Nursing Home Abuse Advocate : Idaho Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers & Attorneys : Kormanik Hallam & Sneed Law Firm : ID Assisted Living Neglect, Nursing Home Injuries : Boise, Nampa, Caldwell

Hey, it's just money...right? A story in today's Bonner County Daily Bee caught my attention and got my hackles up. Apparently, Elise Anne Davidson, of Spirit Lake, Idaho, has received no more than a "slap on the wrist" for her financial exploitation of an elderly man. You see, Ms. Davidson used a financial power of attorney to steal more than $4,000.00 from the victim while he was convalescing in a nursing home. She also apparently attempted to have the victim removed from the nursing home and placed in her care. The victim, who is unidentified in the story, was confined to a wheelchair and incapable of writing or speaking. Rightfully, Ms. Davidson was originally charged with a felony -- exploitation of a vulnerable adult. Unfortunately, through a plea agreement, she pled guilty to misdemeanor theft and was sentenced to 30 days in jail. She was also ordered to pay the nursing home $1,000.00 in funds which the facility was owed.

When you look at it, I suppose it is easy to say that stealing $4,000.00 should not equate with a stiffer sentence than Ms. Davidson received. This is not about the money, however. This is about the exploitation of the vulnerable adult who was the victim in this case. What price can be placed on the betrayal of trust? Recall, I recently wrote about some prosecutors who are using "hate crime" laws to obtain stiffer sentences against those who financially exploit the elderly. Perhaps the prosecutors in Northern Idaho can take a hard look at how they deal with those who take advantage of the elderly and infirm.

It's not "just money." Financial exploitation of vulnerable adults in general, and the elderly in particular, is about much, much more. Only when the perpetrators of such crimes are punished with stiff felony sentences will the message be properly sent. 

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Back in January 2010, I wrote about the tragic death of Verda Nicks. Recall, Ms. Nicks was found because of the actions of a friend who was unable to get hold of Ms. Nicks. Unfortunately, Ms. Nicks was found emaciated and immobile on a urine-soaked bed in a house filled with feces, files and an unbearable stench. She died about six weeks later. Ms. Nicks' adult sons, David and Danny Nicks were charged by the Canyon County Prosecutor with felony criminal neglect in their care of their mother. The brothers were to be tried separately.

According to Kristen Rodine's article in the Idaho Statesman, on May 5, 2010, David Nicks was found guilty. According to the Statesman, David Nicks' attorney, Bill Schwartz  did not call any witnesses for the defense during the two-day trial. Instead, Mr. Schwartz argued his client was not a "caretaker" and, thus, not responsible for the conditions, which he admitted were terrible. The jury didn't buy it and took less than 2 hours to deliberate and reach their unanimous guilty verdict. David Nicks plans to appeal.

Now it is Danny Nicks' turn. His trial is to begin on Monday, May 24, 2010. Mr. Schwartz is also Danny's defense attorney. Stay tuned for the result of this case. 

Although there has been a conviction in this matter, Ms. Nicks' death remains a tragic tale. It also serves as a reminder to all of us to check on our elderly neighbors and friends to make certain they are well. Who knows, perhaps Ms. Nicks' life could have been saved if the authorities had been notified sooner.

UPDATE - According to a story on KTVB.com, Danny Nicks has pled guilty to one count of felony neglect. Mr. Nicks' guilty plea came on the second day of his second trial. His first trial resulted in a mistrial due to a deadlocked jury. The story indicates appeals of the convictions will follow. I will keep you posted on the appeals; such things, however, take quite a bit of time.

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In a previous blog post, I wrote about how increased staffing levels equate with improved nursing home resident safety. Well, a company has found out the hard way: follow the law requiring minimum levels of nursing care or pay the price.

According to a story in the Contra Costa (California) Times, the jury in a class action lawsuit against Skilled Healthcare has reached its first verdict. According to the article: "Skilled Healthcare is one of the largest nursing home chains in the country, employing approximately 14,000 people. The company is based in Southern California, and operates 78 nursing facilities in seven states."

The jury awarded $677 million for violations of the California law requiring a certain number of nursing hours per resident per day in the facilities. Interestingly, Skilled Healthcare's attorney was not even in the courtroom when the verdict was read; instead he sent out his reaction to the jury verdict via an e-mail!

The case was brought on behalf of residents of the five facilities owned by Skilled Healthcare in Humboldt County and covered the period of 2003 - 2009. There were approximately 32,000 residents represented in the class action. 

I say this is the jury's "first" verdict because, now, the jury will receive evidence concerning what additional punitive damages should be awarded against Skilled Healthcare. Punitive damages are meant to punish the company so that it does not repeat its conduct and to dissuade others from doing so. I will let you know the outcome of that phase of the lawsuit when the information becomes available.

