Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog

Eskaton Care Center Manzanita was recently penalized with a $100,000 fine in a 2008 resident death.

The Class AA fine, which is the most severe under California state law, arose from a 2008 injury and death of a 60 year-old long-term resident. The woman, who suffered from an inherited muscular disorder, fell from a lifting device while staff moved her from her wheelchair to her bed. She died four days later from a head injury. According to the state investigative report, the facility could not produce any evidence that the lifting device had been maintained or checked for safety. The lifting sling, which tore during the transfer, appeared to be worn "with what appeared to be bleached out blood stains at the center".

The facility can appeal the fine but the nursing home Chief Operating Officer, Trevor Hammond, is unsure if they will do so. According to Hammond, "We're mortified. We had a tragedy when a piece of equipment failed. It was a catastrophe."

Officials at Golden LivingCenter - Walnut Creek, a nursing home in Pennsylvania, are taking aggressive action after a resident was diagnosed with Legionnaires' Disease last week.

According to Leonard Quimby, the Director of Operations for the facility, Legionella bacteria was found in the facility's water. Building disinfection began with hot water being flushed into the facility's pipes throughout the building and bottled water is being distributed to residents.

Legionella bacteria grows well in warm water, such as water found in hot tubs, cooling towers, and large plumbing systems. Those contracting Legionnaires' Disease often get it by breathing in droplets of water or water mist. Legionnaires' Disease is not transmitted through direct contact. Symptoms usually begin two to fourteen days after exposure.

Legionnaires' Disease is a form of pneumonia, so it can be hard to diagnose at first. Signs of the disease can include a cough, high fever, and chills. Some victims may also suffer from muscle aches and headaches. Chest X-rays are needed to find the pneumonia caused by the bacteria, and other tests can be done on sputum (phlegm), as well as blood or urine to find evidence of the bacteria in the body.

The Willows Nursing and Rehabilitation Center has settled a wrongful death lawsuit filed on behalf of Cynthia Wilms, a resident at the facility.

Cynthia Wilms was admitted to the Willows Nursing and Rehabilitation Center following a hip replacement surgery. According to the Wilms' family, facility nurses reportedly failed to properly treat Wilms' surgical wound and she subsequently died.

According to published reports, the settlement was approximately $2 million.

ST. LOUIS, September 21, 2010 – The Terry Law Firm, LLC filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Hunter Acres Caring Center, its owners and multiple related party companies on Monday September 20, 2010, on behalf of the son of Nancy Kinder. Nancy died on March 18, 2010 after being struck by a train just outside of the Hunter Acres Caring Center in Sikeston, Missouri. The lawsuit alleges that the nursing home, its owners and related entities failed to provide a safe environment and failed to provide proper care and supervision to Ms. Kinder which resulted in her death.

Nancy became a resident of Hunter Acres Caring Center on December 20, 2004. From her first day in the facility, staff members knew that she was an elopement risk. Despite that knowledge, Nancy was successful in escaping the facility several times before Hunter Acres even prepared a Care Plan. Less than 24 hours after her initial admission, Nancy walked out the front door without anyone noticing. A passing motorist called the facility to tell them that a resident was walking down the street. Less than one week later, Nancy left the building without any staff member knowing. She was able to walk to a nearby apartment where she hid behind a couch.

During her residency, Nancy was successful in leaving the facility approximately 61 times. On some occasions, she was found walking down the street. Other times she was found in the snow or in the parking lot. On at least four occasions she was found walking toward the railroad tracks that border the back of the nursing home property. Despite these multiple elopements, Hunter Acres Caring Center, its owners and its related entities failed to make the facility safe for wandering residents like Nancy.

