On April 10th, a 45-year-old medical supply company owner who allegedly posed as a doctor or other clinician at 20 Long Island nursing homes was sentenced to 12 years in prison for Medicare fraud. A U.S. District Judge also ordered Helene Michel of Old Brookville, New York to forfeit $1.3 million of the reportedly $10.7 million she purportedly acquired through Medicare fraud. The woman was convicted of medical ID theft, wrongful disclosure of nursing home patient information that was protected by HIPAA, and conspiracy to commit Medicare fraud in August 2012. According to federal prosecutors, Michel stole patient information from paper records maintained by the nursing homes and used the data to submit fraudulent Medicare bills on behalf of her company, Medical Solutions Management, between 2003 and 2007. Michel allegedly posed as a healthcare professional using a number of aliases in order to gain access to skilled nursing facility resident information. A statement issued by the United States Department of Justice claims Michel then used the information to seek financial compensation for equipment and services that were never provided by her medical supply company. The woman is also accused of submitting supplemental patient information when certain claims were denied. The alleged fraud was reportedly discovered after a patient’s family noticed a number of services on her explanation of benefits summary that were never received. A co-owner of Medical Solutions Management is purportedly now wanted by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General. Although the records supposedly stolen by Michel were in paper format, two nursing facility workers in Florida were accused of stealing electronic patient information this month. When most people enter a skilled nursing facility, becoming the victim of identity theft is the last thing on their mind. Still, it happens at alarming rates in […]
Nursing home residents are members of a vulnerable population. Some are unable to care for themselves physically and others are unable to communicate their needs. Unfortunately their vulnerable status means that these residents can be an easy target of abuse and neglect by employees of nursing homes. Regularly, cases emerge across the nation highlighting the abuses that occur in these homes. Last year one such case came from Oklahoma where the daughters of a nursing home resident installed a security camera in their mother’s room. The camera recorded an employee roughly handling the resident, striking her, and generally abusing her. Once her daughters had evidence of the abuse, they reported the employee who was fired and arrested on criminal charges.The current state of the law in Oklahoma allows each nursing home to decide whether they will allow residents to use cameras in their rooms. However a new bill before the Oklahoma senate would allow residents the use of cameras regardless of the policies of individual nursing homes. Many advocates of nursing home safety have championed this bill and hope to see it pass but recently a new amended has been added that could drastically change the impact of the law. The amendment would require any resident to first notify a nursing home and obtain permission before installing a hidden camera. Any resident installing such a camera without permission would face a fine or even jail time if caught. Advocates claim that knowing where cameras are and are not located will allow negligent conduct by employees to focus on residents who are unprotected by the cameras, thus reducing or even eliminating the safety that the bill would otherwise provide. It is unclear how the state senate will vote on the bill with the proposed amendment but a vote could happen soon. […]
A study recently published in JAMA Internal Medicine claims antibiotics are generally overused in nursing homes in Canada and elsewhere. As part of the study, researchers reportedly analyzed prescription antibiotic use data collected in 2010 for nearly 67,000 seniors over age 66 at 630 skilled nursing and other long-term care facilities in Ontario. The study authors stated although most bacterial infections may be successfully treated with a course of antibiotics that lasts one week or less, nearly half of all such prescriptions provided to the elderly nursing home residents examined exceeded seven days. In addition, about one-fifth of doctors allegedly prescribed a longer course of antibiotic treatment than expected based upon the severity and type of a resident’s bacterial infection. Researchers reportedly believe that antibiotic prescribing patterns in the long-term care facilities analyzed were based on physician preferences rather than patient symptoms and the extent of infection. The study authors expressed concern that the rate of antibiotics overuse in nursing homes may contribute to future drug resistance. According to researchers, antibiotic stewardship measures should be implemented at long-term care facilities in order to reduce costs, potential complications, and drug resistance. Unfortunately, nursing facility residents are reportedly often over-medicated. Although receiving too many antibiotics may seem harmless, it can spell disaster for long-term care patients. Nursing home residents normally live in close proximity to one another. This means dangerous antibiotic-resistant and other bacteria can spread easily in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities. Nursing home employees must diligently use effective sanitation measures in order to maintain the health of facility patients. In Illinois, nursing home workers are required by law to ensure that simple precautionary measures designed to control the spread of communicable diseases and other illness are used. Regrettably, too many direct care workers reportedly fail to follow simple […]
Nursing Home Fined After 4 Die from Pneumonia
