Mobile Personal Injury Lawyer - Nursing Home & Elder Abuse - Latest Comments

A comment on New Website to Help Families Learn About Nursing Homes

Becka Livesay — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 12:45:23 GMT

Hi! Thanks for blogging about NCCNHR! We really appreciate your interest in our organization. Did you know that this is the most significant congressional session for long-term care consumers since 1987, when the Nursing Home Reform Law was enacted? We would appreciate any contributions you or your readers can provide to make sure we can continue our advocacy work. Please visit our website to donate online: More ... /donate." rel="nofollow">More ...

I also wanted to make your blog subscribers aware of our free one-year trial membership. You are eligible if you’ve never been a member or weren’t a member in 2008 or 2009. To take advantage of this offer just go to More ... and click on "Join Us."

We hope you’ll check us out (and continue blogging about us)!

Thanks,

NCCNHR Board & Staff

A comment on New Website to Help Families Learn About Nursing Homes

Facebook User — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 09:55:14 GMT

If consumers want a website on long term care issues, in particular planning ahead for long term care neesd, visit the US Department of Health and Human Services' website, More ...

A comment on Contact You Congressman to Pass the Fairness in Nursing Home Arbitration Act

J W Wayne — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 20:07:25 GMT

Billy,

I will contact my Senator, but the purpose will be to ask him to vote against this bill. I note you want to "ensure that the resident or his or her representative could voluntarily choose arbitration after a dispute arose." You go on to explain that if arbitration is fair, it can be chosen after a dispute arises. But, who will advise the plaintiff that arbitration is a good, fair and equible means of dispute resolution? Attorneys make their living by litigating, not arbitrating. I have arbitrated several disputes in business and personally and found them to work out well ... and much faster and cheaper then litigating the disputes. One was with a cable tv company, which I won everything I asked for, and the second was a contractual dispute with a contractor in which I ended up with more then I demanded because the arbitrators found construction defects that my attorney and his experts missed. It is interesting that my attorney didn't want to arbitrate, I had to insist that he file a motion to demand the contractor arbitrate, even though it was his arbitration clause in the contract, inwhich he stipulated the arbitration rules and demanded that I agree without negotiation. The arbitration company he picked was the one that found in my favor. I'm now entirely sold on arbitration.

A comment on Contact You Congressman to Pass the Fairness in Nursing Home Arbitration Act

JILL PAUL RN — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 19:32:56 GMT

Billy, thank you for bringing this bill to our attention. Senate bill 512 should definitely be passed. Ditto The Medical Device Safety Act. Please email your Congressmen/Women and Senators and ask for their support of these 2 bills. We need them both passed now. Thank you.

A comment on Nursing Home Direct Care Givers are Essential to Good Care

Mike Bryant — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 14:37:45 GMT

When you look at it close it really makes sense. The residents have gone from their homes and self sufficiency to less control and in the care of others. The still want their dignity. Being nice to people never really gets old.

A comment on Nursing Home Caregivers Strike

Facebook User — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 18:49:19 GMT

I Just Read this and I am very unhappy...We are being abuse by Nursing home owner(Cant say)for giving good care to the elderly...its so wrong...we're getting paid peanuts and while all the money goes into his pockets.

