The elderly and disabled are often on a lot of medications to improve their heath and quality of life. These medications save and extend the lives of thousands of seniors in this country. However, senior advocacy groups and nursing home abuse lawyers are fighting to decrease the use of unnecessary antipsychotic medications. These drugs do help numerous people, including the elderly, but we are seeing an alarming number of antipsychotic medications being used in nursing homes on residents to make them easier to deal with. These “chemical restraints” are being misused by nursing homes and we are encouraging you to keep an eye on your loved ones in case they are being abused with these drugs.
Use of Antipsychotic Drugs in Nursing Homes Goes Down
The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services named “decreasing the use of antipsychotic drugs in nursing homes” a top priority last year, with a goal of reducing current usage by 15 percent. California made one of the highest drops with 8.5 percent. The state was already below the national average of 22.9 percent with 19.3 percent use of antipsychotic drugs in nursing homes. James Gomez, the president and CEO of the California Association of Health Facilities said, “This is a good start. The reduction of antipsychotic medication crosses into every aspect of the health care continuum — and this effort will succeed with the help of doctors, nurses, hospitals, families and nursing home caregivers.”
Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers in New Jersey and Philadelphia
If you or your loved one have suffered nursing home abuse, negligence, and inadequacy it’s time to contact nursing home abuse lawyers. The team at Messa & Associates is dedicated to earning justice and compensation for those injured by negligence and abuse in nursing homes and long term care facilities. Call, toll-free, 1-800-MessaLaw, or submit a free online inquiry. If you would like immediate assistance, click the CHAT LIVE icon to the right. A representative is present right now to answer your questions.
Diana Valentin, the granddaughter of 89-year old Ana Louisa Medina, started to notice unusual markings and bruising after Medina was admitted to the Gold Crest Care Center in the Bronx, New York. “They were telling me she had gotten the bruising on her hands by banging on the bed railing,” Valentin said. She then placed a hidden camera in her grandmother’s room to see if she was being abused or neglected. “The first video that I saw, she grabbed my grandmother’s arm, twisted it back, lifted her off the bed and slammed her into the bed,” Valentin said. The day after she viewed the shocking footage she went to the nursing home and demanded Medina be transferred. Fifty-five year-old nurse’s aide Sandra Kerr has been arrested and charged with endangering the welfare of a physically disabled person. 
The East Galbraith Health Care Center in Deer Park, Ohio has recently been placed on the Special Focus Facility List after a series of three inspections last year found multiple problems and incidents. The most severe of the citations was the sexual abuse of a woman with dementia by a male patient. The male patient had learned an access code to a women’s area and sexually abused the female patient. The abuser, who also has dementia, is no longer at the facility. “I know this is a label placed on East Galbraith right now, but I do not believe that is who we are right now,” said administrator Abel Quintero. “A lot of good things happen here every day.” Other problems that led to East Galbraith being placed on the watch list were that the center did not have a registered nurse on duty at all times and one patient wasn’t given proper dosage of medication for depression. Facility staff is planning on meeting with a Medicare quality improvement organization to discuss strategies for improvement.
A 72-year-old man who was a resident of the O’Berry Neuro-Medical Treatment Center in Goldsboro, NC, has been physically abused, beaten and potentially sexually assaulted by the caregivers working in the facility which specializes in people with profound developmental disabilities. The victim, who lost a significant amount of his brain function in childhood when he got 
It is often heartbreaking to see the deplorable treatment that our elderly loved ones endure in nursing homes or long term care facilites. That is why New Jersey nursing home abuse lawyers at Messa & Associates fight for the vulnerable adults who have been neglected, taken advantage of, and physically and emotionally abused.
A county owned nursing home facility in Ballston Spa, NY has lost its insurance coverage after authorities discovered injuries to some of their residents and the suspicious deaths of a couple others. Maplewood Manor’s insurance provider has decided not to renew their contract after these incidents resulted in lawsuits against the home and Saratoga County. “It’s just not profitable for that company to stay with us anymore,” Deputy Administrator Ryan Moore said about the dropped coverage. Because the facility has to switch providers, which will probably be more expensive, the tax payer will have to pick up the difference.
The Messa & Associates Blog focuses a lot on nursing home abuse and neglect, mostly from caretakers, nursing home employees, and family members. But another kind of abuse exists within nursing homes – 
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Certified nursing aide Christopher Cantrell, 45, has been arrested on sexual assault charges after being accused by a wheelchair bound female resident at the nursing home where he formally worked. The woman told police that she did not report multiple sexual incidents with Cantrell because he was very well liked and was worried that no one would believe her. She secretly kept a napkin that contained evidence and contacted the police. She is alleging several sexual assaults in the nursing home including the weight room, shower and her bedroom.
Theft is a huge problem in this country. Unfortunately, as