June 17, 2013 |An outbreak of a respiratory illness that led to pneumonia occurred in a Connecticut nursing home and claimed four lives before it was controlled. Now that nursing home has been fined $2,000 in connection with the handling of the outbreak after the Connecticut Department of Public Health determined errors occurred. The Durham nursing home had 10 percent of its residents contract pneumonia by April 15 but did not report the condition as an outbreak until nine days later on April 24. The disease continued to spread until 20 percent of the residents and three staff members were ill by April 30. Of the residents who became ill, four eventually died in late April at the nursing home or at area hospitals. Reports indicate that all four had underlying problems at the time of their deaths but that their deaths were due to pneumonia. The nursing home reportedly addressed the outbreak internally on April 24. At that time, employees were instructed to perform extra cleanings in the common areas and they were given instructions on how to limit the spread of the disease. Though the training was provided, the Department of Public Health has alleged that appropriate measures were not practiced and therefore the pneumonia continued to risk the health of residents. According to the citation, the employees did not quarantine those who were already sick and that staff did not wear masks while caring for the ill. The elderly, together with young children and those with underlying health conditions, are at the greatest risk for contracting pneumonia and also the greatest risk of dying from the disease. This is one of the reasons that the pneumoccocal polysaccharide vaccine is recommended for all Americans over age 65. Though there is a vaccine for pneumonia, it is important to remember that the […]
The Virginia Beach Police Department has announced that a local assisted-living facility will be the first in the area to use new technology in an effort to keep track of residents who may be at risk for going missing. Kings Grant House has reportedly partnered with the non-profit Project Lifesaver program to automatically enroll about 20 residents in a six-month tracking bracelet pilot program. A transmitter on each bracelet purportedly allows local police to track missing elderly residents using a fixed radio signal. According to the program’s coordinator, Officer Allen Perry, Virginia Beach police have successfully used transmitter technology to search for at least 100 missing individuals who voluntarily sought out the device since 2005. Now, the 20 assisted living facility residents who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease, Autism, and dementia disorders will reportedly have another tool to ensure their safety. Although the city normally charges a monthly fee for a transmitter, no one will be charged during the pilot program. In addition, a local non-profit organization normally pays the monthly fee for community members who cannot afford it. Officer Perry stated almost 300 community members including the Kings Grant House residents are now enrolled in the Virginia Beach Project Lifesaver program. According to Marj Pantone, Kings Grant House Administrator, the families of residents who will take part in the program have been supportive of using the new technology. Still, Pantone said nothing is foolproof and the facility will maintain its security personnel as well. As beloved relatives age or become disabled, many Illinois families turn to long-term care facilities for help. Even the most dedicated family member will have a difficult time providing around the clock care for an unpredictable Alzheimer’s or dementia patient. At all times, skilled nursing facilities in Illinois are required to have enough direct care staff […]
A former director of a nursing home in New York has been arrested and charged with falsifying documents related to a missing resident, according to the New York attorney general’s office. The criminal complaint alleges that a 74-year-old man went missing from the nursing home that the former director ran on May 26, 2013. The resident suffers from dementia and high blood pressure and has not been seen since his disappearance. When the director realized the resident was missing, she failed to call 911 or even police to report the information. Instead she allegedly removed notes from the man’s medical records and told employees not to call the police. The woman also instructed an employee to document that the resident left the facility voluntarily and against medical advice and that on May 29, she verbally told an inspector from the attorney general’s office that the resident left on his own. The resident was finally reported missing by the facility on May 30 and he has not yet been found but authorities are very concerned due to his impaired mental state and need for medical attention. The former director now faces charges including endangering the welfare of an incompetent or physically disabled person, falsifying business records, and willful violation of the health laws. If convicted on all counts, the woman will face up to four years in prison. Residents of nursing homes are some of the most vulnerable members of our society and they deserve the utmost care and concern. Yet the director of the nursing home involved in this incident allegedly refused to admit that an error occurred and instead took active steps to conceal the incident. Instead of reporting the man missing immediately, the man was not reported for four days, making any attempt to locate him more difficult […]
A horrific incident in Texas this week highlights the potential for abuse that thousands of Illinois nursing home residents face every day at the hands of those entrusted with their care. This recent incident occurred in Kaufman County, Texas where an 88-year-old nursing home resident was severely abused by an employee of the home. The woman, who is wheelchair-bound and has Alzheimer’s, sustained a large and serious cut across much of her forehead that her family saw one day upon a visit. No one in the home has been willing to explain how or why the cut happened but the victim’s face and forehead also has significant bruising across her forehead, eyelid, check, and side of her face. A family member of the victim has released very disturbing photos that depict the injuries she sustained. Family members reported the injury to local police who began an investigation into the incident. On Tuesday night, an employee of the nursing home was arrested and charged with felony aggravated assault causing injury to an elderly person. Police say that the man was caring for the victim at the time she sustained the injuries and when he was questioned, the man tried to conceal the incident and tried to blame another employee. He is currently being held in jail. The victim in this incident has been removed from the nursing home and transported to a local hospital where she is being treated and cared for by physicians. The nursing home in question has been cited and fined at least twice in the past, once in 2011 and once in 2012, for providing sub-standard care to its residents. Another complaint of verbal and mental abuse lodged by a resident against an employee was substantiated in 2012 but the home was not fined as the blame […]
