law Firm is experienced in handling cases of nursing home abuse. Please contact us at 1 (888) 317-2525 or visit us at www.nursinghomejustice.com.

Golden Living Center - North Little Rock is a 120 bed nursing home facility located in North Little Rock, Arkansas. In the past three years, Golden Living Center - North Little Rock's inspection deficiency record has surpassed the average number of health deficiencies in Arkansas twice. Golden Living Center - North Little Rock received twenty-four deficiencies in 2008, nine deficiencies in 2007, and twenty-eight deficiencies in 2006. The average number of nursing home deficiencies in Arkansas is ten. Currently, Golden Living Center - North Little Rock is rated as a one-star nursing home according to the new system instituted by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid.

Nursing home facilities are required to hire people who have no legal history of abusing, neglecting, or mistreating residents and to report and investigate any acts or reports of abuse, neglect, or mistreatment of residents. Nursing home facilities are also required to write and use policies that forbid mistreatment, neglect, and abuse of residents. Golden Living Center - North Little Rock failed its residents at least twice in these areas. Additionally, this facility failed to keep each resident free from physical restraints unless medically necessary.

Nursing homes are required to give each resident the care and services necessary to get or keep the highest quality of life possible for its residents. This facility failed its residents at least three times in this respect in the last three years. This Golden Living facility also failed to provide the proper treatment to residents with feeding tubes to prevent problems, such as aspiration pneumonia, vomiting, and nasal-pharyngeal ulcers, and to restore eating skills, if possible, multiple times in the past three years. The facility failed to provide professional services that followed each resident's care plan and have enough nurses to care for every resident in a way that maximizes the resident's well-being. This facility also consistently failed to make sure that residents who could not care for themselves with activities of daily living received the appropriate assistance and failed to make sure that residents entering the facility without a catheter did not receive one.

All nursing home residents have rights. This Golden Living failed to tell a resident's physician or family of a major change in the resident's condition, failed to keep each resident's personal and medical records confidential, and allow residents to see the results of the nursing home's survey easily. The facility was also cited for failing to allow the residents to give themselves their medications when able.

Golden Living - North Little Rock failed to have drugs and other similar products available which are needed both every day and in emergencies and to distribute them properly and to make sure that residents are safe from serious medication errors.

Every nursing home resident is entitled to a safe, clean, and homelike facility. Golden Living - North Little Rock failed its residents in this respect. This facility failed to ensure that the nursing home area was free of dangers that cause accidents and provide the necessary housekeeping and maintenance and to get rid of garbage properly. Golden Living also failed to ensure that staff members washed their hands when necessary and to have a program in place to keep infection from spreading.

The Terry Law Firm is experienced in handling nursing home cases of abuse or neglect and can be reached locally at (501) 663-2287 or toll-free at 1 (888) 317-2525. To learn more about nursing home abuse and neglect, visit us at www.nursinghomejustice.com.

Jessie Musser, 88, had only been a resident of Pinelake Health and Rehab in Carthage, North Carolina for six weeks. He suffered from Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. He was blind, deaf, and confined to a wheelchair. Jessie died yesterday after being shot by a violent gunman who rampaged through his home. Now, Jessie's family faces the difficult task of explaining to his wife, who also lives at the facility and has dementia, that he is gone. His son-in-law, Jim Foster, said, "She was upset that they didn't bring him to see her yesterday. I don't know how we're going to break it to her."

Ellery Chisholm called her daughter just moments after the gunman marched into her room and pointed his gun at her roommate. She hid her face in her shirt so she couldn't see the gunman and he left the room without shooting. He began shooting down the hallway.

Carthage police are unsure why the gunman, now identified as 45 year-old Robert Stewart, went on the killing spree on March 29, 2009. He entered the facility around 10:00 a.m. armed with a rifle, a shotgun, and other weapons. He was not an employee of the facility and he did not appear to have been related to any of the residents. It is suspected that he targeted the facility because his estranged wife worked there. However, it is not yet known if she was working at the facility that day. In all, he killed seven residents and one nurse before being wounded by a police officer in a shootout. His victims were Tessie Garner, 88; Lillian Dunn, 89; Jessie Musser, 88; Bessie Hendrick, 78; John Goldston, 78; Margaret Johnson, 89; Louise Decker, 98, and Jerry Avent, 39. Jerry Avant, a nurse at the facility, was shot more than two dozen times. A doctor told his father that "he undoubtedly saved a lot of lives".

Stewart has been charged with eight counts of first-degree murder and a charge of felony assault of a law enforcement officer. Other charges are pending.

Residents have been removed from the 110 bed facility, including the residents with Alzheimer's disease.

For continuing information on this tragic story, monitor our website at www.nursinghomejustice.com.

We discussed Pauline Pennington and the injuries she suffered while a resident at Signature HealthCARE of Columbia in a previous blog. The 93 year-old woman's family discovered that she was severely bruised during a recent visit.

The Disability Law and Advocacy Center of Tennessee (DLACTN) has launched its own investigation into Ms. Pennington's injuries. The investigation will take between three to six months.

Signature HealthCARE replied to the family's allegations through an email statement saying, "The family was notified of the bruising on March 21, 2009...The patient had a history of multiple blood clots on her right leg. The attending physician immediately placed the resident on two different blood thinners...This put Ms. Pennington at a much greater risk of spontaneous bruising, which is a common side affect of blood thinners." The nursing home has determined that Ms. Pennington is not a victim of abuse, but did not ify the Tennessee Department of Health."

The investigation continues...

Daniel Coleman

According to a recent Associated Press analysis, nearly 125,000 young and middle-aged adults with serious mental illnesses resided in nursing homes across the United States in 2008. In Illinois, the number of mentally ill adults under the age of 65 living in nursing homes was approximately 12,736. In Missouri, the number of mentally ill adults living in nursing homes has jumped more than 75% in the past few years. Nevertheless, placing mentally ill adults in nursing homes with elderly, vulnerable, and often defenseless residents is a recipe for disaster. The younger mentally ill residents usually are than their elderly counterparts and the end results are sometimes deadly. There are numerous instances where a mentally ill nursing home resident has injured or killed an elderly resident.

Last winter, Daniel Coleman had nowhere to go. He was homeless, mentally ill, and did not know where to turn. He went to a bus stop and began to pray - loudly. Francie Broderick heard his prayers when she walked by. As fate would have it, Francie works for Places for People, an organization that works on finding safe, cost-effective housing for the mentally ill. She tapped Daniel on the shoulder and asked him to come with her. With Francie's assistance, Daniel found a staff-supported apartment and the help he needed.

While Daniel's situation had a positive outcome, many times the mentally ill end up in nursing homes because there simply not enough housing resources to help them. One suggested way to reduce the number of young mentally ill residents in nursing homes is to attempt to find younger individuals who are able to live independently in apartments. Illinois has proposed a program, "Money Follows the Person", that will transfer nearly 700 mentally ill people out of nursing homes into apartments. The federal Medicaid money currently being paid to the nursing home will pay for support services to help these mentally ill people succeed in their new apartment life. In Missouri, Larry Fletcher with the Department of Mental Health acknowledges that the Missouri Department of Mental Health could do a better job of assisting these people with more funding. He said that the State of Missouri is working on developing some things, but that options in Missouri are limited at this time.

An employee at Castle Pines Nursing Home in Lufkin, Texas has been accused of injuring a resident over the weekend of March 21-22, 2009. The nursing home director stated that the employee was seen slapping the hand of a resident. Investigators found bruising on the backs of both hands and a skin tear on her upper arm. The investigation continues.

The Terry Law Firm is experienced in handling cases of nursing home abuse and neglect. Please contact us at 1 (888) 317-2525 or visit us at www.nursinghomejustice.com.