For the residents of facilities of Skilled Healthcare facilities, justice is being served. Perhaps other large, for-profit, nursing home companies will get the message. Follow the law or pay the price.

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You would think state legislators would be on the side of vulnerable nursing home residents. According to  a recent story by Clark Kauffman in the Des Moines Register, you could be wrong. At least one Iowa state representative allegedly exerted pressure to recertify a facility. The problem was, the facility had been the subject of at least $21,500 in fines for its neglect of residents.

Mr. Kauffman's story concerns ManorCare Nursing Home, located in West Des Moines, Iowa, and West Des Moines state senator Pat Ward. Apparently, Senator Ward telephoned Dean Lerner, the head of Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals and told him ManorCare was providing a "very high" level of care and urged Mr.Lerner "to recertify it as quickly as possible." Unfortunately for Senator Ward, at the very moment he was on the telephone with Mr. Lerner, inspectors were at ManorCare. Those inspectors were in the process of compiling a list of additional violations, which would result in $500 in fines. The article indicates this is was not the first time an Iowa politician had interfered in an inspection of a nursing home facility.

Mr. Kauffman also references a U.S. Government Accountability Office report from 2009. According to Mr. Kauffman, the GAO believed "legislative pressure and other factors were contributing to nursing home inspections that minimized the problems found in care facilities through the nation. Seven states told the GAO that pressure from the industry or from state legislators might have compromised their entire inspection process."  

Shouldn't your state legislators be on the side of those who need it the most? I ask you, who needs protection more: ManorCare or its residents. The answer, at least to me, is obvious. The residents of ManorCare deserve the protection of strong legislation and independent inspectors who hold facilities accountable for neglectful conduct. Is Idaho one of the seven states that complained to the GAO about political pressure? I will investigate and get back to you.

At the end of the day, it is up to all of us to hold our state legislators accountable. If they are not in favor of protecting nursing home residents, let them know you do not approve. This is truly a subject where the state legislator is either "for" nursing home residents, or "against" them. 

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It is simply amazing what a person can do with a little knowledge, a computer, and bad intentions. A story by Mariann Martin out of Jackson, Tennessee reveals the lengths one person went to in order to hide her identity. The story, featured on the Jackson Sun's website reports on the arrest of Sheila Watson, who was the "social director" at Bells Nursing Home, in Bells, Tennessee.

According to the article, Ms. Watson, if that is indeed her name, had provided the facility with forged copies of "a University of Memphis diploma, college transcripts, a letter and a Social Security card" when she applied for her job. Apparently Ms. Watson had worked at the nursing home since July 2009. Why would Ms. Watson go through so much trouble to land the social director position? It seems she has a long criminal history including a conviction of identity theft, among others. 

Although the nursing home has, to date, been unable to unearth any evidence Ms. Watson was attempting to defraud the facility, the story does not address the obvious question: Did Ms. Watson go through all that trouble to create an identity not to defraud the facility, but to befriend and, perhaps financially exploit, the vulnerable residents of the Bells Nursing Home?

It just goes to show you; it is difficult to ensure the staff at your nursing home are who they represent themselves to be. Could Bells Nursing Home have done a more thorough background investigation before placing Ms. Watson in a position of trust? What steps does your nursing home facility take to ensure its employees are who they purport to be? 

Ms. Watson's cover was blown when the nursing home received a call from a state agency which, in turn, had received a "tip" about her. Ms. Watson may never have been discovered if not for the concern of the tipster. If you know someone working in a nursing home is not who they claim to be, report it. If you observe anything out of the ordinary concerning the staff of your nursing home, again, report it. The facility has an obligation to hire qualified individuals to provide care for its residents. You can help ensure the nursing home does so.

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Although this post is a little off the topic usually addressed in this blog, I found an an interesting article by Anne Barnard in yesterday's New York Times. The article reported on the practice of Queens, New York, prosecutors using New York's "hate crime" law to prosecute those who target the elderly. According to Ms. Barnard, Queens' prosecutors are using the hate crime law against those "singling out elderly victims for nonviolent crimes like mortgage fraud, because they believed older people would be easy to deceive and might have substantial savings or home equity." The use of New York's hate crime law results in stiffer sentences for those convicted of taking advantage of the elderly precisely because they are elderly. This is, indeed, a novel approach.

Will such prosecutions work in Idaho? Likely not because, unlike the New York statute, Idaho's "hate crime" or, more properly, "malicious harassment" statute does not include the elderly, in its definition of a class of people under its protection. The New York statute includes "age" and "disability" in its definition of protected groups. In Idaho, the statute does not. Perhaps this apparent oversight can be addressed by the legislature. 

