The Covid-19 pandemic has “stoked” the spread of elder abuse, according to a recent report by the Wall Street Journal. Citing findings by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and a study by Yale University researchers, the report observes that “the number of elder-fraud victims increased 55% between 2019 and 2020,” while more than 20% of […]
Elder Population Studies
Nursing Homes: Low Salaries, Insufficient Staff, and Soaring Profits
Corporate nursing homes may provide lower quality care to its residents and low salaries for its meager staff but they appear to be doing well when it comes to turning a profit. According to ABC News, some for-profit nursing homes are in violation of the Fair Labors Standards Act for the horrific and exploitative way […]
Northern Metropolitan Residential Health Care Facility Cited for Pressure Sores
Northern Metropolitan Residential Health Care Facility received 17 citations for violations of public health code between 2016 and 2020, according to New York State Department of Health records accessed on February 13, 2020. The Monsey nursing home’s citations resulted from a total of two surveys by state inspectors. The deficiencies they describe include the following: 1. […]
Dry Harbor Nursing Home Cited over Pressure Ulcer
DRY Harbor Nursing Home received 25 citations for violations of public health laws between 2015 and 2019, according to New York State Department of Health records accessed on December 19, 2019. The Maspeth nursing home’s citations resulted from a total of three inspections by state surveyors. The violations they describe include the following: 1. The nursing […]
US News & World Report: Top-Rated New York Nursing Homes
US News & World Report released their annual rankings for 15,000 nursing homes across the country. The ratings are calculated using data on staffing, success in preventing emergency room visits and repeat hospitalizations, the rates of pneumonia and flu immunizations, antipsychotic use, and other factors. Rankings for each nursing home are calculated both for “short-term” […]
Health Affairs: The State of The Nursing Home Industry
In a detailed piece on Health Affairs, David G. Stevenson dissects the current issues facing the nursing home industry and the government’s role in overseeing the unwieldy, complex industry. Beginning with the failed hope of the Nursing Home Reform Act, signed into law more than 30 years ago with the purpose of ensuring nursing homes […]
Senate Releases List of 400 Troubled Nursing Homes
Senators released a list of 400 nursing homes with a ‘persistent record of poor care,’ according to the federal legislators. These nursing homes are not included in the federal government’s “special focus facilities” a list of nursing homes released by the government each year indicating poor care and unsafe conditions. According to the Senators, the […]
New York Knew of Nursing Home’s Leaky Roof for Seven Years
New York nursing home regulators knew an upstate nursing home’s roof leaked for four years before finally forcing the owner to fix the safety hazard. According to Syracuse.com, the state Health Department inspection records show reports of “water-stained ceiling tiles” and “a hose running down from the ceiling of a resident’s room into a rusty […]
New Tool to Prevent Elder Abuse in Nursing Homes: Webcams
Webcams are becoming popular in nursing rooms across the country as families see it as an easy way to check on their loved ones and prevent neglect and elder abuse. Driven by the increased use of security cameras across the country and their reduced prices, webcams are popping up across the country and, when used […]
Top Nursing Homes in New York Less Likely to Admit Poor People
Top ranking nursing homes in New York are less likely to admit poor residents despite a state and a federal ban on discriminating against the ability to pay during admissions. According to a recent analysis by The Buffalo News, New York nursing homes routinely deny admission to poor New Yorkers on Medicaid. A reason for […]
Study: Veterans with TBI are Twice as Likely to Develop Dementia
A recent study of veterans with traumatic brain injuries (or TBI) are twice as likely to develop dementia later in life. The expansive study by the United States Military showed that traumatic brain injuries can be more harmful than previously thought. According to the CDC, a traumatic brain injury is “a disruption in the normal […]
The State of America’s Nursing Home Industry
In an exhaustive report by Care.com on the current state of America’s nursing home industry, the well-researched guide compiles data from various private studies, data published by the government, and even included a recent analysis of approximately 1,000 Medicare patients. While the detailed and illuminating guide to elder care facilities is worth reading in full, […]
New Patient Driving Pricing Model Will Lead to Less Fraud
Medicare’s transition to a new pricing model will reduce the risk of fraud, but likely lower the quality of care for some patients. A report by Skilled Nursing News begins by detailing the new payment scheme implemented by Medicare named Patient-Driven Payment Model, or PDPM. Under PDPM’s new pricing structure, Medicare sets reimbursement rates according […]