Clara Manor Nursing Home is a 90 bed nursing home facility located in Kansas City, Missouri. Clara Manor Nursing Home received six deficiencies in 2008, seventeen deficiencies in 2007, and twenty-two deficiencies in 2006. The average number of nursing home deficiencies in Missouri is nine. Currently, Clara Manor Nursing Home is rated as a one-star nursing home, according to the new system instituted by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, which is a below average rating.

All nursing home residents deserve professional services that meet a professional standard of quality. Clara Manor Nursing Home has consistently failed its residents in this area over the past three years. The facility has also failed to ensure that residents entering the facility without a catheter are not given a catheter unless necessary and failed to provide the appropriate care for residents needing special services. In at least one instance, Clara Manor also failed to write and use policies that forbid mistreatment, neglect, and abuse of residents.

Care Plans must be developed for each resident to meet the resident's medical, nursing, and mental needs. The Care Plan needs to be routinely assessed and updated to reflect the resident's ongoing needs. Clara Manor failed to develop a Care Plan that met the needs of the resident and keep the Care Plans updated. The facility also failed to ensure that assessements were done by the appropriate personnel.

All residents deserve to be treated fairly. Clara Manor failed to advise a resident or resident's representative in writing how long the facility would hold a resident's bed and failed to have a private telephone available for a resident's use.

Clara Manor is required by law to provide nutrition, dietary, and housekeeping services to maintain a sanitary, orderly, and comfortable facility. This facility failed to have an infection prevention program in place and failed to ensure that staff members washed their hands when necessary. The facility failed to ensure that the nursing home was free of accident causing dangers and provide necessary maintenance. The facility did not prepare food that was nutritional, appetizing, tasty, and cooked at the right temperature in at least one instance. The facility also failed to have enough outside airflow. In at least one instance, the facility failed to ensure residents who took drugs were not given too many doses for too long and failed to keep the rate of medication error under 5%

The Terry Law Firm is experienced in handling cases of nursing home abuse and neglect. Please contact us at 1 (888) 317-2525 or visit us at www.nursinghomejustice.com.

Benedictine Health Center, a nursing home located in Duluth, Minnesota, was been cited by the Minnesota Department of Health for neglect of a resident that nearly resulted in his death.

Benedictine Health Center was found to have improperly set and monitored a male resident's feeding tube on July 20, 2008. As a result, he received a liquid feeding solution at a rate of six times faster than prescribed. The man, who is cognitively impaired and cannot speak, began to experience trouble breathing the next morning and was transferred to a hospital, where he was diagnosed with aspiration pneumonia. The facility acknowledged that the error was made by a nurse hired from a temporary service when she adjusted the feeding tube pump.

According to investigators, the man, who at the time was not expected to live, did recover and was discharged back to Benedictine. Benedictine took corrective action and trained staff on the proper use of feeding tubes and monitoring their flow.

In the past four years, Benedictine has been cited for three substantial violations by the Department of Health.

The Terry Law Firm is experienced in handling cases of nursing home abuse and neglect. Please contact us at 1 (888) 317-2525 or visit us at www.nursinghomejustice.com.

Admissions to Quality Care Health Center in Lebanon, Tennessee have been suspended after a state investigation uncovered health violations. The violations include violations in the areas of physician services, nursing services, and medical records. The facility has been fined $1,500 and faces a $3,000 per day penalty every day until the violations are corrected.

Kathryn Dupree was living the high life on other people's money. The 36 year-old former financial assistant at Wells Nursing Home in MacClenny, Florida was sentenced to eight years in prison for her role in the theft of nearly $200,000 from patient accounts at the facility. Once her prison sentence is completed, she faces twenty-two years probation. Two of those years will be spent at a restitution center in Jacksonville, Florida, where her earnings will be garnished to begin repayment of the money she stole.

Between June 20, 2007 and February 2008, Ms. Dupree wrote checks to herself for amounts ranging between $300 to $17,000 and forged the signatures of several supervisors. Ms. Dupree's activities were discovered when a financial officer for Baker County Medical Services (BCMS), the managing arm of the nursing home, tried to confirm the balance of a patient's account for a family member. When the financial officer looked up the account, she discovered that it was closed and there was a check written against it to Ms. Dupree. When BCMS investigated further, they determined that Ms. Dupree's scam went even deeper and affected many patients.

DIFFERENT LIFESTYLE

Around the time Ms. Dupree began her scam, her lifestyle changed dramatically for an individual earning only $22,000 per year. Property seized from her residence included a tanning bed, a hot tub, three four-wheelers and a trailer, a storage shed, gas grill, matching washer and dryer, office equipment, DVD players, Gameboys, and a flat screen television. Investigators were able to determine that many of the items were paid for with cash. Ms. Dupree had also entered into negotiations to begin construction on a $300,000 home and was looking to purchase a new car. She had also purchased a bulldog and an exotic monkey for approximately $3000 each and had purchased a custom two story cage for the animals. The monkey required special milk for feeding and even had its own wardrobe. She told fellow employees that she had purchased the monkey to breed and sell the offspring because she could make a great deal of money. The monkey has since died.

Carondelet Manor is a 162 bed nursing home facility located in Kansas City, Missouri. In the past three years, Carondelet Manor's inspection deficiency record has consistently surpassed the average number of health deficiencies in Missouri. Carondelet Manor received fifteen deficiencies in 2008, twenty-one deficiencies in 2007, and fourteen deficiencies in 2006. The average number of nursing home deficiencies in Missouri is nine. Currently, Carondelet Manor is rated as a two-star nursing home, according to the new system instituted by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid.

All nursing home residents deserve professional services that meet a professional standard of quality. Carondelet Manor has consistently failed its residents in this area over the past three years. The facility has failed to ensure that residents entering the facility without a catheter are not given a catheter unless necessary and failed to ensure that residents unable to care for themselves with activities of daily living are provided with assistance. The facility did not provide the appropriate care for residents needing special services were provided with them and failed to give residents with a reduced range of motion the proper services to increase their range of motion. In at least one instance, Carondelet Manor also failed to keep a resident free from physician restraints.

Care Plans must be developed for each resident to meet the resident's medical, nursing, and mental needs. The Care Plan needs to be routinely assessed and updated to reflect the resident's ongoing needs. Carondelet Manor failed to develop a Care Plan that met the needs of a resident and keep Care Plans updated. The facility also failed to timely assess at least one resident upon admission in a timely manner and ensure that assessments were done by the appropriate personnel. This facility also failed to ensure that a doctor visited the residents regularly, as required by state law, in at least two instances.

All residents deserve to be treated fairly. Carondelet Manor failed to immediately inform a resident's doctor or family of an injury or major change in condition in at least one instance.

Carondelet Manor is required by law to provide nutrition, dietary, and housekeeping services to maintain a sanitary, orderly, and comfortable facility. This facility failed to have an infection prevention program in place and failed to ensure that staff members washed their hands when necessary. The facility also failed to ensure that the nursing home was free of accident-causing dangers and provide necessary maintenance. The facility did not prepare food that was nutritional, appetizing, tasty, and cooked at the right temperature in at least one instance and failed to keep the medication error rate to less than 5%. Carondelet Manor did not ensure that residents taking drugs were not given too many doses for too long and watch the use of the drugs carefully to ensure that there were no unwanted side effects.

The Terry Law Firm is experienced in handling cases of nursing home abuse and neglect. Please contact us at 1 (888) 317-2525 or visit us at www.nursinghomejustice.com.

Blue River Rehabilitation Center

Blue River Rehabilitation Center is a 189 bed nursing home facility located in Kansas City, Missouri. In the past three years, Blue River Rehabilitation Center's inspection deficiency record has surpassed the average number of health deficiencies in Missouri twice - in 2008 and 2006. Blue River Rehabilitation Center received twenty-four deficiencies in 2008 and ten deficiencies in 2006. The average number of nursing home deficiencies in Missouri is nine. Currently, Blue River Rehabilitation Center is rated as a one-star nursing home, according to the new system instituted by the Centers of Medicare & Medicaid.

