Articles Posted in Elder Abuse

A nurse has pled guilty to drugging her Alzheimer’s patients for no apparent reason other than to keep them quiet during her work shifts, reports The Herald Sun. Sadly, the nurse’s illegal, unethical, and unprofessional behavior led to one elderly patient’s tragic death. The elderly woman, Rachel Holliday, 84, died of pneumonia brought about by morphine toxicity. Six other patients also were hospitalized due to the nurse’s wrongful actions.

The nurse, Angela Almore, plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter and six counts of patient abuse. Though she sobbed throughout the hearing, she did not speak specifically about her crimes or apologize for her actions. Almore, who is a registered nurse, was working in the Alzheimer’s unit on February 13 and 14, 2010. According to the district attorney’s office, she made statements indicating she did not want to see her patients on those nights and that she had given them something to “relax.” She even bragged “‘she [had] knocked all their asses out.’”

In fact, the nurse had drugged her patients with strong opiates. All 14 patients in the unit tested positive for opiates, but only 1 of them had been prescribed morphine. One elderly woman, Rachel Holliday, went into acute respiratory distress on the night of February 14th. She, too, tested positive for opiates, though she had never been prescribed the drug. Several other patients in the Alzheimer’s unit exhibited signs of respiratory problems and lethargy. All of them tested positive for opiates; none of them had prescriptions for the powerful drugs. Ms. Holliday and her fellow residents were rushed to the hospital, but for Ms. Holliday, it was too late. She died from complications created by the un-prescribed morphine.

A California health care facility has undertaken a controversial move, reports San Diego 10 News. The Vista Gardens facility, a home for Alzheimer’s and dementia patients, recently installed surveillance cameras in patient rooms. The home claims the cameras are meant to protect patients specifically suffering from memory loss. Our San Diego elder abuse lawyers know many families worry about the safety of their loved ones living in long-term residential facilities. The home’s $200,000 worth of surveillance cameras protect “those who can’t report for themselves and need monitoring or safety measures,” stated Dr. Jacqueline Dupont of Vista Gardens.

Vista Gardens is a posh facility that includes a number of amenities such as a sports bar, spa, and putting green. It is family owned and operated. Owner Don Crowell explained that the cameras, which currently are not operational, serve a two-pronged function because they protect both the residents and the caregivers. “‘Two different things can happen,’ said Crowell. ‘Somebody has been abused or somebody may think they’ve been abused and they haven’t.’”

Under California law, cameras can be used to monitor residents in common areas such as hallways or dining facilities. For the moment, the cameras installed in patient bedrooms must remain off, according to the California Department of Social Services. One elder advocate stated the cameras in patient rooms are designed to be used as a “look back,” and are appropriate if used in that way. This means the cameras would be rolling, but no one would monitor them in real time. The film would only be reviewed if a problem were raised. However, an appropriate balance must be found between health and safety, and the patient’s right to privacy, said the State Department of Social Services. Michael Weston, spokesman for the California Department of Social Services, said he expects there to be decision regarding the use of cameras in private living areas of licensed community care facilities within the next few months.

A lawsuit has been filed against a Redlands retirement facility for allegedly failing to provide the quality of services promised to an elderly resident, reports the Redlands Daily Facts. The complaint also alleges the facility, Mission Commons Retirement Residence, is not staffed or operated in compliance with California law. Our San Bernardino elder neglect lawyers work with families in many surrounding communities and often hear from families that are concerned about the care their loved ones are receiving in California nursing homes and long-term care facilities. It is natural to have such concerns, and while we cannot endorse any one way to locate an appropriate facility, we do recommend doing as much research as possible on the nursing homes in your area and making site visits to those facilities.

According to the lawsuit against the Redlands retirement home, former resident Jack K. Hanson, Sr. lived at the independent and assisted living facility from June 2009 until his death in April 2011. His family says that residents at the facility do not receive the quality of services they pay for. Initially, Mr. Hanson paid $5,000 per month to live at the facility. In exchange, Mission Commons Retirement Residence promised to provide care that complied with California law and the level of care described in its “Admissions Agreement,” which was signed by both parties.

When he first entered the facility, Mr. Hanson was part of Mission Commons’ independent living facility. However, as his condition worsened, his family agreed to pay more money, $5,500 a month, to move him to another part of the facility with the promise of better care. The complaint, filed in the Los Angeles County Superior Court, claims the elderly man suffered a fracture and pressure sores due to the negligent care he received. Those injuries, as well as general neglect, allegedly led to the man’s death.