On March 18, 2010 Nancy successfully wandered away from the Hunter Acres Caring Center and walked toward the railroad tracks. With nothing to prevent her from accessing the railroad tracks, she found herself in the path of on oncoming train. She was hit by the train on the morning of March 18, 2010. As a result of being hit by the train, Nancy incurred several serious injuries including multiple broken bones and lacerations, extensive injuries to her left shoulder, right groin, left hip, right upper thigh, left lower leg, left upper thigh, right hip and right hip. She also suffered an open wound to her leg, a comminuted fracture of the mid right femur and multiple rib fractures. Hospital records reference an “obvious deformity” to her lower extremity. After several hours of severe and excruciating pain, Nancy died.

The lawsuit alleges that the Hunter Acres Caring Center is part of a larger complex corporate structure that is designed to impoverish the nursing home facility while financially benefitting the owners of the other related corporate entities.

“We believe that the owners of this facility have used multiple related party companies and corporate entities to enrich themselves at the expense of residents like Nancy Kinder,” said David Terry. “If the owners had authorized money for more staff members or simply built a fence around this property, there is no way that Nancy would have been able to wander away from the facility as she often did and certainly would not have been able to reach the railroad tracks.”

After Nancy’s death, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services investigated the manner in which she died. After a thorough review of the circumstance, the State issued an “Immediate Jeopardy” citation on the Hunter Acres facility.

“This is a very sad case,” said David Terry. “Keith visited his mother often and regularly brought her to his home. It is hard to lose a parent under any circumstances, but to lose your mother in such a violent and preventable way has been devastating for Keith and his family.”

The Terry Law Firm is a St. Louis based law firm concentrating in all types of personal injury and wrongful death litigation. They are committed to protecting and vindicating the rights of people who are injured by the negligence of others. Please contact the firm at 314-878-9797 or visit www.TerryLawOffice.com for more information.

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and the "Operation Guardian" program strike again! To date, Operation Guardian has located 124 people with arrest warrants living or working with defenseless elderly residents in Illinois nursing homes.

On September 10, 2010, a surprise Operation Guardian compliance check at Central Nursing and Rehab in Chicago, Illinois yielded nine residents wanted on outstanding arrest warrants, four residents were arrested, and one resident, listed as a missing person, was located.

Central Nursing and Rehab is a three star facility according to the new rating system instituted by Medicare.gov, which indicates an average facility. The facility is owned by Michael Blisko and Moishe Gubin, who both retain ownership interests in eight other Illinois nursing home facilities.

Gary Dettlinger

A convicted child rapist sexually assaulted a vulnerable eight-six year old dementia resident at Golden Living Center in Oakmont, Pennsylvania.

Sixty-five year old Gary Dettlinger reportedly found was on a common area couch with his victim by someone who walked in on the sexual assault. His victim has been hospitalized. Dettlinger, also a resident of Golden Living Center, admitted to sexually assaulting the woman.

According to Golden Living Center staff, they were aware of Dettlinger's 1993 child rape conviction and his registration as a sex offender. Reportedly, facility management increased monitoring and protective custody of Dettlinger while he was a resident at the facility.

Dettlingter remains in the Allegheny County Jail.

While the Terry Law Firm is not involved in this case, we have successfully represented nursing home residents who have been victims of sexual assault and physical assault. For help, call (888) 317-2525.

Lakeshore, Inc., a Minnesota nursing home was cited for neglect of health care due to a medication error that led to a resident's death.

The female resident, who has not been identified, was admitted to the nursing home after being hospitalized for an infection on or about April 29, 2009. As she had a history of small strokes, for which she took the anticoagulant drug Coumadin, she was admitted to the facility with a prescription for Coumadin and an order for follow up testing on May 7 to ensure that her medication dosage was correct.

According to facility policy, the drug was to be discontinued on the day of testing and was to be resumed after the doctor had received the results and authorized a new prescription. Due to an error in transcribing the doctor's order, no blood test was performed and the Coumadin treatment was not resumed.

The woman was discharged from the nursing home facility on May 25. She was re-hospitalized on May 27. The medication error was not discovered until May 28, when the woman's relative called the facility. Sadly, the woman died on June 4 from a stroke caused by a blood clot.

