An Ohio LPN was arrested on May 6, 2010, after reportedly abusing two defenseless nursing home residents.
Monica Smith, an LPN at Harmony Court nursing home reportedly became angry and grabbed a resident by the hair and threw her to the floor. In another instance of abuse, she reportedly punched a resident in the chest.
She faces two counts of patient abuse.
Gregg Baurichter faces a competency hearing after he reportedly strangled his roommate, fifty-eight year old Gary Schlueter, on December 17, 2009 at Clermont Nursing Care Center in Millford, Ohio.
Baurichter was in the behavioral rehabilitation unit of the facility and reportedly suffers from mental illness.
Baurichter enter pleas of not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity on the murder charge he faces. He faces a competency hearing on April 12, 2010 before Judge Ken Zuk of the Common Pleas Court. If he is found incompetent and cannot attain proper mental health within one year, the murder case against him cannot proceed. If he's found competent to stand trial, he could face life in prison. Under Ohio law, an insanity defense cannot be used at trial unless a psychiatrist or psychologist is willing to testify that the defendant did not understand the act was wrong due to his/her mental illness.
More than 100 registered sex offenders currently reside in Ohio nursing homes without residents and their families knowing their offenses or their very existence. Senate Bill 130, sponsored by Senator Capri Cafro (D-Hubbard) would force nursing home administrators to notify residents, family members, and guardians when a sex offender with a Tier III status intends upon moving into the facility. Tier III offenses include rape, sexual battery, kidnapping of a minor, and gross sexual imposition on a child younger than 12. Currently, nearly 2/3 of the registered sex offenders living in Ohio nursing homes are Tier III status.
Current Ohio law only requires that anyone living within 1,000 feet of the sex offender be notified. The law does not require nursing home administrators to inform residents, family, or guardians.
The bill calls for a $100 per day violation for facilities that fail to comply with the new legislation.
A former nurse at Riverside Nursing and Rehabilitation Center has been charged with abuse of a resident.
Twenty-eight year old Michelle Simmons was arraigned on September 30, 2009 on charges of abusing an eighty year-old nursing home resident suffering from dementia. Simmons allegedly kicked, punched, and pulled the hair of the resident. She was fired from her job after the incident.
Her trial is set for later this year.
The Terry Law Firm is experienced in handling cases of nursing home abuse and neglect. Please contact us with any questions or concerns at (888) 317-2525 or visit us on our website at www.nursinghomejustice.com.
Ohio legislation is moving towards better protection of long-term care facility residents from sex offenders. Under current law, only nearby property owners are notified when a sex offender moves into the area. Unfortunately, long-term care centers are classified as one resident and only a manager or an Administrator is required to be notified. It is rare that information about a local sex offender is passed on to facility residents and their families.
State Senator Capri Cafaro introduced House Bill 130 recently. Bill 130 would require nursing homes and other similar care facilities to inform residents when a sex offender or a person imprisoned due to a felony action in another state is admitted to the facility. Senator Cafaro said the provision for reporting out-of-state felons helps prevent "dumping". "Dumping" is when a care facility recruits residents from other areas to fill bed space and take advantage of Medicaid subsidies. The bill also provides immunity to whistle-blowers, or employees of the facility, who report the facility's refusal to comply with the law. The Bill also calls for a $100 per day fine for each day an offender is not reported.
By law, nursing homes cannot refuse a potential resident if they are in need of care and can provide payment. Bill 130 carries a requirement that care facilities keep a log identifying sex offenders and that log is to be available upon request.
Peter Southard
Bank One trust attorney Peter Southard suffered a brain aneurysm in 1984. Since that time, his wife, Diana Southard made his care her number one priority in life. Peter's stroke left him debilitated, forgetful, and always needing of a drink of water. Sadly, "he could be told to take a drink of water and 10 minutes later forget the conversation. He lived moment to moment." While a glass of water was left by Peter's TV stand, his brain damage was severe and while he was always thirsty, he would forget to drink. Someone needed to ensure he drank enough water by watching him do it.
On the occasions when Diana Southard needed assistance with his care, she would admit him to a nursing home for respite. In May 2005, she admitted Peter to Whetstone Gardens & Care Center and took a short break from his care. When she returned 15 days later, she found the man whom she described as the "love of her life" incontinent with clothes thrown around his room and a bloody rash on his groin from urine soaked bedding. He was immediately removed from the facility and died two days later from dehydration and kidney failure. He was 61 years old. They had been married 34 years.
Diana Southard filed suit against Whetstone Gardens & Care Center for Peter's wrongful death.
After a nine day trial in which doctors testified that the standard of care at the facility fell below the minimum standard of care and aides testified that they were never told of Peter's need for water, the jury awarded Peter Southard $500,000 for pain and suffering and $6 million to his wife, two daughters, and three grandchildren for compensatory damages and mental anguish.
Attorneys for the facility countersued Peter Southard's physician claiming negligent care and instruction. They also argued that Peter's dehydration death was the result of diarrhea after he left the facility. They are appealing the verdict.
Iowa Governor Chet Culver has left his nursing home constituents virtually defenseless after signing a new bill into law that eliminates many fines against Iowa nursing homes when the facilities fail to meet minimum health and safety standards.
