Jolly Stewart, 55, a former certified nurse’s aide at the now-closed John J. Foley Skilled Nursing Facility in Suffolk County, New York, was arrested and charged in April 2014 for injuring a 57-year-old quadriplegic patient under her care. Appearing before a judge in Suffolk County District Court, Stewart, a Middle Island resident, was charged with […]
Nursing Home Abuse
Former Nursing Home Employee Admits He Withheld Medication from Blind Alzheimer’s Patient
David Kaproth, 47, of Poughkeepsie, New York, admitted before a judge in April 2014 that he knowingly withheld medication from a 73-year-old blind patient suffering from Alzheimer’s while employed as a licensed practical nurse at he Wingate Dutchess nursing facility in Fishkill, New York. Appearing before Fishkill Town Court Justice Robert Rahemba, Klaproth, who was […]
Report: Mandatory Managed Care in New York May Lead to Poor Care in Nursing Homes
According to a 2013 study conducted by The Long Term Care Community Coalition (LTCCC), an organization dedicated to improving nursing home care in New York, the state’s new Managed Long Term Care (MLTC) policy may reduce the overall quality of care in nursing homes. The report, titled “Mandatory Managed Care in New York State Nursing […]
Investigators: Rochester Home Health Agency Fraudulently Billed Medicaid for $2.5 Million
The New York State Attorney General’s office and Home Health Care of Rochester (HCR), which employs 600 people, reached a $2.5 million settlement in January 2014 after investigators from the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) discovered that the healthcare agency fraudulently billed Medicaid over a period of four years. As part of the settlement, HCR […]
AG: Hidden Camera Investigation Led to the Arrest of 10 Nursing Home Employees Charged with Neglecting Double-Amputee
Ten employees of the Blossom North Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Rochester, New York were arrested in March 2014 for allegedly failing to provide adequate care to an elderly resident who was a double-amputee. According to the New York Attorney General’s office, six nurses and four nursing assistants faced a variety of charges, including Falsifying […]
Former Manager of Home for the Disabled Pleads Guilty to Stealing over $1K from Residents
Samantha Cross, 31, a former assistant manager at Schoharie ARC, a New York home for the disabled, admitted in March 2014 to stealing $1,503 from the residents’ personal allowance funds. Cross, who appeared before Schoharie Town Court Justice Kenneth Knutsen, pled guilty to one count of falsifying business records, a misdemeanor. In addition, Cross admitted […]
Westchester Aide Faces 15 Years in Prison for Death of 86-Year-Old Disabled Nursing Home Patient
Fifty-four year old Maureen Flowers, a certified nurse aide at the Tarrytown Hall Care Center in Westchester, was arrested in July 2013 for allegedly causing the 2012 death of an 86-year-old disabled patient under her care. Flowers, charged with Manslaughter and Criminally Negligent Homicide, faces up to 15 years behind bars if convicted. On February […]
Schnurmacher Center Cited for Failure to Prevent Pressure Sores
Schnurmacher Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing, located in White Plains, was the subject of a Department of Health Certification Survey in July of 2012 for several deficiencies. Among the failurles reported by the DOH was a failure to properly prevent and treat pressure ulcers. The female resident described in the report suffers from high blood […]
Westchester Nursing Home Fails to Prevent Wandering
Westchester Meadows, a nursing home based in Valhalla, NY, drew a deficient rating from the Department of Health in a certification survey dated June of last year. The Department found that the facility failed to keep the resident environment as free of accident hazards as possible. Specifically, the report notes that Westchester Meadows failed to […]
Spring Creek Rehab Receives Citation For Failing to Treat Bedsores
Brooklyn nursing home Spring Creek Rehabilitation and Nursing Care Center made news in September of last year when the Department of Health cited it for failure to prevent and/or heal bedsores (sometimes called pressure sores, pressure ulcers or decubitus ulcers). The finding involved one resident, with the DOH noting that the failure created the potential […]
Brooklyn Nursing Home Fails to Prevent Elopement of 85 Year-Old Dementia Patient
