When nursing abuse victims fear for their safety due to threats and repeated abuse; their anonymity can be the difference between reporting their plight to authorities and choosing to suffer in silence. Illinois has indicated in the past that it takes abuse very seriously and is one of the states…
A Canadian nursing home chain, Extendicare, has decided to do business anywhere but in Kentucky, where it just leased all 21 of its facilities to another company. The decision was made after the company failed to sway the Kentucky legislature to pass a measure into law that would make it…
Elderly people who have succumbed to a disease or illness are vulnerable and frail. They are in a very precarious state, where the slightest aggravation to their body can cause severe health damage. Family members are usually not equipped with the expertise and resources to care for their ill loved…
Nursing homes are increasingly becoming a place of distrust and oversight, rather than what they were created to be, a safe and comfortable home for the elderly. Recently, many nursing homes have been fined for their oversight of patients and the lack of care of patients. Elderly individuals are admitted…
Someone once told me that a society should be judged on how well it takes care of its poor, its veterans and its elderly. We are currently failing when it comes to the overall regard that we have for the elderly in our society. After making severe cuts to the…
One of the most controversial medical practices impacting patients of all ages is the use of feeding tubes. These medical devices are often used as a means to provide nutrition and hydration to residents who are unable to consume food on their own. Increasingly, however, nursing homes are resorting to…
According to the National Center on Elder Abuse, numerous elderly members of society suffer from physical, emotional, mental and verbal abuse every year. The NCEA posts statistics on elder abuse that are readily available to the public. The NCEA has found that the majority of senior citizens are abused by…
In June 2014, the justices of the West Virginia Supreme Court slashed the $90 million verdict awarded to Dorothy Douglas in her Charleston nursing home abuse case. Even though the justices called the conduct of the nursing home “reprehensible,” the estate of Ms. Douglas was awarded $32 million instead. When…
As work continues on a 23,000-square-foot memory care center in Weston Wisconsin, it is important to remember that this is just one of the many facilities currently being built throughout the country. Because of the increased number of people who have memory-related illnesses, these types of ‘memory care facilities’ are…
An increasing number of people are slowly but surely accepting the fact that we live in a new ‘economic reality’. However, the recent release of the annual Genworth Cost of Care Survey may raise a few eyebrows. This survey represents the median cost of long-term care at home, assisted living facilities,…