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Inadequate staffing is a widespread and persistent problem in nursing homes in Virginia. We have written extensively about how there are no minimum staffing requirements for Virginia nursing homes. Despite the failure to ensure staffing at the state level, the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) asserts “nurse staffing is directly related to...[Read More]
If you were a Fox News fan in the early days (or just a general consumer of news and media) no doubt the name and face of Gretchen Carlson rings a bell. She was one of the network’s early stars – smart, attractive and often on screen discussing the difficult news of the day. In...[Read More]
I get the following call with frequency: Caller: I am not sure whether you can help me. I’m not really interested in filing a lawsuit but I don’t know what else to do. My Mom is a resident at Virginia Nursing Home INC LLC and they don’t take good care of her. I usually inquire...[Read More]
I visit nursing homes with some frequency. When I walked into one two weeks ago, I noticed the fake flowers in the entry way. I notice the clean carpet and residents sitting in wheelchairs near the front windows. I didn’t see, and didn’t expect to see a copy of the Federal Code on the coffee...[Read More]
A little reminder: For profit healthcare is a thing in the United States. Tylenol makes money for Johnson & Johnson. Pfizer made billions on Zoloft before generic forms became available in 2006. Your neurosurgeon may get a bonus this year, if he or she performs high dollar surgeries on patients or exceeds their RVUs. Healthcare and...[Read More]
So, I get asked the following questions all the time: What are the laws to protect seniors in Virginia nursing homes? Answer: NONE (ok, slight exaggeration. There are some federal laws and some basic licensing requirements for facilities) What is the rule about nurses / patient ratios in Virginia nursing homes? Answer: NONE...[Read More]
This week I shared a fact on our firm’s Facebook page: Virginia does not having minimum staffing requirements for nursing homes. This means, it is technically legal for a facility to accept 120 residents, and only have 1 RN, 2 LPNs and 2 CNAs that can care for these patients per 12 hour shift. On...[Read More]
My four year old gets dehydrated easily – I must encourage and remind her to drink her water. With encouragement (and a glass or bottle of cold clean water) she will drink up. My Mother (sorry Mom, telling on you too) gets dehydrated easily – but, with encouragement, and an ice cold glass of water...[Read More]
Can you imagine walking into Kroger and there are three prices on a jug of milk. What if the tag said: $2.00 if you are a single Mom $3.50 if you are 65 or older $6.00 if you have a job and or retirement account Wouldn’t you be surprised? Upset? Bothered by this? Well, in...[Read More]
Again, this week, I received a call from someone who was shocked to learn their Mother had developed significant pressure ulcers at a local nursing home, and now they were infected. Pressure Ulcers have gone by many names is the last 10-15 years: bed sores; pressure sores; pressure ulcers, and now the people who write...[Read More]