Nursing Home Neglect

grayscale photography of human hands

In the Beginning (and why most long term care malpractice happens in the first two weeks)
In the Beginning (and why most long term care malpractice happens in the first two weeks) 533 800 Lauren Ellerman

No, I don’t have a statistic from a Center for Medicare Medicaid Services to support the following statement, but I do have my 2023 long term care cases that support it 100%: Most malpractice occurs in a long term care facility, within two weeks of admission or re-admission. Imagine the…

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Why words matter in Nursing Home Contracts
Why words matter in Nursing Home Contracts 150 150 Lauren Ellerman

If you were a Fox News fan in the early days (or just a general consumer of news and media) no doubt the name and face of Gretchen Carlson rings a bell. She was one of the network’s early stars – smart, attractive and often on screen discussing the difficult…

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Regulations and Virginia Nursing Homes
Regulations and Virginia Nursing Homes 150 150 Lauren Ellerman

I visit nursing homes with some frequency. When I walked into one two weeks ago, I noticed the fake flowers in the entry way. I notice the clean carpet and residents sitting in wheelchairs near the front windows. I didn’t see, and didn’t expect to see a copy of the…

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No staffing requirements in Virginia Nursing Homes
No staffing requirements in Virginia Nursing Homes 150 150 Lauren Ellerman

This week I shared a fact on our firm’s Facebook page: Virginia does not having minimum staffing requirements for nursing homes. This means, it is technically legal for a facility to accept 120 residents, and only have 1 RN, 2 LPNs and 2 CNAs that can care for these patients per…

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Dehydration in Virginia nursing home patients – yes, we have a problem
Dehydration in Virginia nursing home patients – yes, we have a problem 150 150 Lauren Ellerman

My four year old gets dehydrated easily – I must encourage and remind her to drink her water. With encouragement (and a glass or bottle of cold clean water) she will drink up.My Mother (sorry Mom, telling on you too) gets dehydrated easily – but, with encouragement, and an ice…

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Pressure Ulcers / Injuries in Virginia Nursing Homes
Pressure Ulcers / Injuries in Virginia Nursing Homes 150 150 Lauren Ellerman

Again, this week, I received a call from someone who was shocked to learn their Mother had developed significant pressure ulcers at a local nursing home, and now they were infected.Pressure Ulcers have gone by many names is the last 10-15 years: bed sores; pressure sores; pressure ulcers, and now…

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Retirement Planning and Continuing Care Communities: Myth v. Reality
Retirement Planning and Continuing Care Communities: Myth v. Reality 150 150 Lauren Ellerman

Our local business magazine just ran a thorough and thoughtful article on retirement planning. It shows pictures of youthful seniors doing water aerobics, swinging on a lake-side hammock and more. The article highlights idyllic retirement where assets cover comfortable living and seniors have choices. Yes, some people (those blessed with good…

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Why nursing home policies and procedures are so important
Why nursing home policies and procedures are so important 150 150 Lauren Ellerman

Have you every heard the phrase – honesty is the best policy? It is an ironic truism. True, because honesty is always preferable to the opposite, dishonesty, and yet ironic because why do we as humans need a policy (a written rule) encouraging honesty? Shouldn’t honesty be innate? Shouldn’t we know…

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Use of Haldol for dementia / Alzheimer’s patients in nursing homes
Use of Haldol for dementia / Alzheimer’s patients in nursing homes 150 150 Lauren Ellerman

So the FDA says the following about using Haldol for a dementia / Alzheimer’s patient in a nursing home. Read it carefully, the language is not soft but very clear: WARNING Increased Mortality in Elderly Patients with Dementia-Related Psychosis: Elderly patients with dementia-related psychosis treated with antipsychotic drugs are at an…

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Can a patient’s family call 911 in a nursing home?
Can a patient’s family call 911 in a nursing home? 150 150 Lauren Ellerman

We get questions like the following, all the time:“I am worried about my loved one in the nursing home. I asked the nurse to call the rescue squad and she said she couldn’t – waiting for a doctor’s order. What can I do?”or“I told the nurse I was so worried about…

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