No elderly person should be subjected to restraints. Blue River Rehabilitation Center failed to keep each resident free from physician restraints and failed to write and use policies that would forbid mistreatment and/or neglect and abuse of its residents.

Care Plans must be developed for each resident to meet the resident's medical, nursing, and mental needs. The Care Plan needs to be routinely assessed and updated to reflect the resident's ongoing needs. Blue River Rehabilitation Center failed to develop a Care Plan that met the needs of the resident.

Pressure sores are always a concern for bed-bound residents and, if not monitored closely and timely trated, can result in severe pain, infection, and even death. Proper assessment and documentation of pressure sores is vital to the care and treatment of the affected resident. Without the correct information, the resident continues to go without proper care. This facility failed to provide proper treatment of bed sores and/or heal existing bed sores.

Every nursing home resident is entitled to care and services to ensure the highest level of well-being attainable. Blue River Rehabilitation Center failed its residents for multiple years in this area.

Notification of changes in mental or physical condition is important for nursing home residents, especially if the resident is unable to make decisions concerning care. Blue River Rehabilitation Center failed its residents in this respect.

Proper care and nutrition is vital for nursing home residents. Blue River Rehabilitation Center failed to provide proper treatment to residents with feeding tubes to prevent problems and help restore eating skills, if possible. The facility also failed to have enough nurses to provide care that would maximize the resident's well-being and failed to ensure that each resident entering the facility without a catheter was not given a catheter unless necessary. Proper care for residents needing special services, such as injections, colostomy, tracheostomy, respiratory care, or tracheal suctioning was also not provided.

Nursing home residents have rights. The State investigation revealed that Blue River Rehabilitation Center failed its residents in that it failed to listen to residents or their representatives and/or act on their complaints or suggestions. Additionally, the facility failed to properly hold, secure, and manage residents' personal funds which were deposited with the nursing home. The facility also failed to keep each resident's medical records private and confidential and failed to quickly give a resident's personal money to the appointed head of the estate after their death.

Blue River Rehabilitation Center is required by law to provide nutrition, dietary, and housekeeping services to maintain a sanitary, orderly, and comfortable facility. The facility failed to store, cook, and distribute resident food in a safe and clean manner. The facility also did not have a program in place to prevent the spread of infection. The facility did not have enough outside airflow and did not ensure that staff washed their hands when necessary.

The Terry Law Firm is experienced in handling cases of nursing home abuse and neglect. Please contact us at 1 (888) 317-2525 or visit us at www.nursinghomejustice.com.

Eighty-two year old George Stanley Tollison's physician ordered nursing home supervision and 24 hour care. In response, his family placed him at Early Autumns Residential Care Facility. Based upon what they were told, he would be well-cared for and supervised at the facility. It appears now that he was rarely supervised and subsequently died.

The report from the Oklahoma State Department of Health stated that "the family said the owner/administrator misrepresented herself and her facility. 'I wanted 24 hour supervision to protect him...I wasn't aware they didn't have a nurse. I've never heard of residential care. I was told this was assisted living, a little more laid back than a nursing home.'" This is not the first time Early Autumns has been investigated for misleading the public about their level of care abilities. Allegedly, Early Autumns advertised itself as an assisted living center when it is not and there is not even a nurse on staff.

Reportedly, Mr. Tollison escaped the facility through a window on late on January 31, 2009 or early on February 1, 2009. According to an Early Autumns incident report, Mr. Tollison was found at approximately 9:45 a.m. on February 1, 2009, face down in a creek approximately 25 feet behind the facility. Rescue crews worked on Mr. Tollison for 30 minutes, with no success.

The Payne County Medical Examiner's Office states that while the official cause of death has not been revealed, probable cause of death is drowning.

The facility has been cited for six violations in the incident: failure to supervise, failure to follow physician's orders, failure to ensure qualified staff, failure to notify physician before withholding medication, and failure to notify physician or family when Mr. Tollison became disoriented.

At this time, there is no requirement for Oklahoma facilities to carry liability insurance, therefore, his family has little to no recourse in this tragedy.

In October 2000, a male nurse was charged with the sexual abuse of an Elmore County, Alabama nursing home resident suffering from dementia. The case ended in a mistrial a year later when the victim was unable to identify her attacker. In fact, she identified the judge presiding over the trial as the man that attacked her.

The same nurse was again indicted in August 2005 for abuse of an aged adult in Autagua County, Alabama. That trial ended in acquittal on December 12, 2006.

In both cases, abuse occurred, but the victims could not identify their attacker. This male nurse deliberately preyed on the defenseless knowing that they could not identify him.

A bill is pending in the Alabama legislature that would let families request surveillance cameras in their loved ones' rooms. The state nursing home association alleges that the bill would violate patients' privacy, but proponents of the bill state that there would be no privacy concerns because family members would have to make the request. It would protect both the patient and nursing home staff.

Representative Mac Gipson (R) is sponsoring the legislation and acknowledges that it will face stiff opposition. He is trying to get both bill advocates and the state nursing home association to hammer out a compromise.

The family of an 87 year old nursing home resident is alleging that she was sexually assaulted late last week at Emeritus at Heritage Place Senior Home, formerly known as Summerville at Heritage Place, in Tracy, California. The woman's family contacted police after her son found her naked from the waist down in her room. The woman, who suffers from dementia, had been a resident of the facility for four years.

The family asked nurses to test for sexual assault and the tests were positive. There are no known suspects at this time.

The resident has been hospitalized for pneumonia since last weekend at Sutter Tracy Community Hospital. Her condition is serious enough that further tests to confirm the abuse will have to wait until she can be transported to San Joaquin General Hospital.

This facility has not been without problems in the past. The facility has been cited seven times and has eight complaints filed against it in the past three years. The facility was also fined tens of thousands of dollars for failing to meet the needs of a patient with dementia and failing to timely respond to resident calls.

The Terry Law Firm is experienced in prosecuting cases of nursing home sexual abuse to conclusion. Please contact us at 1 (888) 317-2525 or visit us at www.nursinghomejustice.com.

In 1996, Earl Scherrer was severely injured in a car accident and suffered a traumatic brain injury. He was comatose and not expected to recover. His wife, Lydia Scherrer, refused to accept doctors' prognosis and would not disconnect Earl's life support. He was comatose for sixteen months when he suddenly began to slowly regain consciousness.

It was a long road. His wife worked with him every day using first and second grade reading and math textbooks and other elementary tools to stimulate his brain. Lydia was devoted to her husband and to his eventual recovery. She spent many hours working with him. Realistically, though, she needed to work to support herself and eventually had to place Earl in assisted living and residential facilities to assist her with Earl's care. She was a faithful visitor for years and every Tuesday and Wednesday, her days off, she would check him out of the facility and take him home.

On April 7, 2006, Lydia placed Earl at Liberty Manor Residency in Phoenix, Arizona, a facility that reportedly provided 24 hour supervision of its residents. On May 7, 2006, only one month after Earl entered the facility, Lydia received a call stating that her husband had been vomiting. She went over to Liberty Manor, brought her husband home, and gave him a bath. Within a few minutes, he began vomiting black matter and died in her arms.

Autopsy results revealed that Earl Scherrer's stomach and intestines contained plastic bags, unopened catsup packets, candy wrappers, and paper towels. The medical examiner determined that the foreign objects were a significant contributing factor to his death. His cause of death was "hypertensive heart disease due to mechanical obstruction of the GI [gastrointestinal tract] from the foreign objects". He was only 36.