According to Medicare.gov's new rating system, Lakeshore, Inc. ranks as a two star facility out of five stars, making it a "below-average" facility.

John Beaudette, former Administrator of Granger Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Iowa, faces criminal charges for threatening the defenseless residents living under his care.

According the Iowa Department of Inspection and Appeals criminal complaint, in May or June 2009, Beaudette reportedly took off his ring and glasses and assumed a "fighting stance" while screaming, cursing, and threatening a resident. Reportedly, one of the victims later told a facility staff member that "he was so scared he almost urinated in his pants". Seven workers informed state inspectors that Beaudette repeatedly subjected his mentally disabled residents to verbal abuse and threats.

According to one worker, a resident was left in tears after an incident involving Beaudette. In another instance, a facility employee said she was afraid that the Administrator would strike a resident. On yet another occasion, Beaudette reportedly stood in a resident's face and said, "I want you to get made, and if you hit me, I'm calling the cops and getting you out of here."

Beaudette denies ever raising his voice with his residents.

Vanessa May

An Illinois nursing assistant was arrested on Tuesday, September 14, 2010 on a felony theft warrant.

Thirty-two year old Vanessa May, a nursing assistant at Wynscape Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Wheaton, Illinois, reportedly removed a diamond engagement ring and 14-karat wedding band from an elderly woman after she died on July 28, 2010. Police were able to recover the jewelry.

May remains jailed on $50,000 bond. She must post 10% of the bond to be released.

Sherree James

On September 15, 2010, a Texas CNA was arrested for alleged abuse of an elderly resident and is being held without bond.
Sherree James was arrested for an August 21, 2010 incident at Grace Care Center Nursing Home involving an 83 year-old defenseless resident.

According to an arrest affidavit, James and the 83 year old resident were in the shower room when two other CNAs heard the resident crying and telling James to "quit hitting her". The CNAs reported that they heard five slaps and when they went in to see what was happening, the woman's face was "extremely red and James was pulling her hair very hard causing pain". The woman had a knot on her head and James as seen twisting her ear. According to the report, James told her co-workers "the way you control this resident is to bend her thumb back to her wrist if she gets out of control".

The resident is doing fine.

We discussed the tragic case of sexual abuse a Hazard, Kentucky nursing home resident endured in our previous blogs.

Eighty-eight year old Mae Campbell suffered sexual abuse at the hands of two male facility residents. Campbell suffers from Alzheimer's and was unable to tell her family what was happening to her. Neither facility staff who witnessed the occurrences nor facility administrative staff told the Campbell family about the sexual abuse. The sexual abuse incidents were uncovered through a deposition concerning a wrongful death case. It took attorney Jeff Morgan, who was involved in the wrongful death case, to notify the Campbell family. According to Morgan's investigation, after one of the incident's Mae Campbell complained of a sore throat and soreness and bruising of her inner thighs. She had also complained of men trying to hurt her. Morgan said that the complaints were not properly investigated by the nursing home.

The State of Kentucky cited the facility for failing to monitor the man involved in the May 18, 2009 incident, even though he had previously exposed himself to both Campbell and two other female residents.

Now, Sheila Noe, the Administrator of the facility, and Forcht Group of Kentucky, the parent company of Hazard Nursing home, have entered "not guilty" pleas in the case pending before the Perry District Court. Noe reportedly failed to report the suspected abuse to the Cabinet for Health and Family Services as required by law. She could face up to 90 days in jail and a fine of $250.

Gilbert Bouchez and Myrtle Potter are upset about the allegations of black mold being found at Galesburg Terrace, the nursing home facility they call home.

According to resident Gilbert Bouchez, "The whole wall was covered, the whole length... That's probably why I've been coughing and hacking since April and they can't seem to get it to stop." See the full video here.

