The debate about the use of strong antipsychotic drugs to chemically restrain elderly patients, particularly those who suffer from Alzheimer’s and dementia, continues, and advocates opposing the overuse of medications to subdue seniors have a powerful new ally, the AARP. The phrase “chemical restraint” refers to the practice of unnecessarily…
The California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform (CANHR) has launched a comprehensive website that addresses the growing problem of drug misuse in California nursing homes. Every day, approximately 25,000 California nursing home patients are given an antipsychotic drug. Half of all dementia patients are administered these drugs despite FDA warnings…
SmartMoney.com has an article out entitled 10 Things Nursing Homes Won’t Tell You. Which has been adapted from the book “1,001 Things They Won’t Tell You: An Insider’s Guide to Spending, Saving, and Living Wisely,” by Jonathan Dahl. Walton Law Firm thought you might like to see the list: 1.…
Last year, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration began investigating allegations that some nursing homes were dispensing powerful narcotics to nursing home residents without a physician order. Because of the new scrutiny, however, nursing home and hospice trade organizations are arguing that many patients are now being left without pain medication…
In 2007, Dr. David Graham, a drug safety expert with the FDA, testified before Congress and stated that approximately 15,000 people die each year in U.S. nursing homes from the off-label use of anti-psychotic drugs. Off-label use is the use of the drug for a condition it was not intended.…
This story is flat-out disturbing, and started with a concern we have heard many times from the families of our nursing home abuse clients. It began with Phyllis Peters could not wake up her 97-year-old mother, who was residing in Kern Valley Nursing Home. When she complained to Gwen Hughes,…
The Chicago Tribune recently published a brief article called 5 Things to Know about Psychotropics, which I thought I would pass along to you. Here are the five things: Your rights: A nursing facility cannot administer a psychotropic drug without a physician’s order, which by law requires informed consent and…
The administrator of Kern Valley Hospital was charged eight counts of felony elder abuse this week after permitting caregivers to forcibly administer psychotropic drugs to residents out of convenience and not medical necessity. One resident died because of the practice. Since 2006 the director of nursing at Lake Isabella nursing…
Three California nursing home employees were arrested yesterday for allegedly injecting 22 residents with mood-altering drugs to keep them quiet and restrained. According to the criminal complaint, a nursing director, a pharmacist, and a physician drugged the residents in order to keep them compliant and easier to care for. Three…
New research shows that elderly people suffering from dementia who are given antipsychotic drugs are more likely to end up in a hospital or die, even if the drugs are administered for a very short period of time. Antipsychotic drugs are frequently used in nursing homes to address the behavioral…