Articles Posted in Nursing Home

A story recently aired on a local Little Rock, Arkansas television station concerning the quality of Arkansas nursing homes. Unfortunately, abuse and neglect of nursing home patients in Arkansas continues to be a serious problem for Arkansas’ elderly population. Out of the 231 nursing homes that receive Medicare in Arkansas, 32 are rated poorest quality in the National Medicare Rating System. Common injuries included: pressure ulcers (bed sores), dehydration, malnutrition, infections, falls, poor hygiene, elopement, medication errors, assault, and death. Arkansas nursing home residents often become victims of nursing home owners and management that care more about profits than for the people that they are paid to provide care for. The Arkansas nursing homes that currently have a one star rating are:

Arkansas Nursing & Rehabilitation Center

Ash Flat Health Care & Rehabilitation Center

The Nursing Home Reform Act of 1987 states that the resident has a right to be free from physical or chemical restraints for the purpose of discipline or convenience. Since this nursing home law was passed, the percentage of nursing home residents that are restrained has dropped. According to Medicare, an average of 21.1% of residents were restrained daily in 1991. That percentage dropped to 8.5% in 2003 and continued to drop to 5.5% in 2007. Unfortunately, according to a recent USA Today article, Arkansas is one of four states that has a greater than 10% use of restraints in nursing homes according to a 2007 report.

Fortunately, Arkansas nursing home residents’ families can access a nursing home’s quality measures through the Nursing Home Compare government website. I highly recommend that all families that have a loved one in an Arkansas nursing home review this nursing home information before placing their family member in an Arkansas nursing home. Along with use of physical restraints, the quality measures include the percentage of nursing home residents who suffer moderate to severe pain, the percentage of Arkansas nursing home residents that suffer pressure sores, the percentage of nursing home residents with urinary tract infections, and the percentage of Arkansas nursing home residents who lose weight during their residency. The review of this information is one tool that a family can use to decide where to place their family member when nursing home care is needed.

If you suspect a loved one has suffered from nursing home abuse or neglect, please contact an Arkansas nursing home abuse lawyer to discuss your legal options.

A new report entitled Trends in Nursing Home Deficiencies and Complaints was released September 28, 2008 by the United States Department of Health and Human Services. This report is the product of the Government’s attempt to address the chronic and systemic problem with nursing home care.

Unfortunately, Arkansas nursing homes did not do well in the report. According to the Inspector General, 97.9 percent of the nursing homes in Arkansas were cited for deficiencies. The most common deficiency categories were quality of care, resident assessment, and quality of life. The government report also found that for-profit nursing homes were more likely to be cited than non-profit or government homes.

Although this report is not surprising, it shows that nursing home patient families must keep a watchful eye on the care given to their loved ones. Some of the most common injuries and signs of neglect concern pressure sores(also known as bed sores), dehydration, malnutrition, infection, falls, hygiene, elopement, medication errors, assault and death.

An Arkansas Jury awarded a 78 million dollar verdict against a nursing home chain that was found to be negligent in taking care of its resident. The elderly woman was found dehydrated and malnourished. She was also found to have multiple bed sores (pressure sores).

Unfortunately, problems like these are all too common in nursing homes. The owners fail to provide adequate staff and resources to properly take care of our most vulnerable loved ones. The family sought justice for these wrongs and held the nursing home owners accountable for their actions so they would provide better care for others.