Myrtle Potter's respiratory problems began approximately two weeks prior to black mold being discovered in her room. "I just fill up and it seems like it goes down to my neck and my lungs," she said. According to David Ennis, her son, nursing home staff never removed Myrtle from the room, even after mold was discovered. And, even worse, facility management never notified the Ennis family about the mold discovery. According to News Eight, the only paperwork found on the mold situation at Galesburg Terrace are the seven violations that were issued by the Illinois Department of Public Health.

Bob Maddox is the administrator of Galesburg Terrace, a nursing home facility located in Galesburg, Illinois. Galesburg Terrace has been in the news recently after the Illinois Department of Public Health found black mold in multiple locations at the facility. Maddox said the black mold was "old news" and blamed most of it on the IDPH's inspection system and disgruntled employees who contacted local media.

An August 12, 2010 IDPH survey found "black mold is present on the walls under peeling wallpaper around air conditioner units located under windows" in seven resident rooms and in a small storage area where water seeped behind a wall in the men's shower room. According to the survey, "black mold present on the drywall in this area behind the shower room for approximately six feet in length and two and one half feet above the floor". According to a facility maintenance supervisor, the toilet in the shower room had leaked repeatedly and it apparently leaked the previous week while he was on medical leave. This maintenance supervisor blamed the resident room mold on rain leakage through windows on areas of the building that had no rain gutters previously.

According to Maddox, he excuses away the shower area mold as "an area where nobody ever goes" and questions whether the IDPH actually found mold by saying "what I found is we've got vinyl wallpaper...that was hiding the problem. What an architect told us was you shouldn't have vinyl wallpaper on an outside wall, because it contains moisture. To me, it looked more like mildew."

According to Maddox, the six violations found during the August 2010 inspection was not abnormal because the average number of violations found during an Illinois annual inspection is seven to nine tags. In reality, the average number of violations found during an annual inspection year is eight and Galesburg Terrace managed to rack up an astounding 42 violations between April 1, 2009 and June 30, 2010. The facility is listed as a one-star facility, according to the new rating system instituted by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which indicates a "much below average" facility. Maddox admitted to having a "problem with the system" and complained that federal and state survey books are "about three inches thick. There's a lot of regulations in there."

Question for Mr. Maddox: Just because the survey books are thick, does that give you the right to pick and choose which regulations you follow?

We previously blogged about Lori Nussbaum, a CNA at Columbus Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Wisconsin and the abuse she inflicted on defenseless nursing home residents.

Nussbaum was recently charged with six counts of intentionally subjecting an individual at risk to abuse for her role in abusing defenseless residents under her care. Two co-workers of Nussbaum witnessed her holding pillows over the faces of crying residents and waking residents by pinching off their noses so they couldn't breathe. The affected residents were residents who suffered medical ailments and could not easily communicate. Reportedly, after witnessing Nussbaum abusing a resident, one co-worker asked, "Should you be doing that?" to which Nussbaum replied that the other employee was new and didn't know anything.

On another occasion, a co-worker witnessed Nussbaum placing a pillow over a screaming resident's face for 10 to 15 seconds and when the resident did not stop shouting, she reportedly placed her hand over the resident's mouth and "applied mild pressure for about 10 to 15 second two times". After another nose-pinching incident, Nussbaum told a co-worker, "Boy, he looks mad."

Nussbaum was released from jail on a $10,000 bond on September 9, 2010 and denies all charges saying, "I'm looking forward to proving my innocence in court." She is due in court on September 24 for a pretrial hearing. If convicted, she faces $10,000 in fines and up to 3.5 years in prison on each of the six charges.

A Florida nursing home employee reportedly used her position at the facility to fleece four elderly female residents.

Janice Lynn Smith was arrested on August 18, 2010 when she reported for work and charged with four counts of exploitation of the elderly for her role in stealing nearly $4,000 from four elderly residents aged 85, 86, 90, and 101. The theft was reported to local police by the Administrator of the Heritage Park Nursing Home.

