New York Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog

At Terence Cardinal Cooke, a nursing home in New York, NY, Coral Quintyne, a Licensed Practical Nurse, was recently arrested and prosecuted for giving methadone to the wrong resident. As a result of the medication error, the elderly resident required hospitalization. What is more disturbing and likely the reason for the arrest is that the nurse failed to report her error and falsified documents in an attempt to cover it up. On 2/4/2011, she was sentenced to six months incarceration.

The reality is that mistakes happen. In fact, I recently gave my 2 year old son five times the amount of prescribed dose of an antibiotic (luckily with no adverse effects). In nursing home and hospital settings, medication errors can occur in an instant without indifference to residents. However, the appropriate response is to advise a physician and immediately obtain necessary care. The falsification of records and attempted cover-up is inexcusable. As it always seems, in this instance the cover-up was worse than the crime.

Long-Term-Care Community Coalition, Enforcement Actions 12/16/10-3/15/11.

A recent study published in The Archives of Internal Medicine, and conducted by the federal Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research, suggests that narcotic-based painkillers taken for arthritis may pose significant bone and cardiovascular risks to the elderly. While it had been a widespread belief that narcotic painkillers, such as OxyContin, were safer for the elderly than their non-narcotic counterparts, this new study suggests otherwise.

Compared with two other control groups, patients taking narcotic-based painkillers were four times more likely to experience bone fractures resulting from falls, and also twice as likely to suffer heart attacks. The researchers did qualify the results, stating that results may have been affected by continued use of over-the-counter medicines. Additionally, as in any study, researchers noted that outside factors could have played a role in the results. The overall results are somewhat disturbing, however, particularly for patients and doctors who had been under the impression that narcotic-based pain medication was a safer alternative to non-narcotics.

Ultimately, medication and treatment decisions rest with the doctor, patient, and his or her family. This new study, however, does provide additional information to consider when making such decisions.

Website Resource: Narcotic Painkillers May Pose Danger to Elderly Patients, Study Says

New York Times, Barry Meier, December 13, 2010

Three nurse's aides at Beth Abraham Health Services in the Bronx were arrested after failing to notice the elopement of a 64 year old schizophrenic patient in a wheelchair, and then attempting to cover-up the incident. Although police found the man approximately six hours later at a friend's home, the aides at Beth Abraham allegedly documented that they had checked on him and given him his medication during the period that he was missing.

Title 10 Section 415.12(h) of the New York Code of Rules and Regulations states that "[T]he facility shall ensure that: (1) the resident environment remains as free of accident hazards as is possible; and (2) each resident receives adequate supervision and assistive devices to prevent accidents." Clearly, allowing a schizophrenic patient to elope from the facility violates the regulation above. It was the duty of the nurse and her aides to report the missing patient as soon as they were aware of his elopement. That said, what makes the incident much worse is the attempt to cover-up the mistake by falsifying documentation.

Maintaining a safe environment for nursing home residents is a duty and should be a priority for the administration and staff at long-term-care facilities. This is not always the case, however. Diligence must be maintained to be certain that nursing home residents, particularly residents with special mental needs, are cared for in the manner mandated by both state and federal law. Thankfully, in this instance, the NYS Attorney General's Office investigated and plans to hold those responsible accountable.

Website Resource:
Three nursing home aides lied about missing schizophrenic patient in wheelchair: AG, New York Daily News, Kathleen Lucadamo, February 24, 2011