At trial, it was uncovered that Liberty Manor had falsified entries in its charts concerning Earl's care, including notations of care on days that his wife had removed him from the facility. Earl's primary caregiver, Raul, could not be produced by the defense.

The verdict, $11 million, included $2 million for the decedent, $5 million for his wife, and $4 million in punitive damages. It was the largest verdict ever awarded against an assisted living facility in the United States.

Lydia Scherrer said, "I want this to be a lasting victory for all individuals with TBI or other disabilities living in assisted living centers or group homes."

The Terry Law Firm is experienced in handling cases of nursing home abuse and neglect. Please contact us at 1 (888) 317-2525 or visit us at www.nursinghomejustice.com.

Her family placed her at Hillcrest Centre for Health and Rehabilitation for care. Her family trusted that the Hillcrest facility would provide her with a safe environment. The thirty-three year old resident, who suffers from cerebral palsy, is unable to walk, feed, or talk. Her family believes that she was sexually assaulted on Sunday, March 22, 2009 by another resident.

According to the police report, an employee found the 65 year old man in the woman's bed while employees were making their rounds around 6:45 a.m. There was evidence of sexual molestation.

Her family is outraged. There are monitors on her doors and a baby monitor at the nurse's station for her protection. Her family is now questioning why didn't any of the employees hear it?

The man has been removed from the facility.

Pauline Pennington's family just happened to stumble upon her injuries. They were visiting the 93 year old resident of Signature HealthCARE of Columbia in Tennessee on Saturday, March 21, 2009, when they decided to examine her. When they pulled the covers back, they found that Ms. Pennington's leg was black from the top of her leg past her kneecap. The family demanded answers from nursing home staff. Sadly, staff members were either unable or unwilling to explain the origin or seriousness of her injuries. The family then demanded Ms. Pennington be transported to Maury Regional Hospital for a thorough examination. There, the Emergency Room physician found fingerprints and bruises on her arms and neck as well. Pennington's granddaughter, Sheila Carroll, told News 2, "It breaks my heart to imagine that this little helpless woman has been abused. When we got her to the ER, they checked her and everything, and the doctor came in and looked at everything and the first thing he found was fingerprints."

The nursing home representative refused to comment about the injuries to Ms. Pennington other than to say that he was not aware of any "inappropriate care" provided by this staff.

The Terry Law Firm is experienced in handling cases of nursing home abuse and neglect. Please contact us at 1 (888) 317-2525 or visit us at www.nursinghomejustice.com.

Eighty-four year old Rosemary Gubert was found dead in a ditch across the road from her assisted living facility at approximately 7:00 a.m. on Tuesday, March 24, 2009. Ms. Gubert, a resident of Green Valley Manor in Metamora, Michigan, had been reported missing at approximately 5:00 a.m. that morning after having last been seen at approximately 2:00 a.m. Ms. Gubert, who suffers from dementia and Parkinson's Disease, apparently left the facility wearing only pajamas and no shoes. The temperature outside was approximately 30 degrees with a wind chill factor in the low 20's.

According to Lapeer County Sheriff's Lieutenant Gary Parks, "She just walked out." An autopsy is scheduled for Wednesday, March 25. Apparently, no one at the facility noticed her missing.

This facility has already had three investigations launched this year by state regulators. In an unannounced visit in February 2009, investigators found a window in one resident's room with a broken screen and a window lock that did not work properly.

The facility has experienced other violations as well. During a visit in early February 2009, investigators reported water damage in the basement that had been caused by a former employee who had turned off the heat in anger, causing pipes to freeze. A violation was also found in March 2009 when an investigator uncovered that the facility did not immediately obtain health care for a resident who had been feeling bad for a few days.

Seventy-five year old James Franklin, Jr., an Alzheimer's patient, was admitted to Clare Bridge of Grand Blanc in Michigan on May 23, 2008. That very day, Mr. Franklin climbed through a window and escaped the facility. His body was found two months later a short distance from the facility.

His family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Clare Bridge of Grand Blanc alleging that the facility was negligent in its care of Mr. Franklin because it failed properly secure the facility to ensure that he could not escape and because it failed to timely notify police that he had escaped. The family also alleges that the facility purposely misled them when they inquired about other residents who had walked away from the facility. Allegedly, the family was told that the facility did not have problems with prior residents leaving the facility unnoticed. Apparently, that is untrue. In fact, Franklin had been the second resident climb out a window at the facility in less than a year. In September 2007, a neighbor had found a woman wandering near her home and brought her back to the facility. The woman had escaped when a window was pushed all the way to the top.

The State of Michigan banned new admissions at the facility last year until changes were made that included window alarms and increased staffing. That ban was lifted in January 2009.

The Terry Law Firm is experienced in handling cases of nursing home abuse and neglect. Please contact us at 1 (888) 317-2525 or visit us at www.nursinghomejustice.com.

When officials at Cerenity Bethesda in St. Paul, Minnesota suspected sexual abuse had occurred at the facility, they took action. The investigation was triggered when a resident's physician reported that the resident had trichomonas, a sexually transmitted disease. The facility reported the findings to state officials and commenced an internal investigation.

Sixteen days later, a female resident reported being attacked. Despite the resident's dementia and previous unfounded allegations, the facility treated the report as if it were true and began an examination of every female resident on that unit. Six residents were sent to the hospital for sexual assault examinations and physicians found three showed "lacerations and physical findings consistent with recent sexual assault".

Cerenity hired experts to examine the three residents and those experts found "no evidence to substantiate a diagnosis of sexual assault".

During the pendency of the investigations, Cerenity sent home eight male employees with pay, stationed guards at facility doors to register and escort visitors, retrained staff on spotting sexual abuse, and used a "buddy system" for more than a month to prevent residents from being alone with any employee or visitor. Despite the precautions, the facility was cited twice during the state investigation for "immediate jeopardy" in failing to adequately protect residents and failing to take immediate corrective action. Cerenity was found to have erred by sending home male workers without considering that a female may have been at fault and for ending the buddy system before the state investigation had concluded.

The Terry Law Firm is experienced in handling cases of nursing home sexual abuse. If you suspect your loved one may have suffered abuse, please contact us at 1 (888) 317-2525 or visit us at www.nursinghomejustice.com.

We have discussed this tragic situation in previous blogs. Ashton Larson, one of the alleged Barbie abusers at the Good Samaritan Society nursing home in Albert Lea, Minnesota, was scheduled to enter a plea in this case at 1:00 p.m. on March 23, 2009. That hearing has been rescheduled for April 21, 2009. No reason for the delay was disclosed.

Brianna Broitzman, the other Barbie abuser who found joy in abusing elderly nursing home residents, is still scheduled to appear in court on March 30, 2009.

Resuscitate or no resuscitation? This question is the center of controversy in Kentucky where there is a gap in Kentucky law that has led to resuscitation errors.

In February 2008, Jefferson Manor Nursing Home staff in Louisville, Kentucky performed CPR on 95 year old Eva Karem despite the do not resuscitate (DNR) order on file. The DNR order was sent to Jefferson Manor by her physician the day before she died.

On December 24, 2008, Woodland Oaks Healthcare Center in Ashland, Kentucky failed to perform CPR on a dying resident despite the signed DNR order in her file. Woodland Oaks was assessed a Type A citation - the most serious citation possible - for the error.

These errors point to a hole in Kentucky law: there is no uniform regulation about how to denote a patient's wishes regarding resuscitation in a long-term care facility or hospital. Federal and state laws require that hospitals and nursing homes keep DNR orders in a patient's chart. Carrying out those orders appears to be where problems arise. Some facilities opt to use color-coded wrist bands, others use colored tape on doors or stickers in charts.