A nursing home patient with a history of wandering died in the cold, reports the Belleville News Democrat. Last month, the 77-year-old man walked away from the home where he was staying and later died. He had also wandered off two other times in the weeks and months prior to his final disappearance. Our San Diego nursing home abuse attorneys know that wandering can lead to serious injury or even death for people with memory impairment such as Alzheimer’s disease or dementia.

The state health department reported that despite the man’s previous wandering behavior, the senior—who suffered from dementia, kidney failure, and heart disease—was not wearing a patient monitoring device. The care plan established by the nursing facility also failed to address the man’s prior attempts to leave the home. The man’s body was found in a creek one block south of the nursing home. The temperature dropped to below freezing on the night he disappeared. He died of hypothermia, likely several hours after he wandered off.

Approximately an hour after the man was last seen, the police were contacted, and an extensive search was undertaken. The police immediately searched around the facility, conducted a second search at midnight, and then conducted a third search by helicopter in the early morning hours. Despite these efforts, the man’s body was not found until two days later.

Our San Diego nursing home abuse attorneys know that for every senior death in California, a number of them are suspicious deaths which should be investigated, but rarely are. Since these deaths typically are not analyzed appropriately, the death certificates in such cases frequently contain incorrect information. Theses mistakes can act to cover up instances of serious California elder abuse or mistreatment.

For more than a year, reports ProPublica, an investigation has been ongoing into senior deaths across the nation. The results of the investigation are appalling. ProPublica reveals that when it comes to senior deaths, “the system errs by omission.”

For example, Joseph Shepter, a retired U.S. government scientist, resided in a nursing home in Mountain Mesa, California, for the final years of his life. Nothing about Mr. Shepter’s death seemed unusual. A stroke and dementia had left him significantly impaired. When he passed away in 2007 at age 76, the nursing home’s chief medical officer listed his death as natural, which meant there would be no further investigation.

Last summer, our San Diego elder abuse attorney explained that state budget cuts threatened to do away with California’s Adult Day Health Care (ADHC) system. The system was established in the 1970s, partially as a response to stories of nursing home abuse or neglect. According to a report in the San Jose Mercury News, the cuts that many seniors, their caretakers, and elder advocates have feared for months will take effect on December 1, 2011.

The cuts will eliminate funding for day programs for thousands of seniors and the disabled. Some relatives fear that they now will have to institutionalize their loved ones. Others worry that they will have to quit their jobs or reduce their workload in a job market that is not tolerant of the need for flexibility. At the same time, an increase in San Diego elder abuse or neglect could occur as many seniors are institutionalized or transitioned into programs where initially caretakers will not be familiar with individual residents’ needs.

California’s ADHC system was initially designed to be a cost effective way to keep elders healthy while still enabling them to remain in the community. Seniors involved in the program typically attend adult day care centers a few days per week, which allow them to participate in group activities and exercise. Qualified personnel such as nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists, and social workers are generally present to help address any medical needs.

The threat of budget cuts has already caused 23 adult day care centers to close this year. Three others plan to close by the end of November. At the end of the year, according to the San Jose Mercury News, the state will end $169 million in annual Medi-Cal funding for 35,000 people in 287 adult day health care programs throughout California, that is, unless a pending lawsuit blocks the state’s plan.

Despite the concerns of staff currently working at adult day care programs, state leaders say there are alternatives to institutionalization or to family members bearing the entire burden of caring for their loved ones. State leaders are transitioning elders and disabled individuals into Medi-Cal managed care plans. They also hope to expand programs that help coordinate care and provide in-home services and other support. Norman Williams, spokesman for the California Department of Health Care Services, stated that the department’s “top goal is to make sure recipients are transferred into services that meet their needs and allow them to remain in the community.”

However, Disability Rights California and other groups have sued the state, seeking a preliminary injunction to block the budget cuts. The lawsuit alleges that the plan will deprive people of their rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) because it fails to do enough to enable them to remain in the community and to avoid institutionalization. The ADA prohibits discrimination based on disability and provides protections for Americans who suffer from a “physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity.” As seniors are shuffled around in order to accommodate state budget cuts, North County elder abuse lawsuits also may be filed if elders are harmed during the transition.

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A California nursing home in Los Angeles County was fined $75,000 after state investigators concluded that a patient’s feeding tube had been inserted incorrectly. The 78-year-old patient, who suffered from Alzheimer’s and was also recovering from a stroke, died six days later.