A comment on Best Nursing Homes and Tips to Help Find Them

delpha terrell — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:24:20 GMT

I was a nurse for 30 years in utah you would think with the church running this state we would love and cherish everyone 25 years ago I did a documentery with a local station KSL it was called "out of sight out of mind" it won awards but changed nothing I don't know how bad it is in other states but the way we treat nursing home patients we might as well rename them concentration camps. my son was only 12 when I made the documentery by the time he was 19 he had full blown Huntington's he had to be placed in a nursing home because I was a single parent and the government would rather pay these hell holes $4000 a month than make it possilbe for me to stay home and take care of him myself on top of the Huntington's he was raped by an orderly and had all his teeth knocked out because they restrained him in a wheelchair and he threw himself forward on a cement floor it is sad to say but a good percentage of people in the US just put people away and forget them they talk about the health care system being broken it's not just the health care system it's the massive apathy that people have towards thier loved ones we fought a war to free people in concentration camps but most people don't even visit thier family not even on holidays in nursing homes only people can change this because nursing homes have powerful lobbyists nursing homes are warned before state inspections and they will hire anyone a warm body to work there ,there are some good people who take care of your loved ones but it's only because they are good people the pay is lousy and if you had your choice which would you rather do serve a hamburger or change an adults messy diaper the ones who really do care are saints but there are very few of those I can tell you one horror story after another. older people are interesting and lonely and if people would slow down and talk with them volluteer so you can see what really goes on in these places than maybe things would change there are administrators and owners that should all be in jail but like the show stated out of sight out of mind, we need to stop looking at whats happening in other countries to helpless people and take a good hard look at ourselves,all I can say at this point is shame on us!

A comment on Congress Considering Nursing Home Reform

DebCalvert — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 00:09:17 GMT

Sun Healthcare Group Inc owns hundreds of nursing homes in America -Sunbridge Newport was the one I mentioned below.

Deborah Calvert, Newport Beach, California

A comment on Congress Considering Nursing Home Reform

DebCalvert — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 00:08:00 GMT

Meddical review written by Dr L Scott Stoney in Newport Beach, California regarding the horrific situation my mother Evelyn Calvert died in:

There are several incidences of concern in this patients' case which should be noticed. The frequency of her recurrent pneumonia is concerning as well as the type of pneumonia which she developed were concerning. The infection incidence at Sunbridge Newport was monitored quarterly and it was noted over the national average during infection control meeting in the final quarter of the year 2003. As I was medical director for this facility I had request further evaluation by the staff to the etiology of this occurrence within the facility. Multiple families had complained about this problem. Unfortunately, the administration did not take due diligence in ameliorating this problem in 2003. Lack of sufficient ventilation contributes to pneumonia. This was a sentinel event; however the administration continued to give both patients families and the undersigned a variety of excuses why it was "taking some time" to fix this problem. Upon review of the medical record, it is medically probably that this patients recurrent pneumonia (especially MRSA) was related to the physical facility.
There is another incidence of concern. Blood pressure monitoring cuffs which were not working in Sunbridge Newport in 2003. This, again, was a sentinel event and of grave concern. As medical director, this was an extraordinary event which prompted my immediate reaction as Medical Director to request the administration immediately order new blood pressure equipment for the safety of the patients within the facility. I was subsequently directly in contact from my Newport Beach private practice office with Bureau of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse Special Agent Supervisor Joseph Fendrick to discuss this matter. Unfortunately this was too late for Mrs. Evelyn Calvert, she arrived 7/16/04 to the emergency room in again respiratory distress and she died. Due to the limited response of the administration to meet patient needs, I resigned from Sunbridge Newport Rehabilitation in March, 2004 and gave sixty day notice of my termination as Medical Director from the facility. It is my opinion, as a Board Certified physician ..... that this patients death is within medical probability aggravated or in causation by the failure of the ventilator system within Sunbridge Newport as well as the failure of the blood pressure monitoring devices within the facility.

At this time Sun Healthcare was committed to a Calif State Injuction not to have any broken equipment or lack staffing again due to killing patients in Burlingame, Calif. in 2001. However Claude Vanderwold told my attorney and I in 2007 this facility was not even considered in the $2.5 Million fine they prosecuted Sun Healthcare Group Inc. for in 2005.

This isn't rocket science.

Deborah Calvert daughter of the late Evelyn Calvert
and former assistant to Buzz Aldrin

A comment on No Arbitration in Nurisng Homes Cases In Illinois

Mike Bryant — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 22:57:12 GMT

Very important and major victory for consumers with this ruling. Great post and explanation.