Nursing Home groups are trying to determine whether or not guidelines should be the subject of proposed legislation in the General Assembly or simply added to existing regulations. They are also researching the best way to clearly state the patient's wishes. Currently, there is no uniform color-coded wristband for a DNR order. California researchers have determined that a uniform color-coded wristband used nationwide would help prevent errors. Color-coded wrist bands would be cost-effective and could eliminate confusion.

Windsor Chico Creek Care and Rehabilitation Center in Chico, California faces a wrongful death lawsuit in the death of resident, Geraldine Pavcik. Mrs. Pavcik, 74, entered the facility for rehabilitation after a back injury on June 17, 2009. She was a fall risk, so her physician ordered bed-rail restraints, a lowered bed, an alarm system, and close monitoring. The lawsuit alleges that Mrs. Pavcik was left unattended and without bed-rail restraints and bed alarms on multiple occasions. On July 3, 2009, she fell from her bed and fractured her left hip at 7:00 a.m. The hip was x-rayed at the facility at 2:45 p.m., but she was not transferred to an acute care center until after 9:00 p.m.

Mrs. Pavcik underwent surgery on the fractured hip, but reportedly the operation affected her mental condition and she was no longer able to eat or drink effectively. She developed aspiration pneumonia and died from respiratory failure due to the pneumonia on July 30, 2009.

The lawsuit alleges that the nursing home administration failed to hire enough staff to ensure Mrs. Pavcik's safety, that her physician's orders were not followed, that she was not timely transferred to an acute care facility, and that the facility failed to notify her physician of her decline in condition before her death.

Windsor Chico Creek Care and Rehabilitation is owned by Helios Healthcare, L.L.C., who is a co-defendant in the case.

The Terry Law Firm is experienced in handling cases of nursing home abuse and neglect. Please contact us at 1 (888) 317-2525 or visit us at www.nursinghomejustice.com.

Evergreen Park Healthcare Center in Evergreen Park, Illinois was closed by the State of Illinois for "gross mismanagement" in 2005. The state prosecutor reportedly said that Yosef A. Meystel, the Administrator of that facility, was one of the "reasons the place is in the position it is in". Reportedly, Meystel allegedly was telling residents of Evergreen Park to transfer to other facilities under the same owner. The facility was cited for 168 violations in eight years, including letting residents wander off and allowing unregistered sex offenders safe haven.

Since March 1, 2009, YAM Management of Skokie has been managing The Plum Grove of Paletine, a four star facility, preparing for eventual ownership. YAM is the initials of Yosef A. Meystel, the former Administrator of Evergreen Park. While Illinois does perform criminal background checks of potential new owners of nursing homes, the closure of Evergreen Park does not prohibit Meystel from owning nursing homes. YAM currently operates eight other facilities in Illinois.

St. Francis Home, located in Saginaw, Michigan, faces a $116,000 fine, along with fines of approximately $300 per day from January 15, 2009 to February 20, 2009, after investigators cited the facility for twelve deficiencies during an annual survey. Additionally, the deficiencies resulted in a state freeze on Medicare and Medicaid payments on new admissions.

An aide admitted to investigators during the survey that she hit a man's chest because he hit her first. Another violation occurred when the facility failed to protect the privacy of an 80 year old resident with dementia when an aide used a cell phone to record him naked from the chest up in a bathroom. These two incidents resulted in citations "immediate jeopardy", which is the worst violation possible.

During the state visit, the Administrator, Sr. Margaret Turner, fired three nursing aides and a licensed practical nurse. The state report indicated that Administrators did not adequately protect residents from abuse or neglect and failed to follow an abuse policy that requires all workers to immediately report abuse allegations to the director of nursing.

This facility has not been without previous problems. Sr. Margaret assumed control of the facility in January 2008. In February 2008, the facility was cited thirteen deficiencies, on of which was a Level 3 "actual harm" deficiency. The facility also had seven deficiencies in December 2006.

The Terry Law Firm is experienced in handling cases of nursing home abuse and neglect. Please contact us at 1 (888) 317-2525 or visit us at www.nursinghomejustice.com.

Golden Living Center Mountain View, a nursing home located in Winchester, Tennessee, has been fined $5,000 by the State of Tennessee and ordered not to admit any new residents. The Tennessee Department of Health found violations recently during an investigation complaint and annual survey in administration, performance improvement, physician services, nursing services, and medical records. The State of Tennessee has also recommended a fine of $3,000 per day until the violations are corrected. A monitor has been appointed to oversee the facility's daily operations.

The Tennessee Department of Health suspends admissions to nursing homes when conditions are determined to be or could be detrimental to the health, safety, and/or welfare of the facility's residents. The suspension will remain in place until the facility corrects the violations and a copy of the suspension order must be posted at the public entrance where it can be seen.

Raintree Convalescent Hospital, located in Fresno, California, received a "AA" citation for the choking death of a resident on November 19, 2008. A "AA" citation is the worst and most severe penalty that can a facility can be assessed.

The 54 year old resident, who suffered from dementia and schizophrenia, died after choking on two whole meatballs. He had a history of difficulty swallowing upon admission to the facility in June 2006. Doctors had ordered a soft diet and indicated that he needed supervision while eating because "he stuffs his mouth with food". A soft diet requires meat to be chopped or ground. The lunch tray that the resident received that day contained two whole meatballs, spaghetti, tossed salad, a roll, two cookies, and milk. A certified nurse's aide served the man in his room and he was left alone to eat.

Sometime after his meal was delivered, the man approached a licensed vocational nurse in the hall outside of his room. He was unable to speak and pale and collapsed. Nurses tried to dislodge the food but were unsuccessful. He was taken to the hospital, where he died. The coroner listed his cause of death as aspiration of food.

Jewell Flores, the facility's Administrator, fired both the cook and nurse's aide for negligence in failing to follow nursing home procedures stating that the cook should have read the dietary card and ensured that the resident's meal followed physician's orders for a soft diet and the nurse's aide delivering the meal should have noted the meat was not ground and returned it to the kitchen.

The facility requires all staff be trained once a year on dietary procedures. The cook was trained in April and the nurse's aide was trained in September. After the death, the entire nursing staff received dietary training and new procedures were instituted. The charge nurse now inspects all food trays befor they are distributed to the residents. Additionally, once a week, the dietary supervisor watches as the food is placed on the trays and the cook has to initial each therapeutic diet that is prepared.

The Terry Law Firm is experienced in handling cases of nursing home abuse and neglect. Please contact us at 1 (888) 317-2525 or visit us at www.nursinghomejustice.com.

Florida seniors beware! State Senator Mike Bennett has proposed a cut back of inspections in nursing homes. His proposed bill, Senate Bill 1562, would eliminate the following:

- Agency for Health Care Administration deficiency classes and fines;
- Inspections from both the Fire Marshal and state Department of Health;
- Long-Term Care Ombudsman volunteer assignments;
- A "gold seal" program that would reward superior providers; and
- A state "watch list" that highlights problem facilities.

Bennett's proposal places Florida nursing home residents in danger. A cutback of nursing homes could lead to lower quality care. Bennett feels nursing homes are overinspected.

The bill has a long way to go before it can be introduced before the full Senate. It must pass through two other committees before going before the full senate. A companion bill must be introduced in the House and be heard before committees. Both the Senate and the House must pass identical bills for legislation before being considered by the governor.

Tell Mike Bennett how you feel about his proposed bill that could place your loved ones in danger. You can contact him at 1-800-500-1239.

You may recall discussing the horrific physical, emotional, and sexual abuse of residents at Good Samaritan Nursing Home in Albert Lea, Minnesota in our previous blogs. Residents targeted for the abuse suffered from Alzheimer's disease, dementia, or similar disease and were targeted because "they don't have their minds". To "make work fun or to get a good laugh", the accused aides would close the curtain by the resident's bed to remain unseen. The abuse rendered by these employees ranged from spitting in a resident's mouth, groping of genitals, hitting and/or touching residents in the breast or genital area, sitting on the lap of a female resident in a wheelchair with bare buttocks, sticking fingers in mouths or noses to keep residents from screaming, and taunting them.