The Los Angeles Times reports that the patient, who was admitted into the Whittier facility in 2008, complained of abdominal pain and of having trouble breathing after the tube was inserted. Shortly after the man arrived at the emergency room, doctors discovered that the man’s stomach was inflamed. The man underwent an operation and was put on a ventilator, but could not be saved.

Feeding tubes are usually categorized by their intended use and the site of insertion. One of the most common types is the gastric feeding tube (also know as a gastrostomy tube or g-tube), which delivers food and medication into a patient’s stomach. Feeding tubes are frequently used when a patient cannot eat or drink because he or she cannot swallow. Though usually rare, a variety of complications can occur, including a loosening of the tube, leaking at the insertion site, which can lead to infection, and irritation at the insertion site. Improper insertion of a feeding tube can lead to serious complications, however, and even death.

At a time when reports of elder abuse are on the rise across the nation, our San Diego elder abuse attorney knows it is important to be aware of the various types of abuse and the associated signs and symptoms.

Typically, elder abuse or neglect is often thought to be physical or sexual. For example, at negligent nursing homes some indicators of physical abuse may include unexplained bruises or signs of use of restraints such as rope burns or other suspicious marks. Neglect can include untreated infections, serious bed sores, or a lack of proper supervision.

Elder financial exploitation is also common. According to the San Jose Mercury News, 563 reports of financial abuse of people over 65 were filed in one central California county in 2010 alone.

For nearly half a century California has been a pioneer in the field of adult day health care, creating a system designed to provide health and social services to the elderly and disabled. The Adult Day Health Care (ADHC) system was established in the 1970s, in part as a response to stories of nursing home abuse or neglect like bed sores, infections, falls, inadequate supervision, misuse of medication, malnutrition, and dehydration.

The California ADHC benefit provided a system of community services to medically needy elderly and disabled individuals by qualified health care providers, including nurses, social workers, and physical therapists. According to an article in the Times-Standard, which called the California legislature’s recent elimination of the ADHC model the “unkindest cut,” the California ADHC benefit served approximately 55,000 seniors and people with disabilities annually. The ADHC benefit aimed to keep elderly loved ones out of institutions while also easing the caretaking duties of family members. Thus, for the past forty years, the California ADHC benefit has protected some of our most vulnerable citizens and has helped to prevent California elder abuse.

Our San Diego elder abuse attorney knows that the recent budget cuts may soon render elderly and disabled citizens more vulnerable. In March of this year, California legislators voted to eliminate the ADHC’s network of support. California is now grappling with its difficult decision and its subsequent, and somewhat hastily assembled, plan to transition elderly and disabled patients who are currently receiving care under the ADHC benefit to alternative facilities and placements. What was once the nation’s “gold standard” for elder care is now placing elders and their families at risk. Seniors who were receiving community care may have to be placed in nursing homes, increasing their risk for abuse and straining the finances of their families.

Most instances of California nursing home neglect are indirectly harmful situations –such as when a resident develops problems like pressure sores or experience a deadly fall because staff members failed to provide close care and observation. However, some instances of outright abuse are also reported. These are situations where nursing home employees engage in knowing or intentional actions that harm these vulnerable residents. Our San Diego nursing home abuse attorney knows that these are often the most stomach-turning cases where justice demands both civil and criminal accountability.

One of the more shocking nursing home abuse cases to be brought to light recently involved an apparent “prank” between employees at a long-term care facility with unsuspecting residents used as the props. According to reports, two nursing home workers at the Valley View Skilled Nursing Facility orchestrated a prank where they apparently rubbed down the bodies of several residents with an ointment. The elderly dementia patients were covered from head to foot with the gel so that they would be slippery when handled. The employees wanted to have a laugh with the evening shift of staff members that were arriving. The workers bizarrely assumed that it would be considered funny for the next crew to have difficulty working with the slippery residents.

Fortunately, some of those who learned about the situation did not find it funny and reported the situation to authorities. The full extent of the situation came out during the investigation. The two leaders of the prank were charged with elder abuse while three other employees were cited for failing to report elder abuse after learning about the situation but staying silent. All five employees had their nursing assistant licenses revoked. The Huffington Post reports that last week two of those employees were also sentenced after being found guilty of California elder abuse. They will each spend 20 days in county jail, will be placed on two year probation, and must perform community service.