Tag: Long Term Care Facility

The 10 Worst Nursing Homes in the Tri-County Area: #4

Nursing Home Abuse is having a serious effect on our confidence in nursing homes and the care they provide.
Lakewood of Voorhees (Camden)

Our fourth place facility in the list of the ten worst nursing homes in the tri-county area is the Lakewood of Voorhees nursing home. Lakewood is a for profit corporation participating in Medicare and Medicaid, and holding 240 certified beds. Inspectors have found the facility to be guilty of nursing home negligence and nursing home abuse, and to be failing on a large number of counts to provide high quality, professional, and attentive care. Lakewood has a number of severe deficiencies involving their drug administering procedures, as their medicinal errors rate was above well above 5%.  Aside from  not letting able-bodied and mentally capable residents administer their own prescriptions, they distributed the wrong dosages of the wrong drugs to the wrong patients on numerous occasions, and failed to deal with the subsequent effects accordingly. They also failed to have a licensed pharmacist regularly check the drugs the residents were taking.

Also among their shortcomings were their failure to keep common areas free of accident hazards, their failure to provide clean, sanitary, safe, and comfortable environments for residents, and their failure to keep a sanitary place to store and prepare food. Their housekeeping and maintenance procedures were lacking, and all of the hallways did not have firmly secured handrails on both sides.

Nursing Home Abuse: Quality measures inspections found the facility to have lower than National and New Jersey percentage averages when it came to the number of patients that received flu shots and pneumococcal vaccinations. They were found to have higher than National and/or New Jersey percentage averages in all of the following categories:

  • Long and short stay residents with moderate to severe pain
  • High risk long stay residents who develop pressure sores
  • Low risk long stay residents who develop pressure sores
  • Long stay residents who were physically restrained
  • Low risk long stay residents who lose control of their bowels or bladders
  • Long stay residents who spend most of their time in a bed or chair
  • Long stay residents who had urinary tract infections
  • Short stay residents who develop pressure sores

Nursing Home Abuse: The mere fact that long and short stay residents are developing bedsores is a sure sign of a negligent and abusive staff. Perhaps it has to do with their lack of procedure, or perhaps it is that the staff is overworked and underpaid. Whatever the reason, it does not excuse the poor treatment and low quality care that Lakewood of Voorhees is providing to our elderly loved ones. Nursing home abuse is negatively affecting senior citizens and their families all over, and we must work together to make change.

Nursing Home Abuse and The Mininno Law Office

The nursing home abuse attorneys at the Mininno Law Firm are dedicated to working hard for those that have been victimized by long term care facility abuse. Contact us for a free case evaluation, or call us at (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey, or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia.

Note: Conclusions in this blog about nursing home abuse were formed from data provided by the State of New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services and Medicare .

The 10 Worst Nursing Homes in the Tri-County Area: #5

Nursing Home Abuse is a serious epidemic in the long term care industry. The attorneys at the Mininno Law Office are dedicated to doing their part in eradicating it.

Manor Care, Voorhees (Camden)

Fifth on our list of the ten worst nursing homes in the tri-county area is Manor Care in Voorhees, New Jersey. Manor Care is a for profit corporation participating in Medicare and Medicaid, and holding 120 certified beds. Manor care was found to have some very disturbing deficiencies (nursing home abuse). Inspections found that they failed at the following essential tasks of a nursing home or long term care facility:

• to provide treatment to prevent new bedsores or heal existing ones
• to make sure residents are safe from medicinal errors
• to make sure areas are free of dangers that can cause accidents
• to have a program in place that will prevent the spread of infection
• to keep residents apart from other residents if he/she has a communicable infection
• to keep accurate and appropriate medical records
• to review the work of nurses aides and provide the most up to date training for existing or new nurses aides
• to promptly give Doctors lab results
• to develop care plans that carry on after the residents’ stay
• to give care and service to get or keep the highest quality of life

Nursing Home Abuse: They were also found to have SIGNIFICANTLY lower than both National and New Jersey percentages when it came to patients that were given flu shots and pneumococcal vaccinations. They had higher than National and/or New Jersey percentages when it came to long and short stay residents with moderate to severe pain, high risk long stay residents with bed sores, long stay residents who are depressed or anxious, low risk long stay residents who lose control of their bowels or bladder, long stay residents with urinary tract infections, long stay residents who lose too much weight, and short stay residents who develop bed sores.
Bed sores are a sure sign of nursing home abuse and negligence, and if both long and short stay residents are developing them, Manor Care in Voorhees is guilty of being negligent. Nursing home abuse and negligence are an epidemic in the long term care facility industry, and serious steps must be taken to eradicate it.

The Mininno Law Office Wants to Help You

If you or a loved one have been negatively affected by negligence or nursing home abuse, contact Mininno Law Firm for a free case evaluation. These facilities must suffer the consequences of their inattentive and lackluster care. You could also call us for a free consultation at (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey, or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia.

Note: Conclusions in this blog about nursing home abuse were formed from data provided by the State of New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services and Medicare.

The 10 Worst Nursing Homes in the Tri-County Area: #7

Victims of nursing home abuse must speak up!

Lutheran Care (Burlington)

Lutheran Care, located in Moorestown, NJ, is our #7 of the ten worst nursing homes in the tri-county area. It is a not for profit, church related organization that accepts Medicare, Medicaid, and contains 201 certified beds. Inspections found a number of issues with their drug administering procedures, issues that were definitely their biggest discretions.
Lutheran Care failed to have licensed pharmacists check the residents’ drugs monthly. They had a higher than average rate of medicinal errors, including administering the wrong drugs, or the wrong dosages. They also kept inaccurate medical records. These drug related issues surely stem from their failure to review resident drug regimens, and their failure to act upon the consequent irregularities in residents that followed.