They showed no remorse or fear of being caught. The girls openly discussed the abuse at school and breaks at work and were confident they would not be caught as the "residents did not have their minds".

Now, two of these girls, Brianna Broitzman and Ashton Larson, both 19, are asking a judge to rule statements made to investigators as inadmissible. Both women are asking for hearings so they can question investigators about statements made by the aides. Larson is scheduled to appear in Freeborn County Court on Monday, March 23, 2009 and Broitzman is to appear on Monday, March 30, 2009. They have been charged with fifth-degree assault, disorderly conduct and failing to report suspected maltreatment. The other four aides involved were all charged in juvenile court with not reporting suspected abuse; one has pled guilty.

The Terry Law Firm has successfully handled nursing home cases of sexual abuse to conclusion. Please contact us at 1 (888) 317-2525 or visit us at www.nursinghomejustice.com.

Whispering Pines Nursing Center is no more. The facility relocated the final remaining residents but not all have permanent homes. Of the 128 residents, 25 were difficult to place due to mental health issues and four were temporarily placed in psychiatric hospitals for evaluations.

You might recall discussing this facility in previous blogs. Whispering Pines had its certification pulled due to numerous deficiencies uncovered by state health inspectors and lost its Medicare and Medicaid funding. There were many reported incidents at this facility, including:

- Allegations that an aide forced a patient into a shower with his clothing on;
- Multiple allegations that nursing home residents were assaulting each other;
- Allegations that abuse complaints were not properly investigated;
- Allegations that staff lacked training to deal with patients with mental health problems;
- Allegations that a social worker put patients at risk for contracting AIDS when failing to provide condoms to a sexually active HIV positive resident;
- Allegations that the Medical Director failed to ensure staff and residents were regularly tested for tuberculosis.

The investigation report was 370 pages and found 16 federal and 12 state deficiencies.

Wes Bledsoe of A Perfect Cause said, "They knew what was going on. The current employees and the former employees that called us said that they had gone to management time and time again." Dorya Huser, long-term care division chief for the state health agency, said, "Whispering Pines has chronic problems, and they're unable to provide us with any credible evidence that they could clear them up. We're looking out for the best interest of the people that live there and deserve a better standard of care."

In January 2009, seventy-two year old Christano Beltran and eighty-seven year old Kenneth Knauf, a retired U.S. diplomat, were involved in a fight at Hidden Oaks Retirement Center in Fort Meyers, Florida. The men, both residents of the facility's Alzheimer's wing, fought over a blanket. Mr. Beltran was smothered and died in the altercation.

The state investigation into the fight found evidence that Mr. Beltran's death was caused by abuse or neglect due to inadequate supervision. One of the men involved was to be supervised every fifteen minutes. The state's findings have been forwarded to the State Attorney's Office and Agency for Healthcare Administration.

The Terry Law Firm is experienced in handling cases of nursing home abuse and neglect. Please contact us at 1 (888) 317-2525 or visit us at www.nursinghomejustice.com.

New Homestead Care Center has been hit with a $7,000 federal fine for ignoring complaints of sexual abuse against its residents.

During 2005 and 2006, employees at New Homestead Care Center in Guthrie, Iowa reported to managers and supervisors that a male nurse aide named Juan Bautisa-Meraz was abusing the residents. There were eight separate alleged incidents involving eight different residents.

In one instance, Bautista-Meraz allegedly put a chair against the door of a female resident's room while inside. Another worker forced her way into the room and found Bautista-Meraz bent over the mentally disabled resident, who was partially undressed and bleeding from her vagina. Bautista-Meraz turned his back on the other worker and claimed he was cleaning the resident, even though he had no washcloths or other supplies.

In another instance, a resident complained that Bautista-Meraz ordered her to undress while he watched. Another instance revealed that Bautista-Meraz grabbed a female resident's breasts. Other residents alleged that Bautista-Meraz was mean, rough, or handled them in a sexually suggestive manner.

New Homestead Care Center was fined in November 2006 for failing to investigate the allegations of abuse and failing to report the abuse allegations to the state. The facility was assessed the $7,000 fine.

The facility appealed the fine alleging that only one incident was confirmed by state inspectors. The facility also argued that some of the incidents involved actions that are so "commonplace" that they could not possibly rise to the level of abuse. With respect to the incident involving the mentally disabled resident, the facility said it was not unusual for the staff to position a chair against the woman's door and vaginal bleeding was expected given her abdominal cancer.

The fine was recently upheld with the Administrative Law Judge stating the facility "displayed indifference and disregard to resident care and safety" due to its unwillingness to investigate the abuse allegations. The facility Administrator, Maradith Janssen, plans on further appealing the fine.

This facility was also fined $5,000 last year for insufficient nursing supervision.

The Terry Law Firm is experienced in handling cases of nursing home sexual abuse. Please contact us at 1 (888) 317-2525 or visit us at www.nursinghomejustice.com.

A 24 year-old nurse's aide has been indicted on a patient abuse charge. Lillian Talley, who was arrested in January 2009, has been accused of assaulting a 71 year old resident of Ron Joy Nursing Home in Boardman, Ohio on November 27, 2008. The charge carries an incarceration charge of six to eighteen months and is a fourth-degree felony.

The female resident, who speaks Spanish, was trying to communicate to Talley that she needed her bed sheets changed and was waiving her arms trying to communicate her request. Talley allegedly grabbed the resident by both hands and pushed her backward several feet into a wall and left the room. The resident's hands were bruised in the assault.

Talley was fired after the resident advised facility employees of the assault.

The Terry Law Firm has experience in handling cases of nursing home abuse and neglect. Please contact us at 1 (888) 317-2525 or visit us at www.nursinghomejustice.com.

Eighty-three year old Elizabeth Rosenstockmoved into The Manors at Hobe Sound in Florida on May 19, 2008. At the time of her admission, she was noted to be a "high fall risk" resident.

Over the next twenty-one days, she suffered at least five falls in which she broke her back and her nose. She was also sexually assaulted by another resident, which was observed by at least one nurse and Ms. Rosenstock's son. Ms. Rosenstock died on July 2, 2008. The nursing home file does not acknowledge a sexual assault occurring, but Ms. Rosenstock was moved to another room following the alleged incident.

Ms. Rosenstock's son has filed a negligence lawsuit against the facility alleging that their lack of care caused Ms. Rosenstock to fall and injure herself and the facility failed to provide a safe environment "free from abuse and neglect and protect her from falls".

Lexington Health Care Center, a nursing home facility in Lake Zurich, Illinois, has been accused of negligence in a lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court. The suit was filed on behalf of Edna Kneidek for injuries she suffered while a resident at Lexington Health Care Center.

Ms. Kneidek became a resident of the facility in December 2006, after her progressing dementia rendered her unable to live on her own. When she was admitted to the facility, Ms. Kneidek was assessed as being a fall risk. Ms. Kneidek fell five times between February 2007 and August 2007; one fall resulted in a shattered left hip that was only repaired through extensive surgery.

This is not the first time that Lexington Health Care Center has come under scrutiny. For further information, go to nursing home attack.

News outlets are reporting that officials at Castle Manor Nursing Home in Hot Springs, South Dakota have been accused of covering up sexual abuse allegations at the facility. The accusations date back to January 2008. The suspect? A contracted male CNA.