Kansas Tightens Nursing Home Regulations, Cracks Down on Abusive Operators
While most states continue ignoring the widespread nursing home abuse problem in America, Kansas recently passed legislation cracking down on nursing homes and exploitative nursing home operators. The legislation passed unanimously by a Republican legislator in response to a particularly dire situation in the state. According to The Kansas City Star, the state took over […]
Inspection Reveals Pervasive Neglect at Veteran Affairs Nursing Homes
The Department of Veteran Affairs released its first report on the status of its nursing homes this month and the results show widespread neglect and abuse at the government-run facilities, perhaps even worse than the well-documented problems seen in its private-care counterpart. The federal government is responsible for caring for the country’s 40,000 veterans and, […]
A Better Approach Pressure Sores
An expert on pressure injuries, also called bedsores or pressure injuries, recommends nursing homes adopt a more individualized approach to preventing and treating the painful and sometimes deadly sores. In an opinion-editorial in McKnight’s Long-Term Care News, Jean Wendland Porter, Regional Director of Therapy Operations at Diversified Health Partners, discusses problems commonly associated with pressure […]
Despite Record of Poor Care, New York Approves Nursing Home Owners
New York State routinely allows nursing home owners with a record of poor care and government fines to operate more long-term care facilities in the state, according to a report by The Buffalo News. Speaking to the upstate newspaper, Toby Edelman at the Center for Medicare Advocacy described the problem as a “disturbing but all-too-familiar […]
Corporate Takeover of Nursing Home Industry Causing Bankruptcies, Closings, and Poor Care
The nursing home industry continues to reshape itself as small, independent nursing homes focused on providing high-quality care are rapidly replaced with corporate conglomerates seeking to maximize the profits. Predictably, the harmful effects of the profit-seeking model have only amplified in the last year. According to industry analysts, the ownership structure of nursing home conglomerates […]
Federal Government To Begin Cracking Down on Short-Staffed Nursing Homes
The federal government announced this month that it will begin performing more surprise inspections at nursing homes in an effort to crack down on nursing homes with inadequate staffing. According to the government, these surprise inspections will be done on Saturdays and Sundays at nursing homes with records of insufficient nursing staff on the weekends. […]
Criticism Grows Over New York Department of Health’s “Oversight” of Nursing Homes
Only two weeks after putting a Buffalo nursing home under conservatorship, the New York Department of Health announced that Emerald North and Emerald South Nursing and Rehabilitation Center will be closing their doors. The closure follows a long line of missteps and scandals by the formerly for-profit nursing homes, according to The Buffalo News. In […]
As For-Profit Nursing Homes Increase, Quality of Patient Care Decreases
A rarity only a few decades ago, nursing homes operating for profit have exploded across the country. According to NPQ, for-profit nursing homes account for over 70 percent of all facilities across the country. According to elder care advocates, the rapid takeover of the nursing home system has harmed America’s vulnerable senior citizens. Instead of […]
Medicare Lowers Ratings for Short-Staffed Nursing Homes
In response to insufficient medical and nursing staff, Medicare has lowered ratings for 1 out of every 11 nursing homes across the country. The lowered ratings come after the government agency retooled the way it calculates the nursing staff at each nursing home. Under the new method, which requires nursing homes to submit payroll information […]
More Americans Enter Nursing Homes, Regulations Diminish
After increased regulation under the Obama administration, President Trump has whittled away at federal regulations targeting nursing homes and meant to prevent nursing home abuse across the country. At the same time, the country’s aging population is putting more senior citizens in nursing homes. According to research by Morningstar, by 2020, a full 40 percent […]
A Glaring Gap in Nursing Staff Levels at Nursing Homes
The government recently adopted a more accurate measurement for determining when a nursing home has sufficient staffing levels and the results show a glaring problem across the nursing home industry. According to Kaiser Health News, the new method of recording hospital staffing shows a 12 percent decrease in hospital staffs. Further, there seems to be […]
Elderly a Common Target for Scammers, Financial Abuse
According to Consumer Reports, approximately 500,000 senior citizens lose over $36 billion each year to scammers who target them for financial abuse. Despite the widespread problem and illegality, only 5,000 confirmed cases were reported last year to states. With the population of America aging, authorities expect the problem to grow even worse and hope to […]
