Lauren Ellerman

Dan and I wrote a few posts in December when Medicare began its 5 star rating program for nursing homes. 5 being great, 1 star being really terrible (OK – so I am paraphrasing).Well I like the idea of a simple rating system. Lawyers have one. AV rated being the…

I am not a reactionary, but the idea of a flu outbreak at a Roanoke Nursing Home does cause some alarm.I ran across a blog this week that is local to our hometown, Roanoke Virginia. The author discusses some of the scary issues surrounding the eldely and flu outbreaks. How…

Did you doctor think your Lyme disease was cellulitis?Was multiple sclerosis mis-diagnosed as vision problem?Did the lab tell you your path report came back clean and you learned 6 months later it was dysplastic, pre-melanoma?These mistakes happen all the time. Sometimes, patients are harmed by the misdiagnosis. Sometimes, the mistake…

I wish I had not read this article this morning in the AP. I wish two young teenage employees of a Minnesota Nursing Home had not spat on a resident with dementia. I wish they didn’t think it was acceptable to cover the mouths of Alzheimer’s patients that were vocal,…

So if the FDA comes out with a warning on a medication, or the medication has been withdrawn, who is supposed to tell you – the consumer?Well, some would argue that as an involved consumer, you should be proactive in your healthcare and investigate whether your medications are still on…