New Mexico Nursing Home Advocate News : New Mexico Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers & Attorneys : Harvey Law Firm : Neglect, Resident Rights : Albuquerque, Los Alamos, Santa Fe

Resources and guidelines on health, wellness, and caregiving are available from the National Institute on Aging, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health.  The NIA website contains information on clinical trials, research programs and now over 125 free booklets, fact sheets and other materials that can be downloaded and printed on topics such as:

• Healthy aging
• Exercise and physical activity
• Sleep
• Choosing a doctor
• Dietary supplements
• Materials to help with the challenges of caring for a parent, partner, or friend. 
• Tip sheets on legal, financial, and medical issues

NIA also has a website for Spanish-speaking users.  I have frequently been asked where to find this sort of information, which is widely available online. Most of us just don’t know where to look. 

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PBS has launched a segment called “The Watch List,” which recently featured an investigation into care facilities in private residences. The segment examined the increasing popularity of these residences, which are marketed as homey alternatives to nursing homes. Unlike nursing homes, residential care or “assisted living” facilities are not federally regulated. 

The segment featured the stories of two residents: one died of advanced pressure sores and the other suffered extensive burns after a caregiver handed her a lit cigarette while she was hooked up to oxygen.  

A November 2009 report by The Program on Aging & Long-Term Care Policy at Texas A&M University, also featured in the segment, concluded:

“[t]he universal lack of resources, the enormous variation across jurisdictions, and the low priority given to elder abuse and neglect make it difficult to see how significant progress can be made without some federal standards and financial support for investigating, detecting, resolving and preventing elder abuse in residential care.”

Of particular interest to me was the segment’s take on a recent Seattle Times investigation, “Seniors for Sale,” which exposed hundreds of injuries and deaths in adult homes in Washington and explored the marketing of adult residential facilities as good money-making ventures.

The idea that our elderly are commodities is unfortunately not unique to the residential care industry, but is uniquely disturbing because of the lack of oversight and regulation. In my experience representing the victims of abuse and their families, this lack of regulation has led to a lack of knowledge by the owners and caregivers of how to provide proper care and a dangerous situation for the residents.  

WARNING: the video segment contains images which some might find upsetting.

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This week, the Santa Fe New Mexican featured a story about two pending lawsuits against Santa Fe nursing homes operated by Texas-based nursing home corporation Cathedral Rock. The article featured interviews with Harvey Law Firm owner, Dusti Harvey, and her clients, the family of Mary Abeyta.

Ms. Abeyta died in March 2008 at Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center at the age of 84. “[T]he family claims the stitches in her forehead, pressure sores on her tailbone as well as dehydration, weight loss and malnutrition were the fault of the nursing home.”

“It’s difficult to put someone you love in a nursing home," said Laura Jean Abeyta, a St. Michael's grad who works as a juvenile probation officer in Española. "She was our gift, we trusted this place to take care of her."

The story also featured interviews with Regional Ombudsman Gail Trotter and U.S. attorney Dorothy McMurty, who handled the criminal case in Missouri against Cathedral Rock, which I discussed in a previous post.

McMurtry, Harvey and Trotter all emphasized the importance of family vigilance. "The best nursing home is the one closest to your home," said Harvey. Trotter meanwhile urged family and residents to “speak up, tell somebody what's going on."

The story also contains links to the following helpful websites:

• New Mexico Aging and Long-Term Care Ombudsman's Office
• National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care
• Department of Health
• Medicare/Medicaid Nursing Home ratings website

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A recent New York Times article, Doctor Leads Quest for Safer Ways to Care for Patients, highlights the critical importance of hand-washing in patient safety. Although the article is directed at patient safety in hospitals, the same principle applies to nursing homes. 

According to this article, most hospital doctors only wash their hands 30-40% of the time! Even the doctors at the better hospitals only wash their hands 70% of the time. Dr. Peter J. Pronovost of Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore implemented a checklist that required hand-washing and empowered nurses to enforce the checklist. As a result of the checklist, infection rates went down to almost zero.

