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
Nursing Home Abuse
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
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
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
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
Whether you realized or not, when you signed the contract for your cell phone, you likely signed what is called an Arbitration Agreement. It likely said something like: The Purchaser agrees to waive her or her right to bring any action against the Cell Phone company in state or federal courts, but instead agrees to
Our local business magazine just ran a thorough and thoughtful article on retirement planning. It shows pictures of youthful seniors doing water aerobics, swinging on a lake-side hammock and more. The article highlights idyllic retirement where assets cover comfortable living and seniors have choices. Yes, some people (those blessed with good health and good jobs
Have you every heard the phrase – honesty is the best policy? It is an ironic truism. True, because honesty is always preferable to the opposite, dishonesty, and yet ironic because why do we as humans need a policy (a written rule) encouraging honesty? Shouldn’t honesty be innate? Shouldn’t we know to tell the truth, without
So the FDA says the following about using Haldol for a dementia / Alzheimer’s patient in a nursing home. Read it carefully, the language is not soft but very clear: WARNING Increased Mortality in Elderly Patients with Dementia-Related Psychosis: Elderly patients with dementia-related psychosis treated with antipsychotic drugs are at an increased risk of death.
We get questions like the following, all the time: “I am worried about my loved one in the nursing home. I asked the nurse to call the rescue squad and she said she couldn’t – waiting for a doctor’s order. What can I do?” or “I told the nurse I was so worried about my Mom