Smith remains in jail under a $20,000 bond. She has been fired from the facility.

Olivia Moore has been a nurse since 1975 - and addicted to painkillers since 1977. Moore admitted this and more to a Sheriff's Deputy in 2001.

"I have used pain medication such as Tylenol 3, Percocet and Leritine but progressed to Demerol. I have always obtained pain medication from my various nursing jobs. It has always been detected and I have always been terminated, except for Charter Hospital in Corpus Christi", she admitted. Moore also admitted that she would inject herself while on duty and then return to care for her patients while high. She attempted to cover her addiction by replacing stolen narcotics with other medications. On this, she blatantly admitted, "I also took several Hydrocodone tablets from packages and would take two at a time as needed during my shifts. I replaced the Hydrocodone with Robaxit. I had to cut some of the Robaxit down to make them fit back in the package."

Moore was finally convicted on three counts of possessing and using prescription drugs after working at Corpus Christi Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Texas. She was sentenced to ten years in prison. During her trial, prosecutors also alleged that Moore pulled on resident tubes, causing injury and death of one elderly resident, but she was not convicted of that charge.

An Illinois nursing home resident was stabbed during a routine hospital stay at Provena-Mercy Hospital in Aurora, Illinois.

The seventy-eight year old woman reportedly was stabbed by a thirty-nine year old relative of her roommate and suffered injuries to her arm, eye, and face. She is reported to be in fair condition. The suspect was arrested and taken into custody. The reason for the attack has not been given.

Following a recent investigation, a Wisconsin CNA was arrested on suspicion of four counts of strangulation and four counts of recklessly subjecting an individual to abuse.

Lori Nussbaum of Beaver Dam, Wisconsin was arrested on the felony charges on Tuesday, September 7, 2010. Nussbaum reportedly pinched off the nostrils of sleeping residents for two to twenty seconds to wake them. She also reportedly utilized a pillow over a dementia resident's face and head as a quieting method. The patients suffering the abuse at the hands of Nussbaum have little ability to communicate and other health issues. Nussbaum laughed about abusing the residents under her care.

The investigation was implemented by Columbus police after nursing home administration contacted the department after an alleged August 21, 2010 incident. During the investigation, another employee reported seeing Nussbaum abusing residents similarly in June 2010.

Nussbaum is no longer employed by the facility, which currently remains anonymous.

On June 16, 2010, a resident of Pine Medical Health Care Center told a facility employee that he felt sick. When the worker arrived with nausea medication, the resident had no pulse.

The facility employee summoned a nurse. Because facility staff could not immediately locate written resusciation instructions, the nurse called her manager who told her where to locate the documents and instructed her to begin CPR. The nurse told state investigators that she "froze" was was unable to begin CPR, despite the resident's resusciation wish. The nurse faces disqualification by the state and could be included on the state's abuse registry.

The Office of Health Facility Complaints assessed a neglect finding on the facility for failing to perform CPR.

Melissa Elaine Webster

Melissa Elaine Webster, the Administrator of The Alternative Personal Care Home, a Mississippi nursing home, was jailed on August 29, 2010 on eight felony counts of exploitation of a vulnerable person after being arrested by the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit of the Attorney General's Office.
Webster reportedly took more than $60,000 from a former resident of the facility. If convicted, Webster faces up to 80 years in prison and up to $80,000 in fines.

If you have a loved on in a nursing home, you should pay close attention to their financial well-being as well as the care they are receiving. Sadly, some people view nursing home residents as easy targets and exploit them financially. As a family member, you should regularly:

1. Ask to see all billing statements;
2. Review all payments made from your loved one's accounts;
3. Request copies of all checks made from your loved one's account; and
4. Visit regularly and get to know all of the people responsible for your loved one's care.

The death of a developmentally disabled man at a Streator, Illinois nursing home has prompted a lawsuit against the facility's owner and two employees.