In an April, 2011 deficiency report, the Department of Health cited Hopkins Center for Rehabilitation and Healthcare, a Brooklyn nursing home, for the failure to maintain an environment as free of accident hazards as possible. Specifically, Hopkins failed to ensure that residents at risk for elopement were properly monitored. This failure led to the wandering […]
Resident Chokes to Death at Morris Park Nursing Home in the Bronx
A Bronx long-term-care facility, Morris Park Nursing Home, was recently cited and fined $10,000.00 by the New York State Department of Health. The citation and fine are the result of an incident where a 68 year-old resident choked to death during dinner. Under state and federal law, nursing homes must ensure that the resident environment […]
Brooklyn (NYC) Nursing Home Deficient in Two Areas of Medicine Distribution
Sea-Crest Health Care Center, a Brooklyn based nursing home, was cited by the Department of Health in March of this year for two areas of deficiency. Both of these areas of sub-standard care involved medicinal distribution. More specifically, the facility failed to provide drugs and biologicals, and failed to keep residents free from significant medical […]
New York Elder Law Attorney Report: Medicaid Fraud Control Unit Successfully Prosecutes Bronx CNA
In April of this year, the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) prosecuted Vicky Williams, a CNA who had been employed at Beth Abraham Health Services Facility, for falsifying records of a resident at the home. The resident in question was at risk for wandering and elopement, and in fact did elope from the facility early […]
Department of Health Comparative Study: Queens (NYC) Nursing Home Residents with Bedsores (Pressure Ulcers)
From time to time the Department of Health issues quality comparisons for nursing homes in specific areas of care. One such area is percent of residents at high risk for pressure sores who have pressure sores. This particular survey was conducted in Queens between January and September of 2010. For the time period in question, […]
Rockland County Nursing Home Fails to Properly Treat Pressure Ulcers
Northern Riverview Health Care Center, a Rockland County nursing home, was deficient in providing adequate care to residents according to an April, 2012 certification survey from the Department of Health. Among the numerous violations documented by the Department was a failure to provide proper treatment to prevent or promote the healing of pressure sores. We […]
Brooklyn Nursing Home Cited for Failure to Deliver Mail in a Timely Manner
In a report released April 27, 2012, the Department of Health released its deficiency report for Brooklyn United Methodist Church Home. Amongst several failures in the area of disaster preparedness, the report details that the facility failed to promptly deliver mail to its residents. This right is manifested in the Code of Federal Regulations, 483.10(i)(1). […]
Manhattanville Health Care Center Found Deficient In Pressure Ulcer Prevention And Care
Manhattanville Health Care Center, a Bronx nursing home, was documented in a Department of Health Deficiency Survey for failure to provide proper treatment to prevent and/or heal pressure sores. As we have discussed many times on this blog, pressure ulcers are a grave health risk to elderly individuals; they can lead to a variety of […]
Smithtown Nursing Home Cited for Deficiencies by NYS Department of Health
Saint Catherine of Siena Nursing and Rehabilitation Care Center, located in Smithtown, NY, was cited for deficiencies in a Department of Health survey dated February 12, 2012. Two areas in particular for which the facility received substandard ratings involved medication errors and maintenance. According to federal regulations, a facility must ensure that it maintains a […]
Government Report Documents Under-Reporting of Hospital Errors
A study recently released by the Department of Health and Human Services reports that as few as one out of seven Medicare patients harmed by medical errors and accidents during hospitalizations are reported. The study, performed by HHS inspector general Daniel R. Levinson, claims that the primary cause of the under-reporting is that many hospital […]
N.Y. Nursing Home Fall Attorney Report: Rockland Nursing Home Cited in May Deficiency Report
Northern Riverview Health Care Center in Haverstraw, NY was cited in a Department of Health Deficiency Survey dated May 11, 2011. The DOH cited the facility for numerous violations, including failing to ensure that the facility was free of accident hazards, and failure to develop and implement written policies and procedures that prohibit mistreatment and/or […]
White Plains, NY Elder Lawyer FAQ: What Is Power of Attorney and When Is It Necessary?