Sisters Sharon Deboer and Gwendolyn Ketterer placed their mother, who suffers from dementia, at Castle Manor two and a half years ago. They were pleased with the care that their mother received until recently. In January 2009, the 84 year old resident began acting out of character - right around the time the male CNA was assigned to care for her. On January 17, 2009, an unidentified facility staff member contacted Sharon Deboer and told her she needed to talk to her, that she had something to tell me. She told Sharon that the male CNA had been molesting her mother.

The sisters did not receive any other type of notification from Castle Manor, even though an abuse report had been filed with the Department of Health three days prior. Castle Manor kept the man employed for several more weeks before firing him. The sisters believe Fall River Health Service, who operates Castle Manor, was trying to cover up the abuse.

Three victims have currently been identified and there may have been as many as six women abused.

The Terry Law Firm has successfully handled nursing home cases of sexual abuse to conclusion. Please contact us at 1 (888) 317-2525 or visit us at www.nursinghomejustice.com.

We discussed the tragic death of thirty-three year old Robert Young in our previous blog. Recall Robert A. Young, who suffered from cerebral palsy, was a resident at the Health Center at Standifer Place, a Chattanooga, Tennessee nursing home. He was believed to have suffered a seizure and fell, fracturing his skull. He was taken to Erlanger Hospital and died a week later on November 12, 2007. Due to the explanation of how Mr. Young's injuries were sustained, the Hamilton County Medical Examiner's Office did not perform an autopsy. Erlanger Hospital repeatedly tried to locate Mr. Young's family through Adult Protective Services, but Adult Protective Services failed to respond. Instead, the agency made arrangements for Mr. Young's burial in a pauper's grave in Ruth Cofer Cemetery.

Mr. Young's family, completely unaware of his injury and subsequent death, was not told of his death for more than a month. Each time someone called the facility to check on him, "Standifer Place told each person, on each call, that Mr. Young was OK, and to come see him". When family members finally found out about Mr. Young's death, they began pushing for answers. Allegedly, Vickey Frierson, Mr. Young's caseworker, callously asked, "What do you want me to do about it?"

The family continued to press for answers and asked Dr. Frank King to review Mr. Young's medical records. Dr. King recommended exhumation of the body after he could not find any documentation of seizure or any other incident that would have led to the skull fracture contained in those records. The court-ordered exhumation of Mr. Young's body occurred in May 2008 and the Medical Examiner determined that Mr. Young died of "blunt force trauma" to the head and his death was ruled a homicide.

Police have arrested a certified nursing assistant at Sandifer Place Healthcare Facility and have charged him with criminally negligent homicide in Mr. Young's death. Forty-one year old Walter Small turned himself in to police and hase been booked into jail.

Nicole Williams, a former CNA at Manhattan Nursing Home in Jackson, Mississippi, pled guilty felony abuse of a vulnerable adult. Williams struck an elderly female resident in the eye while employed at the facility. She was sentenced to five years supervised probation and assessed a $1,000 fine. Her CNA license has been suspended for five years and she can reapply for her license at the end of that time.

The Terry Law Firm is experienced in handling cases of nursing home abuse and neglect. Please contact us at 1 (888) 317-2525 or visit us at www.nursinghomejustice.com.

The Heritage at St. Ann's Community is a nonprofit organization running several nursing homes. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid has assessed a $2,925 fine after inspections revealed patient care problems. New admissions have been suspended for the St. Ann's Home until the problems are corrected. The state has also recommended a federal fine for Unity Health System's Park Ridge Living Center for medication errors.

A May 2008 inspection report revealed that Heritage staff jeopardized the safety of a resident suffering from dementia. In that instance, a resident had attempted to run away several times and wore a wristband to help detect when she would leave the building. Typically, patients who are elopement risks require additional monitoring by staff. Here, the resident managed to escape the facility through an unalarmed door on December 31, 2007. Fortunately, police located her after more than an hour.

That facility was also cited in September 2008 for failing to follow doctor's orders. The resident affected suffered from joint disease and needed to practice walking.

A November 2008 inspection report for Park Ridge Living Center found medication errors at the facility. New admissions were denied for this facility until the problems were resolved and a monitor was sent to the facility to ensure the problems were corrected. One employee was fired for medication errors and other facility employees were retrained on medication dispensing procedures.

The Terry Law Firm is experienced in handling cases of nursing home abuse and neglect. Please contact us at 1 (888) 317-2525 or visit us at www.nursinghomejustice.com.

We discussed the tragic situation involving Julia McCauley in our previous blogs. Recall, Julia McCauley died on August 17, 2004 after rolling her wheelchair out the front door of Life Care Center of Acton and tumbling down a flight of stairs. She was not wearing a physician-prescribed WanderGuard bracelet, which was designed to lock doors and set of an alarm if Ms. McCauley wandered too close.

This case involving Life Care Centers of America is set for trial on March 9, 2009, in Middlesex Superior Court. The corporation has been charged with manslaughter and neglect of a long-term facility resident. Life Care Center officials deny any wrongdoing and argue that although what happened was a tragedy, it was an unfortunate accident in a long-term care facility striving to provide the best possible care. Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley believes Ms. McCauley's death would have been avoided had she been wearing her doctor-ordered bracelet.

Life Care operates more than 200 facilities in 28 states. In 2005, the company paid $2.5 million to resolve allegations of billing Medicare and Medicaid for services that were not provided or were useless to the residents of a Lawrenceville, Georgia facility. The Acton, Massachusetts facility has been fined in the past for various deficiencies. In 2005, the facility was fined $2,112 and in 2006, the facility was fined $11,147. In July 2007, the facility was hit with $164,000 for deficiencies that jeopardized resident safety. Those fines were later rescinded after a more extensive investigation.

Olive Shaffer moved to Harmon House on April 30, 2003, to continue her recovery from a broken pelvis she suffered in a fall at home. In June, while at the facility, she fell several times and her family alleges that facility staff made insufficient efforts to prevent her from falling. On July 15, 2003, Ms. Shaffer fell twice more, causing catastrophic injuries, including brain swelling. She died on July 22, 2003 from injuries sustained in those falls.

Ms. Shaffer's family is alleging inadequate care led to Ms. Shaffer's death. The family is also accusing facility workers of falsifying records and violating internal policies.

Attorneys for the facility justified their actions by stating "Ninety year old women fall. Things happen, falls happen. Falls are not preventable. The only way to prevent it is to tie them up and the law doesn't allow that."

The trial is expected to last approximately eight days.

We discussed the tragic situation involving Lester Pendergraft in our previous blog. Mr. Pendergraft, 93, was charged with one count of rape last week; he was accused of sexually assaulting a 67 year old resident of Grace Living Center on September 16, 2008.

Mr. Pendergraft passed away on Monday, March 2, 2009. Grace Living Center is under state scrutiny for its failure to properly investigate and report abuse and to consult with a resident's physician when there was an injury.

The facility did not notify the victim's daughter of the assault for over an hour and a half. Police were not notified until 9:00 a.m. - nearly two hours after the 7:10 a.m. attack. By then, facility staff had thrown away evidence and washed both the victim's bed linens and clothing and Mr. Pendergraft's clothing. The victim's physician was not notified until approximately 8:15 a.m. - 8:25 a.m.

There were warning signs about the potentially dangerous situation prior to it happening. Mr. Pendergraft had been entering the rooms of residents who could not call for help and a CNA reported that she had observed Mr. Pendergraft touch the leg of another resident dependent upon staff for assistance. That same day, Mr. Pendergraft was seen pulling up the shirt of yet another resident who was dependent upon staff for assistance.

This case is strikingly similar to a Missouri Case handled successfully by the Terry Law Firm, where an employee sexually assaulted two elderly women. In that case, the facility never called police. By the time family members called police, the residents had been bathed, their clothes washed, and the room scrubbed clean.