Twenty-one year-old Dustin Higgins died September 1, 2008 at Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana, Illinois after sustaining a head injury a few days earlier at Graywood Foundation group home where he was a resident. Reportedly, two former employees of the facility kicked and punched Higgins and encouraged two facility residents to help them beat Higgins because they believed the young man was a thief. The employees, Daniel J. Clark and Christopher P. Oliver, are facing first-degree murder charges in that case. The residents who assisted them in the beating pleaded guilty to aggravated battery and were sentenced to an Illinois Department of Human Services facility while they are on conditional discharge for two-and-a-half years.

The wrongful death lawsuit against the facility owner, The Graywood Foundation, Clark, and Oliver was filed on August 10, 2010 in Coles County and asks for damages in excess of $50,000 plus legal fees.

It appears that Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller, who took office in 2009, has not made the health and welfare of Indiana's most vulnerable citizens a priority in his office. According to a recent IndyStar.com article, the Indiana Attorney General has filed complaints in a mere 2% -- or six cases -- of the 300 inspection reports that the Health Department provided the Attorney General's Office in the past five years. Zoeller himself received 40 reports in 2009 and failed to file any complaints. According to Zoeller's deputy, the AG's office only files a complaint when the nursing home administrator is personally responsible for the problem. But that leads to the question: isn't the nursing home administrator personally responsible for the health and welfare of all residents under his/her care?

For instance, a rape was reported in June 2008 at a Marion nursing home. State health inspectors and local police investigated the allegations and found that the assault could have been prevented. Reportedly, the accused resident was a paroled sex offender - and the nursing home administrator knew of his sex offender status since he had been admitted approximately three months earlier. The administrator failed to share the information with facility nurses and aides and did not care plan to protect defenseless residents from the offender. Was a complaint filed in this instance? No.

A January 2009 report revealed that heating units in 26 rooms of a Muncie nursing home required replacement. While the administrator was aware of the problem, residents were left to suffer in rooms where the temperatures had dipped to the mid-50s - in the middle of winter. Did Zoeller take disciplinary action? No.

A October 2009 inspection of a west-central Indiana nursing home facility revealed that facility staff failed to protect its residents from development pressure sores. According to facility policy, the administrator was charged with monitoring procedure for treating wounds. Inspectors found that staff was failing to assess the sores. Any disciplinary action? No.

In Indiana, the Attorney General is the only state official charged with bringing disciplinary charges against nursing home administrators. Since 2000, 24 administrators have had three or more poor inspection reports sent to the Attorney General's Office within a four year period - sometimes from different facilities. Five of those administrators were referred for discipine three times in one year. Of the 24 affected, only two were brought to task.

Zoeller's office defended its practices by stating that administrators are sometimes informally reprimanded without a public complaint filing. According to an The Star, a review of the inspection reports reportedly showed that Zoeller and his predecessor failed to take disciplinary action against administrator even when the findings suggested that the administrator could bear some responsibility for the facility's problems.

The health and safety of vulnerable Illinois nursing home residents is in jeopardy after the Illinois Department of Health cited their facililty for black mold.

Galesburg Terrace was cited for black mold after an August 12, 2010 facility inspection revealed black mold in seven resident's rooms and one shower room. The nursing home also was cited for errors in ventilation care and medication administration.

This is not the first time that black mold was found in an Illinois nursing home. A January 2010, a facility inspection at Camelot Terrace, a nursing home located in Streator, Illinois, revealed black mold and mildew in the "C" wing of the facility. To read more on black mold at Camelot Terrace nursing home, click here.

The family of former Manor Care - Hinsdale resident Delores Howorth filed a lawsuit against ManorCare Health Services-Hinsdale for the wrongful death of Ms. Howorth. In their lawsuit, the family claimed that the nursing home restrained Ms. Howorth improperly by misusing a wheelchair lap restraint, failed to keep her properly hydrated causing her to become severely dehydrated and failed to document significant changes in her condition.

