New York Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog

More than 400 facilities called long-term acute care hospitals have opened across the national in the last 25 years. They specialize in providing care to seriously ill patients. Few of these institutions have doctors on staff, and most are owned by for-profit companies.

As As Alex Berenson of the New York Times reports, many of these for-profit hospitals have been scrutinized for their wide profit margins and lack of on-staff doctors during off-peak hours. Select Medical Corporation is a corporation that owns 89 long-term care hospitals nationwide. These facilities have been cited at a rate almost four times that of regular hospitals for serious violations of Medicare rules. Medicare inspection reports of many of these hospitals reveal preventable patient injuries, including bedsores (pressure sores decubitis ulcers) and deaths, as well as inadequate staffing numbers with high turnover.

Website Resources:

Long-Term Care Hospitals Face Little Scrutiny, New York Times, Alex Berenson, February 9, 2010.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have given East Haven Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in the Bronx, NY its lowest rating (one out of five stars) due to below average findings in three categories: 1) health inspections, 2) nursing home staffing and 3) quality measures. Based on a June 15, 2009 survey, the Bronx facility was found to have failed to provide each resident with the highest quality of life possible, failed to provide professional services in accordance with each resident's written care plan, and failed to meet a professional standard of quality.

More specifically, the Bronx facility failed to monitor resident's bowel status to prevent fecal impaction, which resulted in actual harm to the resident.

Continue reading "East Haven Nursing Home In Bronx (NYC) Receives Lowest Rating From CMS" »

According to a 2008 poll conducted by the American Nurses Association, 73% of nurses polled do not believe the staffing on their unit or shift is sufficient. Over 10,000 nurses nationwide were surveyed. The survey also found the following:

• 59.8% of the nurses polled knew of someone who left direct care nursing due to concerns about safe staffing;
• Of the 51.9% of nurses polled who are considering leaving their current position, 46% cite inadequate staffing as the reason;
• 51.7% of the nurses polled opined that the quality of nursing care on their unit has declined in the last year; and
• 48.2% of the nurses polled would not feel confident having someone close to them receiving care in the facility where they work.

ANA President Rebecca M. Patton, MSN, RN, explained in a recent press release, "Safe nurse staffing has been linked to more positive patient outcomes, decreased length of
hospital stay, and decreased number of medical errors and patient falls. It has also been shown to improve nurse satisfaction and decrease burnout, both significant factors contributing to nurses leaving the profession."

The New York Elder Abuse Attorneys at Gallivan & Gallivan have successfully represented many victims of abuse and neglect whose main complaint about their nursing home or hospital was understaffing. We have seen first-hand, that short-staffing can result in falls/fractures, bedsores (pressure sores, pressure ulcers, decubitus ulcers), malnutrition and dehydration, and or abuse.

If you or a loved one is being neglected due to a facility's decision not to hire an appropriate number of nurses and/or nurse's aides, please contact us for a free consultation.