Dozens of fines are eliminated for violations that nursing homes themselves identify and correct without a complaint filing or state inspector discovering the problem. One of the biggest contributors to resident neglect in nursing home facilities is insufficient staffing. Sadly, this bill exempts this issue from fines. Other exempt violations include failure to meet resident nutritional needs, failure to provide adequate dental care, failure to have competent, licensed administrators or caregivers, and failure to have a qualified nurse on duty.
Additionally, in cases where fines can be imposed, if the facility does not appeal the state's findings, the penalty will be reduced by 35 percent. Culver spokesman, Phil Roeder, said the governor signed the bill into law believing "it will promote better care by encouraging nursing homes to develop pro-active quality assurance programs and allowing facilities to identify and correct problems right away."
Former state legislator John Tapscott said "the new law is an example of what the nursing home industry can buy with its campaign contributions. It only proves that our legislative leaders and governor are willing to sell out the most vulnerable of our citizens - the sick and elderly residing in nursing homes - for a few thousand campaign dollars."
The bill was supported by the Iowa Healthcare Association, which made 236 political contributions totaling almost $90,000. Since June 2006, Governor Culver's campaign committees have received approximately $21,350.
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.
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.
Dorotha Gifford wandered outside on February 5, 2009. She walked to a gazebo on the nursing home grounds - her footsteps were visible in the deep snow. She was outside for approximately two hours, in frigid temperatures, dressed in just slacks, a shirt, and shoes.
Ms. Gifford was a resident of the Alzheimer and dementia unit at Heartland of Woodridge. It appears that she just wandered off. Temperatures that day ranged from a high of twenty-seven degrees to a overnight low of eight degrees. Nurses discovered she was missing during an hourly check and began an immediate search. The facility called police around 3:10 p.m., but it was too late. Ms. Gifford was found dead outside - just sixty yards from the facility.
The Ohio Department of Health is investigating the incident and expects that it will take two to four months to complete.
We discussed John Riems and pending sexual abuse charges in our previous blog. John Riems, a night shift supervisor and nurse at Concord Care and Rehabilitation Center in Toledo, Ohio, confessed to sexually violating more than 100 nursing home patients during his career. He could name twenty-three of his helpless victims. He was indicted on 15 counts of rape, three counts of sexual battery, three counts of patient abuse, one count of gross sexual imposition, and two counts of sexual penetration. He faced the possibility of 174 years in prison.
Initially, Riems alleged that he digitally penetrated his vitcims' rectums to assist them in removing fecal matter, but prosecutors and investigators said he did it for sexual gratification.
Trial was set to begin on Tuesday, January 20, 2009. Riems and his family were split on whether or not to go to trial. At the last minute, Riems opted not to put his family through a trial and took a plea deal using what is called an Alford plea on Friday January 16, 2009. An Alford plea allows Riems to maintain his innocence but recognizes that the State had ample evidence of guilt. By accepting an Alford plea, Riems will forgo trial at the risk of a more stringent sentence. Riems has been sentenced to twelve and a half years in prison.
Roxie Luff
Roxie Luff pled guilty to five drug-related offenses resulting from the theft of residents' medications at The Otterbein Home in Lebanon, Ohio. Luff was fined and placed under five years probation. She was also prohibited from working as a nurse for three years.
Luff falsified charts to show that she had administered Hydrocodone and Oxycodone to her patients but took the drugs herself. Residents underwent testing that proved that they had not taken the drugs that Luff was accused of stealing.
Liberty Nursing Center in Toledo, Ohio was cited in an April 2008 state report as placing its residents in an "immediate jeopardy" situation.
Ralph Kasczmerak was a resident of Liberty Nursing Center for two years following a stroke. He went there for rehab but says he "spent two years of hell dealing with Liberty Nursing Center". Every time he asked for something, the staff made him feel as though he was creating problems for them. Worse yet, when an employee stole his pain medication. The facility had hired an employee knowing he had lost his nursing license and instead of investigating where the missing medication had gone, the facility chose to blame their resident. Kasczmerak was accused of selling his own pain medication!
Worse things were discovered in an inspection. Residents with mental illnesses were allowed to beat, bite, and push on each other, as well as other residents. The facility never reported this abuse to the State.
When the facility Administrator Carla Brumby was questioned why she allowed the abuse to go on, she said that her staff minimized the injuries appropriately. She also defended her decision to hire an individual whose nursing license had been revoked by stating, "I try not to judge people based on their past. I try to look to the future."
We have had multiple blogs concerning The Terrace and Westside Health Care Center and the deplorable conditions the residents endured at these facilities.
Abe Fischer, the owner of both The Terrace and Westside Health Care Center, has appealed the State of Ohio's decision to close The Terrace, the remaining facility, on November 20, 2008. A judge has set the appeal hearing for November 25, 2008 and the facility will be allowed to remain open until the appeal is heard and decided.
While Fischer has made the corrections, the City is concerned that he will be unable to keep the facility up to standard. Currently, the remaining facility has approximately 30 residents and 17 employees.