Manor Care is a large nursing home chain that operates nursing homes throughout the United States. A variety of Manor Care facilities have been sued for a variety of negligent acts, including bed sores and other instances of neglect. ManorCare was purchased several years ago by the Carlyle Group, for $6.3 billion.

If you are concerned about the care a loved one of yours is receiving in a Manor Care facility, call our Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Attorney toll free at 1-888-317-2525 for a free consultation.

A seventy-two year old Massachusetts nursing home resident was ordered to "shut up" and a sock was shoved in her mouth to ensure her silence.

The abuse happened on July 23, 2010 at Springside Nursing Home in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. The seventy-two year old woman involved was crying for assistance because she had soiled herself. Jodi LeBrake, a CNA, repeatedly told the blind resident suffering from dementia, to "shut up" and then shoved a sock into her mouth and pushed her arm. LeBrake was arraigned on August 27, 2010 on felony assault charges.

Sadly, witnesses to the July 2010 abuse incident failed to report it until August 2010, which prompted an internal investigation that eventually led to the firing of two nursing home employees.

Amy Simkewicz was the nursing assistant at the facility that witnessed the abuse but failed to report it "in a timely enough fashion". Simkewicz alleged that she didn't timely report the abuse due to fear of retaliation from LeBrake.

This abuse incident is similar to one reported on August 11, 2010 that led to the firing of Sandra Yankey. In that incident, facility employees witnessed Yankey reportedly pulling the hair of an 81 year-old defenseless female resident. Yankey, who has criminal record, was "terminated on the spot". She has pleaded not guilty to the charges and will appear in court again on September 18, 2010.

Sadly, it is not unusual for nursing home abuse and neglect to go unreported. Family members need to be vigilant and insist that their loved ones be cared for properly.

Asking "What took you so long?", Celeste Jensen was waiting for the group of law enforcement officials in the lobby of Grasmere Place nursing home on July 22, 2010. Law enforcement officials were performing a "surprise" Operation Guardian inspection, but it appears that the inspection was anything but a surprise.

Under questioning by authorities about how she knew of their impending arrival, Jensen admitted that she had been tipped off by a Chicago city official whose job it was to safeguard defenseless elderly and disabled nursing home residents. Grasmere was fully staffed on the day of the Operation Guardian inspection and had painters and carpenters present on premises. Despite the tip off, inspectors found problems at the facility, including the appearance that some residents were overmedicated.

An unannounced follow-up sweep on the night of August 16, 2010 found the facility with less staff and in less than tip top shape. According to the Attorney General's Deputy Chief-of-Staff, Cara Smith, "What we experienced was literally night and day."

The tip off appears to lend credence to a long-held suspicion that some nursing homes are forewarned of impending state inspections. In fact, one industry executive recently implied to the attorney general and other public health officials that a health department supervisor reportedly provided a monthly "master schedule" of inspections to a nursing home executive in return for cash, sports tickets, and other miscellaneous items. Inspection authorities have since closed the information loophole and the Operation Guardian inspection schedule is being closely guarded.

The 200 bed facility, located in Chicago, Illinois, cares for people suffering from mental illness. The facility is operated by companies controlled by Eric Rothner, a nursing home owner who has had two facilities closed this year.

For families with loved ones in Illinois nursing homes, this is just another reason to be vigilant in monitoring the care they are receiving. If you suspect abuse or neglect, call our Illinois nursing home abuse lawyer for a free consultation.

A Connecticut nursing home resident was killed on Saturday, August 21, 2010, after he tumbled from his wheelchair.

Eighty-eight year old Percy Sumner, a resident of Bishops Corner Skilled Nursing & Rehabilitation, a nursing home facility located in West Hartford, Connecticut, had been a resident of the facility since 2004. Suffering from dementia, Sumner was seen earlier in the morning near the front door of the facility and was redirected. According to Jeanne Moore, a spokeswoman for Genesis HealthCare, the nursing home's owner, "This patient was put on a 15-minute check right away and those observations are documented by our nursing staff. He was last observed in the hallway of his unit at 9:15 a.m. Unfortunately, just minutes later, the patient went out the front door, unwitnessed and unaccompanied by Bishops Corner staff."

