Dan Frith

Health issues reporter, Jeff Sturgeon, published an article in today’s issue (August 24, 2006) of the Roanoke Times warning residents and their families of the impact of mandatory arbitration clauses contained in nursing home admission contracts. The article notes that the National Citizens’ Coalition for Nursing Home Reform (NCCNHR) has…

We have all read and heard about the overwhelming problem with obesity in America. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) reports that 57% of Americans are overweight and over 30% are obese. We are talking about millions and millions of adults! Obesity can lead to diabetes, heart attacks, hypertension and…

The chances you or your spouse will end up in a Long-Term Care Facility are staggering! 43 percent of all individuals over the age of 65 will eventually enter a nursing home during their lifetime. On average, most of these nursing home stays will last about 2.5 years. Unfortunately, most…

Good news! Home Health Agencies, and nursing homes which furnish certain skilled nursing and rehabilitation care to Medicare beneficiaries may be receiving a 3.1 percent increase in Medicare payments beginning January 1, 2007. The increase, proposed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) would mean about $560 million…

A recent report from the well-respected Institute of Medicine (IOM) discloses that 1.5 million Americans are harmed by medication errors ever year. More than one-half of these injuries occurred in nursing homes.The IOM is an independent group of health care leaders based in Washington, D.C., and advises the federal government…

It is nice to see that sometimes the administrator of that bad nursing home is getting the blame! A former Pennsylvania nursing home administrator was found guilty on July 7 of one count of healthcare fraud and eight counts of making false statements. The administrator faces 8 to 10 years…

Too many nursing home residents suffer from bedsores, also known as decubitus ulcers. These unsightly and painful ulcers are the result of the failure by staff to turn and change the resident’s position every 2 hours. Patients who are confined to their bed or wheel chair are at high risk…

Cardiac arteries clogged by fatty deposits are a known health threat which often leads to heart attacks. The Gold Standard of treatment used to be angioplasty – a surgical procedure in which a balloon is inflated inside the blood vessel to flatten any plaque which obstructs the flow of blood.…