Northridge Nursing Home in North Ridgeville, Ohio, which is operated by Altercare, Inc., is finger-pointing in the blame game for poor survey results received recently.
Altercare, Inc. filed a lawsuit in Lorain County Common Pleas Court against former Chief Operating Officer, Lisa Marie Clark. The suit alleges breach of contract and seeks undisclosed damages and punitive damages of $500,000. The suit alleges that Clark mismanaged the facility, resulting in negative findings against the facility by government inspectors. Other allegations made in the suit were:
- Clark terminated the facility's relationship with a physician and his wound care practice, resulting in an "immediate jeopardy" citation;
- The activities staff was not certified, resulting in a regulation violation; and
- Therapy services were discontinued for most residents, often in violation of the resident's care plan; there were only 26 restorative therapy programs in March 2008 and now there are 98 restorative programs.
Clark was terminated on March 26, 2008, although Altercare, Inc. continued to pay her salary until June 22, 2008. Interestingly, an April 2008 survey indicated that there were two instances of "real and present danger" violations, in the 43 health code regulations included in the survey. The facility was cited for 34 health deficiencies and 10 fire safety deficiencies. A June 2008 survey revealed three instances of "actual harm and/or immediate jeopardy".
The day began as planned - two teams of poll workers were sent to the Gardens of Western Reserve nursing home in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio to assist elderly residents in voting. Early voting for nursing home residents is common as the residents would not be able to get out to vote otherwise.
The problem began around noon. Seventy-five year old Republican George Manos and seventy-three year old Democrat Edith Walker were assisting another resident with her ballot. The voting resident wanted to vote for John McCain, but her ballot was marked for Barack Obama. Somewhere along the way, events spun out of control.
Manos accused Walker of ballot tampering and says that he tried to get the ballot out of Walker's hand, but she refused to show him the ballot. Walker says that Manos accused her of marking the ballot incorrectly and that Manos was mean to her. The altercation escalated when Walker jumped onto Manos' back and struck him in the head three to four times. It took two other election workers to pull Walker off of Manos' back. Manos wants to prosecute.
The ballot was indeed marked incorrectly. AFter the tussel ended, the ballot was actually marked for both candidates. The voting resident was provided with another ballot and was finally able to vote for her chosen candidate.
Cincinnati's Health Department revoked the operating license of the Terrace, a long term care facility owned and operated by Abe Fischer. If you will recall, the state shut down the sister facility, Westside Healthcare Center, after a raid on the facility found its residents living in filthy, unsafe conditions. The facilities owned by Fischer were described by police as "worse than any crack house" they had seen. The facilities were dirty and feces and vomit were found on the floors. Doors were tied shut and electrical wires were exposed.
Westside Healthcare Center recently closed.
Abe Fischer had hoped to combine the two facilities into one new long term care facility.
Abe Fischer, former owner of Westside Health Care Center and current owner of the Terrace at Westside, has signed a plea agreement that his company will pay $5,000 for code violations found at his properties in a police raid on March 13, 2008. The charges against Abe Fischer personally were dropped. Fischer faced jail and up to $6,000 in fines if convicted.
We have discussed this situation previously in numerous blogs. The facilities owned by Fischer were described by police as "worse than any crack house" they had seen. The facilities were dirty and feces and vomit were found on the floors. Doors were tied shut and electrical wires were exposed.
Westside Health Care Center has since been closed and the city health department will determine next week if the Terrace at Westside will be allowed to remain open.
We discussed the Westside Health Care Center in Cincinnati, Ohio in a previous blog and the failure of the Cincinnati Health Department to identify serious and potentially life-threatening conditions at the facility. A March 2008 police and state regulator raid involving Westside Health Care Center and its companion facility the Terrace at Westside exposed leaking sewage, soiled mattresses, vomit on floors, broken toilets, exposed wires, improperly trained employees, and many other serious violations.
The City of Cincinnati is the only city in Ohio that performs its own nursing home inspections. At least, it did until October 1, 2008, when the City Council voted 7-2 to turn over the annual health and safety inspections to the Ohio Department of Health.
Westside Health Care Center and the Terrace at Westside are both owned by Abe Fischer. Westside Health Care Center was recently closed.
In previous blogs, we discussed the horrific conditions that residents at Westside Health Care Center were living under. A police raid of the facility in March 2008 found soiled mattresses, vomit in the halls, roach-infested rooms and doors tied shut, among other horrors. Five years of annual inspections had not revealed any problems at the facility.
Abe Fischer, the owner and operator of the Cincinnati facility, closed the facility before a hearing to determine whether or not to revoke the license of the facility could take place this week. Fischer sold the state certificate of need required to operate the facility as a nursing home and the residents of the facility have moved. He still owns a residential care facility next door to the closed facility and hopes to combine the buildings into a single residential care facility next year. His ability to do this hinges on the approval of Ohio city and state health officials, who found dozens of health and safety violations at both of Fischer's facilities this year. The fate of Fischer's other facility, the Terrace at Westside, still is in question. Health Commissioner Noble Maserus will decide shortly if that facility's license will be revoked.
Fischer alleges that the problems at Westside and the Terrace at Westside were exaggerated by police and community activists who don't like him.