When Sumner eloped from facility through the front door, the front door alarm reportedly sounded, as did a personal alarm Sumner wore for safety. It is unknown how much time elapsed between the time the alarms sounded and the time staff responded to those alarms. Sumner rolled 44 feet down a grassy embankment, through a vinyl picket fence, and over a three foot rock wall before falling from his wheelchair and hitting his head on the sidewalk. He was taken to St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center, where he died.

This is not the first time the facility has been in the eye of inspection officials. Approximately four months ago, nursing home inspectors found that the facility failed ensure that the facility was free of dangers that cause accidents and failed to have a program in place to prevent inspection from spreading. According to the new rating system instituted by Medicare.gov, the facility was rated two out of five stars, or "much below average".

While the Terry Law Firm is not involved in this case, we have handled several cases involving elopement and wrongful death. Elopement as a result of lack of supervision by the nursing staff can often be linked directly to budgeting issues and insufficient staffing.

Illinois CNA Jeremiah Healless pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a controlled substance as part of an agreement in which he was also ordered to undergo substance abuse treatment while in jail. He was sentenced to two years in prison.

Healless was a CNA at Fair Oaks Health Care Center in Crystal Lake, Illinois when he entered a ninety-two year old Alzheimer resident's room, poked holes in her Fentanyl patch, pinched it to get the drug to come out, and licked the painkiller off of his fingers. According to the woman's son, the Fentanyl pain patch was the only way that his mother could remain pain-free. Healless was caught on video tampering with the woman's pain patch. To read more about this incident, click here to read our blog.

Tampering with pain medication is abuse. Unfortunately, more and more Illinois residents are suffering abuse and neglect at the hands of those paid to care for them. If you would like to receive a free book entitled 5 Things You Must Know About Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect in Illinois written by Illinois nursing home abuse attorney David Terry, go to www.IllinoisNursingHomeABuseBook.com. There is no cost to you and no obligation.

How far does the right to choose a health care provider extend for nursing home residents? In Indiana, it stops at requesting caregivers based on race.

Brenda Chaney was a CNA working at Plainfield Healthcare Center, an Indiana nursing home. Plainfield was home to Marjorie Latshaw, a resident who preferred not to be assisted by a black nursing assistant. The facility honored this request by noting in writing on the nursing home's daily assignment sheet that Latshaw "Prefers no black CNAs" and that "no black" assistants should enter her room or provide her with care. Chaney, who is black, initially complied with this policy, although there were times that she was in a position to best care for Latshaw. In fact, one day Chaney found Latshaw on the floor and unable to stand. Rather than provide her with immediate assistance, Chaney was forced to locate a white CNA in another part of the building and request assistance. Despite the obvious problem, Latshaw remained on Chaney's assignment sheet until the day she was fired from the facility. There were at least two more residents at the facility who refused care from a "black" employee.

Chaney was fired from the facility three months after she began working there for using profanity in front of a resident, which she denied. Chaney sued Plainfield for employment discrimination arguing that honoring the racial biases of residents was illegal and created a hostile work environment. An Indiana District Court ruled that the nursing home was within its rights to allow patients to dictate caregivers based on race. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit disagreed and reversed the decision citing that the nursing home's policy of allowing residents to select caregivers based on race violated federal employment discrimination law and stated "Plainfield acted to foster and engender a racially-charged environment through its assignment sheet that unambiguously, and daily, reminded Chaney and her co-workers that certain residents preferred no black CNAs."

Now, Indiana officials are forced to notify nursing homes that racial discrimination laws trump nursing home resident rights and Chaney v. Plainfield Healthcare Center could be cited as a national case precedent. To read the full case, click here.