If you feel strongly that Idaho's "malicious harassment" or "hate crime" law should include the elderly under its umbrella of protection, contact your state legislator today. 

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In an article out of Cincinnati, Ohio, it is revealed two staff nurses at Woodland Hills Care Center are accused of stealing and selling residents' medications. According to the story, a licensed practical nurse and an assistant administrator of the facility, located in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, are suspected of stealing hydrocodone and oxycodone from residents. What caught my eye about this story, however, is the fact that, apparently, this was not the first time such thefts occurred at the facility. Apparently, a nurse had been charged and convicted for similar conduct previously; that time, the resident whose medications were stolen "slipped into a coma and died" after her pain medications were stolen.

I wonder what safeguards the Woodland Hills Care Center put into effect after the first time a resident suffered and, ultimately, died following the theft of her pain medication. If experience is any guide, even if the facility instituted safeguards, they obviously were ineffective. Shouldn't the facility now bear some accountability for the needless suffering of its residents whose medications were most recently stolen?

If you are a nursing home resident who receives pain medication on a regular basis and you do not receive your medicine, let your family and the facility's administration know, in writing, of the misssed dose or doses. If you are given "medicine" and get little or no relief, you may have been given something other than your own medication. Let your family and medical provider know you are hurting. Finally, if you are the family member of a nursing home resident, be sure to note any changes in the perceived pain level of your loved one and let someone know if it changes. The fact of the matter is, your loved one may not be getting their prescribed pain medication; it may have been stolen by staff members entrusted with the care of your loved one. Only by paying attention and reporting, can needless suffering be avoided and those responsible for such reprehensible conduct be brought to justice.

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Pressure Sores are a problem in Idaho nursing home facilities. In Fiscal Year 2009, the latest data available, a staggering 33 citations, or 40.5% of skilled nursing facilities, were cited by the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare for failing to properly care for their residents in such a manner as to prevent or heal pressure sores.

What is a "pressure sore" and why is this statistic important, you may ask. According to the website "Bed Sore FAQs," a "pressure sore" also known more commonly as a "bed sore" is a condition where a resident's skin is damaged from sustained pressure which stops the flow of blood. Remarkably, according to this website, this condition can develop from being in a single position for a few hours. One simply way to prevent pressure or bed sores is to simply turn the resident at frequent and regular intervals.

Jonathan Rosenfeld and David Terry, attorneys in the Chicago, Illinois area, are currently involved in an exchange of ideas concerning bed sores and their prevention. Jonathan's blog - Nursing Homes Abuse Blog, and David's blog - Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog contain their thoughts. Their posts have been, and I expect will continue to be, an excellent resource for those interested in this important issue.

The fact remains, however, pressure or bed sores are preventable and are an unnecessary injury sustained by nursing home residents.  If you are a resident who cannot move on your own, make sure the facility is providing you adequate care by turning you on a regular basis. If you have a loved one who is a resident of a nursing home, contact the facility and do the same. It is up to you to make sure nursing home facilities do all that is necessary to keep residents safe. 

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 A recently published study by the University of South Florida, the authors confirmed what many of us probably presumed was true: Quality of care substantially improved following the Florida legislature's enactment of requirements for increased nursing staff levels and other quality care measures. 

According to the study, beginning in 1999, "Florida began developing a national reputation for State policy focused on nursing home quality" by instituting "regular, unannounced quality-of-care monitoring by state officials, release of information about all state licensed nursing homes via a public Internet site, development of a 'Gold Seal Program' to recognize facilities with outstanding care, and funding of a pilot teaching nursing home project to promote statewide development of best practices." Building on that legislation, in 2001, Florida enacted further legislation which mandated staffing levels, increased regulatory oversight and initiated a moratorium on new nursing home beds. According to the authors of the Florida study: "One consistent finding is that higher Registered Nurses (RN) levels are associated with lower number of falls, fewer pressure ulcers, and other patient care outcomes that indicate better quality of care."

Unfortunately, Idaho has not seen fit to follow Florida's lead. In Idaho, there is a requirement for a certain number of "nursing hours per day" depending on the size of the facility. There is, however, no requirement for additional nursing staff based on resident acuity. Instead, Idaho only requires staffing sufficient to "meet the total needs of the patients/residents." 

As shown in Florida, mandatory staffing levels and other mechanisms make a real difference to the health and well being of nursing home residents. Come on, Idaho! Don't some of our most vulnerable citizens, those who can no longer care for themselves and are relying upon nursing homes for their care deserve better?

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