We discussed the tragedy of Sara Wentworth's death at an Illinois nursing home in previous blogs. Ms. Wentworth died on February 5, 2009, after wandering outside wearing only her nightclothes in one degree weather.

Heidi Leon, 23, was charged on March 3, 2009 with criminal neglect of a long-term care facility resident, criminal neglect of an elderly person, and obstruction of justice. If she is convicted, she faces up to seven years in prison.

Leon, an employee of The Arbor of Itaska since March 2008, was on duty the night Ms. Wentworth died. Leon is accused of watching television rather than performing her job duties. Allegedly, Leon watched three straight episodes, or 90 minutes, of Dog the Bounty Hunter and "shrugged off" an alarm that indicated an 89 year old woman with Alzheimer's disease had wandered outside. Ms. Wentworth was found, lifeless and frozen, on the ground in the facility's courtyard. She had been outside as many as five hours.

Nursing home protocol called for Leon to perform checks every two hours and Leon is accused of lying about a 3:00 a.m. check she allegedly made on Wentworth. When the alarm sounded at the door in the middle of the night, no nursing home employee checked to ensure Ms. Wentworth was in her bed.

Several other employees allegedly helped change Ms. Wentworth's clothes and cover up the tragedy, but they are not currently being charged.

A lawsuit has been filed against the Yuba Skilled Nursing Center, formerly known as Emmanuel Health Care Center, for the wrongful death of one of its residents. Seventy-nine year old Shirley Renner died in November 2007, approximately one month after being removed from the facility.

The lawsuit alleges Ms. Renner received poor care at the California facility, including improperly treated bedsores, malnutrition, and dehydration, all of which contributed to cause Ms. Renner's death. Ms. Renner also suffered neck and spine injuries, weight loss, severe bedsores, and broken and missing teeth while a resident at the facility. At the time of her removal from Yuba Skilled Nursing Center, Ms. Renner had suffered a neck injury that rendered her unable to hold her head up. Ms. Renner, who suffered from Alzheimer's disease and dementia, allegedly was also being given psychotropic medications inappropriately.

According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid's new rating system, Yuba Skilled Nursing Center was awarded two out of five stars, which indicates a below average rating.

We discussed David Payne in a previous blog. In that case, Payne pled not guilty to two counts of First Degree Criminal Sex Act. Payne was charged with sexually abusing an 89 year-old nursing home resident at Niagra Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Niagra Falls, New York. He was also a suspect in possible sexual assaults in nursing homes in both Lewiston and Ransomville, New York.

In the Niagra Rehabilitation case, Payne was caught getting out of a patient's bed by another nurse's aide. The aide asked the resident if she was ok and the resident replied "No." The resident said that Payne entered her room, took off his pants, and sexually assaulted her. Payne reportedly told the victim that a doctor wanted to see her, but she never saw a doctor. Payne alleges that the patient's bed alarm was going off and he was readjusting it for her safety.

Those charges were dismissed on January 30, 2009, after evidence presented to the grand jury was ruled insufficient.

On February 28, 2009, Payne pled not guilty to a new indictment accusing him of first degree criminal sexual act and first degree sexual abuse in the same case. This time, the grand jury was presented with testimony from the 89 year old alleged victim. Bail has been set at $10,000.

The Terry Law Firm is experienced in handling cases of nursing home sexual abuse and neglect. Please contact us at 1 (888) 317-2525 or visit us at www.nursinghomejustice.com.

A Minnesota LPN's nursing license was suspended on February 19, 2009 after the Minnesota Board of Nursing concluded that there was probable cause he had violated state law and posed "a serious risk of harm to others". The temporary suspension is only used in extraordinary cases and this is the first time in more than a decade that the Minnesota Board of Nursing chose to implement a suspension. Typically, discipline of nurses comes after months or years of investigation, but this is not a typical case.

The nurse in question has a history of problems throughout his career. In 1994, while working at Ebenezer Luther Hall in Minneapolis and United Hospital in St. Paul, records show he was reprimanded repeatedly for sloppy care, unprofessional behavior, and "poor critical thinking skills". In 1996, a supervisor advised "his practice was unsafe" due to his difficulty with information retention and following directions. That year, he was diagnosed with a learning disability and anxiety disorder.

While working at Pleasant Manor in 1997, he was accused of yelling and swearing at patients. A co-worker saw him holding a woman by the hair when she tried to remove a bandage and yelled in her ear, "you can't take that off." He was fired shortly after the incident.

In 1998, the nurse was disciplined by the Board of Nursing for "numerous incidents of poor nursing practice and incidents of abuse of nursing home residents". The Board fined him and required detailed reports from supervisors about his work.

In 2002, he was disciplined again for failing to provide supervisory updates. Additionally, while working for a temporary staffing agency, he was asked to leave Lyngblomsten Care Center in St. Paul for "multiple complaints from staff, residents, and families". He has been barred from working for temporary agencies.

The nurse consented in writing to both disciplinary actions, but failed to appear this month when the Board of Nursing temporarily revoked his license.

The revocation came after a police investigation revealed that the nurse was a person of interest who had been in contact with Nadia Kajouji, a depressed 18 year old college student in Ottawa, Ontario last year as she considered suicide. She was found dead last spring in a river in Ottawa.

Police transcripts reveal that the nurse told Nadia that he was depressed also and planning a suicide. The nurse told the girl that he was going to hang himself. The transcripts showed that the nurse made it sound like a suicide pact and wanted the girl to open a webcam between them when she committed suicide. The nurse also offered to help the girl through the web and asked her for a photograph. The nurse warned the girl that failed suicide attempts were ugly with people becoming permanently mutilated or incapacitated. The transcripts also revealed that the nurse encouraged the girl to hang herself and discussed various other methods of suicide.

In the wake of the pending manslaughter charges against Life Care Centers of America, who has pled not guilty, Massachusetts lawmakers want to toughen manslaughter penalties for corporations. The current fine amount, which is $1,000, dates back to 1819. Lawmakers believe that, given the severity of the Julia McCauley case, the current law is grossly inadequate. In that case, Julia McCauley was found dead at the foot of the facility's front stairs with her wheelchair overturned. The facility allegedly failed to ensure that she was wearing her WanderGuard bracelet that would have set off an alarm and locked doors if she got too close to an exit.

Attorney General Martha Coakley supports a bill that would increase the fine to $250,000, which is merely a suggested amount to serve as a starting point for legislative discussions. "Corporations do not go to jail, but they do respond to monetary fines," Coakley said.

Seventy-four year old Julia McCauley was a resident at Life Care Center in Acton, Massachusetts and had been since 1996, where she was known to roam the nursing home in her wheelchair. For her own safety, her doctors fitted her with a WanderGuard, a tan plastic bracelet that sets off an alarm and locked doors if she got too close to an exit.

One morning In April 2004, she was found dead at the bottom of the facility's front stairs. She had a three inch gash in her forehead and her wheelchair was overturned. Her bracelet was nowhere to be found and several facility employees told state investigators that they were unaware that she should have been wearing one at all times.

Investigators reviewed Ms. McCauley's charts and found that she had not worn the protective bracelet for approximately two and a half months prior to her death. Investigators also found that doctor's orders were not written in her chart. Had facility staff written her physician's orders in her chart, they would have known that they were required to check the WanderGuard bracelet once a day to ensure that the patient was wearing it and it was operational.

Life Care Centers of America was indicted on charges of manslaughter, abuse and neglect, and neglect of a long-term facility resident in Ms. McCauley's death. It was the first time in Massachusetts history that a corporation has faced criminal manslaughter charges. The facility also faces a charge of making a false Medicare claim. These charges carry fines of $1,000 on the manslaughter charge, $5,000 on the abuse and neglect charge, and $10,000 on the charge of making a false Medicaid claim.

Today, those charges are still pending against Life Care Centers of America, who has pled not guilty.