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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Medicare Cracks Down on Nursing Homes with High “Boomerang Hospitalization” Rates
According to the Kaiser Health News, an average of 21 percent of nursing home residents are readmitted to the hospital within 100 days of returning to their nursing home. Now, Medicare plans to crack down on these nursing homes who either allow nursing home residents to return too quickly or fail to properly administer the […]
Financial Abuse of Elderly Steals $37 Billion a Year
A recent study estimates that financial abuse of elderly Americans defrauds these vulnerable citizens of almost $37 billion each. The report finds that almost 5 million senior citizens in America are victims of elder abuse each year. In New York alone, financial abuse of the elderly costs at least $1.5 billion a year. While the […]
Individuals with Mental Health Problems Have Difficulty Accessing Top-Quality Nursing Homes
A recent report by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) found that individuals with mental health or behavioral problems are more likely to be denied access to higher-quality nursing homes throughout the country. The study relied on data from 3.7 million admissions in 15,600 facilities across the country and found that, while elderly […]
Northern Manor Geriatric Center Cited for Use of Antipsychotic Drugs
Between 2013 and 2017, the Northern Manor Geriatric Center in Rockland County, New York received more than double the average number of citations by the New York Department of Health, the entity responsible for performing yearly inspections at all nursing homes in the state. Compared to the statewide average of 34 citations- relating to either standard […]
Martine Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing Cited for Failing to Conduct Background Checks on Employees
The Martine Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing, previously the Schnurmacher Center, in White Plains, New York received 60 complaints and 15 citations for violating New York and federal law, according to the New York State Department of Health. The Department of Health inspects each nursing home facility in the state every 9 to 15 months […]
Overmedication Still a Problem at Nursing Homes
According to a recent report released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), almost 16 percent of residents at long-term nursing homes are being treated with antipsychotic medications. While down from 24 percent in 2011, the CMS report and many doctors question the efficacy and necessity of these powerful mind-altering medications. According to […]
Report: Hospice Does Not Respond One in Five Times
A new report by Time Magazine shines a harsh light on the hospice care industry in America – reporting that 21 percent of hospices, accounting for more than 84,000 patients, failed to provide critical care to patients in 2015. The report, which includes vivid and heartbreaking stories, points towards a largely unregulated industry that received […]
NPR: Home Care Agencies Fail to Help Chronically Ill
Home care agencies in New York and across the country are routinely denying chronically ill patients access to their services, according to a report by Kaiser Health News and NPR. In many instances, the home care agency will falsely state that Medicare does not cover home care for chronic illnesses. in order to find out […]
As N.Y. Nursing Home Chain Prepares to Grow, Mistrust Remains
After reaching an agreement with the Attorney General, a New York nursing home chain is prepared to grow throughout the tri-state area. The Brooklyn retirement home chain, Allure Group, came under heavy criticism after purchasing a retirement home and assisted living facility for New Yorkers living with HIV/AIDS and then subsequently selling the properties to […]