Power of attorney, in its simplest form, transfers to the grantee the ability to make authorized legal decisions on behalf of the grantor. Under this general, or ordinary, power of attorney, the agent is authorized to make decisions for the grantor only in specific circumstances. The relationship can be revoked by the grantor, and it […]
Medicare Fraud Crackdown Leads to Charges Across US
A key facet to President Obama’s health care reform initiative has been eliminating health care fraud throughout the United States. Yesterday, charges were announced against 91 individuals, accusing them of fraudulently obtaining approximately $300 million from the Medicare system. One of the most shocking indictments involves a doctor billing Medicare for services provided to the […]
Risk of Dementia Possibly Lessened by Aerobics
A recent study by the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN suggests that increased aerobic activity may be a deterrent to dementia later in life. Additionally, such exercise may serve to impede the development of dementia once it starts. The researchers who conducted the study define exercise as “enough aerobic physical activity to raise the heart […]
Rockland County Nursing Home Fined $24,000 For Various Violations
Northern Riverview Health Care Center, Inc. in Rockland County, NY was fined $24,000 as a result of a Department of Health Certification Survey dated April 8, 2010. The survey noted no less than 14 deficiencies that contributed to the substantial fine. Among the shortcomings noted by the surveyors were failures with respect to comprehensive care […]
NY Bedsore Attorney Report: Queens Nursing Home Cited for Numerous Deficiencies
In a certification survey dated December 17, 2009 on the New York State Department of Health (DOH) website, Bishop Charles Waldo Maclean Nursing Home in the Far Rockaway section of Queens received numerous deficiences, ranging from pressure sore treatment to substandard overall safety measures. The surveyors found that the facility did not ensure that a […]
Elant at Newburgh Cited for Multiple Violations by Department of Health
The New York State Department of Health (DOH) has cited Elant at Newburgh in Orange County, NY of numerous violations of the state’s Public Health Laws. Graphic at times, the report chronicles the deficient care that several residents received throughout their stay at Elant. As this blog has noted several times in the past, Public […]
Westchester Nursing Home, Owner, Plead Guilty to Stealing $400,000 in Medicaid Funding by Inadequately Caring for Residents
Ossining-based nursing home Chandler Care Center and its owner, Samuel Klein, plead guilty in September 2002 to stealing $400,000 in Medicaid funding and failing to employ sufficient staff to provide appropriate care for its residents. The facility shut down in July 2001 after a Department of Health (DOH) inspection revealed that the facility, lacking air […]
Schenectady Nursing Home Pleads Guilty to Understaffing that Compromised Patient Care
Hallmark Nursing Centre, located in Schenectady, New York, pleaded guilty in June 2003 to falsifying business records and Willfully Violating the Public Health Laws by failing to provide enough staff to adequately care for its residents. Hallmark agreed to pay back $1 million in Medicaid funding. In addition, the owners, James Durante and Joseph Nichols, […]
Grandell Rehabilitation Fined For Failing To Provide Adequate Supervision To Resident Known To Have Suicidal Ideations
Grandell Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Long Beach, NY was recently fined $32,207.50 by the Federal government stemming from a January 26, 2010 NYS Department of Health Complaint Survey. Surveyors found that the facility failed to provide medically related social services to attain the highest practicable, physical, mental and psychosocial well-being of each resident. Tragically, […]
Newburgh, New York: Elant At Newburgh Nursing Home Fined Heavily For Failing To Prevent Bedsores
Recently Elant at Newburgh, a New York nursing home facility, was cited for failing to identify and prevent the development of pressure ulcers (bedsore, decubitis ulcers) for those residents determined to be “at risk”, and failing to provide the necessary care and treatment for residents with pressure ulcers. Specifically, the facility failed to complete skin […]
Plaintiffs Claim CA Nursing Homes Putting “Profit Over People” By Failing To Provide Adequate Staff
The company that owns 22 for-profit nursing homes in California has been named in a class-action lawsuit accusing them of “skimping on staff” to raise profits at the expense of patient care. The lawsuit was filed in 2006, and the plaintiffs rested their case earlier this month. In the lawsuit, plaintiffs accuse Skilled Healthcare Group […]
Families Of Elder Abuse Victims Using Technology To Spread Awareness
The families of elder abuse victims are using social networking sites, Facebook, Twitter and Myspace, to gain support for reform in long-term care facilities. The group, which was founded by family member’s personally affected by alleged abuse in a Minnesota nursing home, can be found by conducting a search for “Families Against Nursing Home Abuse” […]
Failure to Meet Minimum Standards In New York Nursing Homes Leads To Fines And Sanctions
According to a Long-Term Care Community Coalition (LTCCC) report released this week, 16 New York nursing homes were fined by the federal government for failing to comply with quality care requirements. In addition, 10 New York nursing homes were fined by the state. Adirondack Medical Center in Lake Placid received the most severe sanction, a […]
Bainbridge Nursing Home In The Bronx Rated Much Below Average
Based on an inspection from September 24, 2008 conducted by New York State, Bainbridge Nursing & Rehabilitation Center received an overall score of “much below average.” The inspection took into consideration health inspections, nursing home staffing and quality measures. The Bronx facility was cited for the following: 1) Failing to hire individuals that DO NOT […]
Nursing Home Staff Abuses Residents By Taking Inappropriate Photos
A Nursing Home in Lexington was recently cited by the state of Kentucky when members of its staff used personal cell phones to “inappropriately photograph and make audio recordings” of residents without their knowledge. The staff members then attached songs with sexual lyrics to the photographs and circulated them to other employees at the facility. […]
New York Guide To Recognizing and Acting Upon Signs of Nursing Home Abuse
According to a survey conducted by the New York State Attorney General, 98% of New York’s nursing homes surveyed failed to meet federal recommendations for nurse staffing. Based on these statistics, it is not surprising that nursing home residents often do not receive the appropriate attention and care. What follows is a basic guide to […]