Nurses Charged for Falsifying Documents in Nursing Home
June 5, 2013 |Two nurses who worked for a New York nursing home have been charged with falsifying documents when faced with a health inspection. Though this particular incident happened in New York, it is similar to those that occur in Illinois and it highlights the priorities that are placed upon some nursing home employees – to cover up for the nursing home even if it means endangering the safety of its residents. The incident in New York began in March, 2011 when the New York State Health Department made a surprise visit to a nursing home facility. The health department was there to inspect the facility and to make sure that it was running in accordance with the applicable guidelines and codes. However when inspectors arrived, the director of nursing for the home reportedly called a meeting and encouraged another nurse to help her fill in blank forms, indicating that patients had received prescribed medication already when in fact none had been given. Some time after the inspection, a complaint was filed with the attorney general’s office, alleging the fraudulently filled out forms and the improper handling of patient medication. The attorney general began a review and investigation which culminated in charges leveled against the director of nursing as well as a nurse manager. The two women no longer work for the nursing home and have since claimed that they falsified the documents to protect the home and to prevent it from getting into trouble with the state. As a result of the falsified documents, officials cannot determine if residents ever received their medication or if it was withheld from them. This has been troubling to the families of the residents, especially those who were on sensitive medication that needed to be administered at precise times and intervals. If these residents did […]
According to research conducted by Services and Advocacy for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Elders (SAGE), homosexual senior citizens are more likely to age alone, less likely to have children, and less likely to utilize available elder care services than their heterosexual counterparts. Such individuals are purportedly often afraid of being discriminated against or victimized once they disclose their sexual orientation to health care providers. Sadly, many homosexual seniors also fear being mistreated in a long-term residential care setting. In SAGE’s report, the organization claims that elderly members of the LGBT community are at a higher risk for abuse and neglect from hostile nursing home staff members and fellow residents than other individuals. In addition, many long-term care facilities reportedly refuse to allow same-sex partners to share a room. The report also claims that because many skilled nursing facility employees are not equipped to address hostility from other patients, homosexual residents are often moved to inappropriate wards or isolation. An online survey of 769 people that was conducted between October 2009 and June 2010 reportedly fund that most individuals surveyed do not feel that LGBT seniors can safely be open about their sexual orientation with nursing home or long-term care facility staff. Additionally, at least 500 respondents expressed concern over being isolated or discriminated against and 43 percent described instances of mistreatment at a skilled nursing facility that directly resulted from an individual’s sexual orientation. Such mistreatment purportedly included verbal abuse, refused admission, attempts to discharge, and restriction of visitors. Long-term care facilities that receive Medicare and Medicaid funds are required to adhere to the provisions of the federal Nursing Home Care Act. The Act provides all nursing home residents with the right to choose their own physician, the right to privacy, the right to be free from abuse and […]
Following widespread flooding that reportedly prompted Governor Pat Quinn to declare at least 38 Illinois counties a disaster area in April, a number of Lisle nursing home residents were evacuated by emergency personnel. According to reports, more than 50 residents of the Snow Valley Nursing and Rehabilitation Center were removed from the flooded long-term care facility using boats over the course of several hours. Patients in wheelchairs and beds were purportedly evacuated by rescue crews from both Lisle and surrounding towns. Nursing Home Administrator Stephen Brumer said facility residents were taken by ambulance to other nursing homes in the region following the evacuation. Brumer added that the relatives of each patient were notified of their loved one’s location and health status after the rescue was completed. Unfortunately, similar scenes recently unfolded in a number of other Illinois communities. As a result of heavy rains, residents at a River Forest nursing home were also forced to evacuate amid widespread area flooding. In addition, a roof allegedly collapsed at a skilled nursing facility in Carlysle. Although no injuries were reported, at least eight patients were purportedly displaced by the collapse. All nursing homes that are certified to receive federal Medicaid and Medicare funds must have a written emergency management plan in place and provide workers with emergency preparedness training. Regrettably, a recent survey of skilled nursing facilities across the country allegedly found that most are not sufficiently equipped to handle a natural or other disaster and many failed to include all necessary tasks on an emergency checklist. Natural disasters like the flooding that recently occurred across Illinois can potentially affect both the physical and mental health of nursing home residents and workers. Most nursing homes and other long-term care facilities operating in the State of Illinois receive federal Medicare and Medicaid funds. […]