Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog

My personal experience as a Missouri Nursing Home Lawyer is that far too many nursing home residents are overmedicated by those responsible for providing quality care. In my job I often meet with residents and their families in nursing homes. On some of those occasions, the residents simply could not wake up. Their eyes fluttered as though they were struggling to wake up and participate in the conversation happening around them. Sadly, the government has determined that my experience is not unique.

The U.S. Department of Health and Senior Services recently prepared a report entitled Medicare Atypical Antipsychotic Drug Claims For Elderly Nursing Home Residents that found that too many nursing home institutions failed to comply with regulations designed to prevent overmedication. It is well known that prescribing antipsychotic medication to elderly residents with dementia is potentially lethal, yet 88% of these individuals receive such prescriptions.

Family members must make certain that they know what medications their loved one is receiving. They must educate themselves on the medications and the proper dosages. They must regularly ask questions of the caregivers and insist upon answers. Family members must know what the possible side effects are and should closely monitor their loved one for any signs of side effects.

Why would a nursing home overmedicate a resident? First, to be fair to the nursing home industry, many times the overmedication is completely unintentional. Elderly residents are more much more susceptible to overmedication than are younger people. The second reason is an indictment of the nursing home industry. Overmedicated residents do complain and are, therefore, easier to care for with a reduced staff. Residents who ask to be taken to the restroom, or who need more water or need help walking down the hallway often require assistance from staff members. When a nursing home operates on reduced staff (as most nursing homes do) drugged residents are easier to manage than those who are alert and active.

If you are concerned about the care your loved one is receiving in a nursing home, call our St. Louis personal injury lawyer David Terry for a free consultation at 1-888-317-2525.

We discussed a Kansas nurse suspected of nursing home drug tampering in our previous blog.

Deborah Riggs, a narcotics charge nurse at Halstead Health and Rehabilitation Center in Kansas, pleaded guilty on December 13, 2010 to one count of consumer product tampering and one count of adulteration of a drug. She faces up to ten years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 on the tampering charge and up to three years in prison and a maximum fine of $10,000 on the adulteration count. Under the plea deal, the other charges against Riggs have been dropped. Sentencing is set for March 7, 2011.

Officials at the nursing home facility reportedly noticed broken seals on the morphine-based solution bottles and sent them to a lab for testing; nursing home officials also alerted federal authorities of a potential drug tampering problem.

As a narcotics charge nurse, Riggs was in a position of authority. She held keys to the narcotic medications room and cabinet where the drugs were stored. According to information in Riggs' plea agreement, she acknowledged that she diluted between 32% and 62% of morphine sulfate solutions and replaced it with another substance in December 2009.

Riggs has had problems with controlled substances in the past. According to information in the Kansas City Star, Riggs has a history of convictions and nursing license suspensions for mismanaging or stealing controlled substances.

Riggs was convicted in federal court in 1998 of felony possession of a controlled substances by fraud. She was sentenced to four months of home detention and two years' probation in that conviction. Her nursing license was suspended in February 2000 for forging prescriptions; unfortunately, her suspension was stayed and Riggs was allowed to continue working as a nurse.

In 2008, Riggs' nursing license was suspended again for drug abuse and narcotic theft that occurred while she was working as a nurse at a Wichita, Kansas hospital. Once again, the Kansas Board of Nursing stayed Riggs' suspension and allowed her to continue working.

A Kansas nurse accused of tampering with drugs at a Kansas nursing home wants a plea deal.

Deborah J. Riggs, 55, has had a previous drug conviction and has had her nursing license suspended twice after allegations of stealing controlled substances. In this instance, Riggs is accused of diluting morphine solutions which were intended for five residents of Halstead Health and Rehabilitation Center and faces a 10-count indictment for tampering with a consumer product and adulteration of drugs.

Riggs is scheduled for a change-of-plea hearing on December 13, 2010 in U.S. District Court.

Twelve Kansas nursing homes facilities earned more than ten deficiencies, according to the new rating system instituted by the The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid. The national average for deficiencies is nine and Kansas' average for deficiencies is 11.

The following facilities were cited with eleven or more deficiencies:

Riverview Manor, Oxford - 33

Regal Estate, Independence - 31

Good Samaritan, Winfield - 21

Westview Manor, Derby - 29

Kansas Masonic Home - 20

Life Care Center, Andover - 19

Cherryvale Care Center - 16

Medicalodges, Arkansas City - 15

Golden Livingcenter, El Dorado - 15

Legacy Park, Peabody - 15

Deseret Nursing & Rehab, Wellington - 13

Haysville Healthcare Center - 11

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

The Kansas District Attorney is watching out for our elderly. Rather, she is watching those who are "watching" our elderly. Citing a noted increase of "fiduciary abuse and exploitation", the Financial Abuse Specialist Team (FAST) was formed in October 2008. In fact, since July 1, 2008, 107 reports of suspected abuse have been reported and it is expected that number will climb significantly.

The Goal of FAST is to go after criminals and warn people through education about potential scams. FAST relies on the assistance of volunteers, such as bank tellers, postal employees, federal agents, and mental health specialists, as well as the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services employees. These volunteers watch for elderly people doing things out of their normal routine, such as coming into banks regularly to make withdrawals with the assistance of a non-relative who does all of the talking or making unexplained withdrawals from savings accounts. These are signs that the elderly person may be taken advantage of. The scam artists find their prey by first working the telephones to locate vulnerable elderly people.

A financial crimes investigative team compiles the evidence and prosecutes the crimes. One such prosecution was the case of Mildred Patterson. In early 2004, Ray Patterson, Mrs. Patterson's son who lives in California, began to suspect that her caregiver, John Hartley, was taking money from his mother. Patterson alerted the authorities, but there was nothing in place at the district attorney's office at that time to prosecute a quick investigation. John Hartley was arrested in January 2008. Foulston's office estimates that he had taken as much as $67,000 from Mrs. Patterson through the use of her credit cards and taking items from her. He pled guilty and is currently on probation.

Kansas residents can contact FAST via email at FAST@sedgwick.gov.