In our cases, we have heard stories from nurses and CNAs about how budget cuts have led to a shortage of sterile gloves, which are necessary for many routine procedures. We’ve heard about nursing staff having to reuse gloves on different patients while doing wound dressing changes. We’ve heard about people doing peri-care without hand-washing either before or after the process. For a person who has a weak immune system, a facility-acquired infection can be deadly. 

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We have grown deeply concerned about nursing homes in New Mexico owned by a national company called “Fundamental.” The Harvey Law Firm is currently pursuing several lawsuits against various “Fundamental” nursing homes:

Vida Encantada in Las Vegas (four cases)

• A woman died in 2006 after suffering from unexplained leg fractures, infected pressure sores, malnutrition and dehydration. Records show that she was incontinent and suggest that she may have been left laying in urine and feces for prolonged periods of time.

• A man died in 2007 after suffering from falls, numerous pressure sores, infection and contractures.

• A woman died in 2007 after suffering from pressure sores, dehydration and malnutrition.

• A woman died in 2008 after suffering from a lack of oral hygiene, dehydration, urinary tract infections, contractures and pressure sores.

Valle Norte in Albuquerque (closed in 2008)

• A woman died in 2008 after suffering from numerous unexplained falls leading to fractures, lack of hygiene and a failure to communicate abnormal lab results to her doctor.

Albuquerque Care Center

• A woman who needed full assistance died in 2008 after suffering from unexplained fractures and infected pressure sores.

Casa Maria in Roswell

• A woman died in 2007 after her son arrived at the nursing home earlier in the day to find his mother in acute pain and suffering from a leg fracture.

We are interested in talking to any potential witnesses, either employees or other family members with loved ones in any of these nursing homes, who may assist our investigations into these incidents. 

These nursing facilities currently owned by "Fundamental" were also owned by companies called "THI" or "Trans Healthcare."

In order to conduct your own investigation into a nursing home, you can visit the Nursing Home Compare website.
 

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A recent study reported in the New York Times found that within 3 months of moving into a nursing home, 71% of Florida nursing home residents who received Medicare were being medicated with psychoactive medications--anti-depressants, anti-psychotics, or dementia medication. 

The study, which was published in the Journals of Gerontology by researchers at the University of South Florida, found that the majority of these residents--64%--had not been taking these kinds of medications before they moved into the nursing home.  A majority of them--71%--had not had any psychiatric diagnosis whatsoever within six months before moving into the nursing home.

Disturbingly, 15% of these residents were taking more than four psychoactive medications. 

While nursing home residents are certainly vulnerable to mental health issues, this study's results seem to suggest that many facilities, lacking sufficient staff, turn to medication, rather than hands-on care, to address residents' mental health needs.  In fact, only 12% of those residents were getting other forms of mental health care. 

Another concern, as the study's lead author, Dr. Victor Molinari, told the Times, with this rate of medication, is that “it could well be that we’re causing problems like falls, confusion and delirium, and hospitalizations.”  

If you have a loved one in a nursing home, do not be afraid to ask questions about the medications they are taking, the reasons why the medications are being prescribed,  the possible interactions or side effects of those medications, and the alternatives available. 

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The United States Department of Justice recently settled a case against the nation’s largest nursing home pharmacy, Omnicare Inc., and drug manufacturer IVAX Pharmaceuticals, which concerned an alleged kickback scheme involving prescription medications for nursing home residents.

Disturbingly, the DOJ suit alleged that one kickback scheme centered on Johnson & Johnson and their prescription anti-psychotic medication, Risperdal. The DOJ alleged that Omnicare sought and received kickbacks from Johnson & Johnson in exchange for recommending that physicians prescribe Risperdal to nursing home patients.

Risperdal is an antipsychotic that is often given to elderly patients who are suffering from dementia. Unfortunately, there are great dangers of using this medication in this population. Also, there is little evidence that's effective for treating Alzheimer’s patients’ aggression or delusions.

However, a recent Times article notes, when nursing homes are short staffed, it may be easier for staff to sedate the patients, or give them antipsychotics, instead of providing additional hands-on care.

Please do not be afraid to ask questions about the number and kinds of medications you or your loved one are taking. 

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