Nursing home Abuse: In their Quality Measures inspections, inspections that can pinpoint how and where nursing home abuse occurs, Lutheran Care was found to have higher than New Jersey and/or National percentage averages in all of the following areas:

• Long stay residents who were physically restrained
• Long stay residents who lose control of their bowels or bladder
• Long stay residents who have catheters inserted and left in their bladders
• Long stay residents who spend most of their time in a bed or chair
• Long stay residents with urinary tract infections
• Short stay residents who develop pressure sores

Nursing Home Abuse: Other discrepancies included a number of accidents that occurred due to lack of supervision, poor fire safety procedures, and locations in the facility that were unsanitary, uncomfortable, or dysfunctional. It seems that at Lutheran Care, the dignity and respect of each individual resident is not top priority.
This kind of nursing home abuse can not be tolerated. Our senior citizens deserve patient, attentive, and proper care. Long term facility negligence is an epidemic, and must be cured.

What to Do If You Feel Victimized By Nursing Home Abuse

If you or a loved one have suffered due to nursing home negligence or nursing home abuse, you’ll need representation.
Contact us for a free case evaluation or call the Mininno Law Firm for a free consultation at (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey, or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia. Let our Nursing Home Abuse Attorneys get you the compensation you deserve.

Note: Conclusions in this blog were formed from data provided by the State of New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services and Medicare.

10 Worst Nursing Homes in the Tri-County Area: #8

Nursing home abuse leaves residents feeling isolated, helpless, violated, and alone. We must do what we can do put an end to the injustices brought on by nursing home abuse.

    Burlington Woods (Burlington)

Burlington Woods (a for-profit corporation) is a long-term care facility located in Burlington, New Jersey. It participates in Medicare and Medicaid, it has 227 certified beds, and it is #8 in our list of the ten worst long term care facilities in Camden, Burlington, and Gloucester counties. Based on the last two inspections the facility received, Burlington Woods is failing on a large number of counts to provide services that meet professional standards, and is instead providing negligent and abusive care (nursing home abuse).

Inspection reports show isolated incidents of failure to maintain the dignity and respect of residents. Inspections also showed patterns of nursing home abuse, insufficient housekeeping and maintenance services, drug regimens including unnecessary drugs, and unsanitary food preparation and serving.

Nursing Home Abuse: Burlington Woods was found in their Quality Measures inspections to have lower than national and/or New Jersey percentage averages in the following areas:

• Long stay residents given influenza vaccinations during flu season
• Long stay residents assessed and given pneumococcal vaccinations
• Short stay residents give influenza vaccinations during flu season
• Short stay residents given pneumococcal vaccinations

Nursing Home Abuse: The Quality Measures inspections found that Burlington Woods had higher than national and/or New Jersey percentage averages in the following areas:

• Long stay residents whose need for help with daily activities increased
• High Risk long stay residents who develop pressure sores
• Low risk long stay residents who develop pressure sores
• Long stay residents who spend most of their time in a bed or chair
• Long stay residents who lose control of their bladder or bowels
• Long stay residents whose physical independence became limited
• Long stay residents who have urinary tract infections
• Long stay residents who lose too much weight
• Short stay residents who develop pressure sores

Nursing Home Abuse: Inspectors determined that the facility failed to give professional services that met a professional standard of quality, it failed to provide care that keeps or builds residents’ self respect, failed to store, cook, and serve food in a safe and clean way, and failed to keep accurate and appropriate medical records.
Their largest, most concerning deficiency was one that related to administering drugs to patients. Inspections found that care-takers were failing to regulate dosages of medicine, as well failing to change or stop prescriptions that were causing unwanted effects. Long-term care facility negligence and nursing home abuse, as you can and will further see, are a serious detriment to the long term care industry.

If You Are a Victim of Nursing Home Abuse, Get Help!

If you or a loved one has suffered injury or loss due to nursing home abuse or negligence, you’ll need proper representation. The Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers at the Mininno Law Firm are here to help you receive the compensation you are due.
Contact us to fill out a free case evaluation form, or call us for a free consultation: (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia.

Note: Conclusions in this blog were formed from data provided by the State of New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services and Medicare.

The 10 Worst Nursing Homes in the Tri-County Area: #9

Nursing home abuse and neglect are unacceptable crimes to humanity.

South Jersey Health Care Center (Camden)

The South Jersey Health Care Center (a for-profit corporation) is a long term care facility located in Camden, New Jersey. It participates in Medicare and Medicaid, it has 120 certified beds, and it is #9 in our list of the ten worst long term care facilities in Camden, Burlington, and Gloucester counties. Based on the last three inspections the facility received, the South Jersey Health Care Center failing on a large number of counts to provide services that meet professional standards, and is instead providing negligent and abusive care (nursing home abuse).

Inspection reports show isolated incidents of failure to maintain residents’ nutrition status, failure to develop comprehensive care plans, and failure to prevent or treat pressure sores. They show patterns of nursing home abuse and  less than professional house keeping/maintenance services. The same reports show widespread occurrences of unsanitary conditions in food prep and service areas, and widespread occurrences of hazardous obstructions.

Nursing Home Abuse: The South Jersey Health Care Center was found in their Quality Measures inspections to have lower than national and/or New Jersey percentage averages in the following areas:

  • Long stay residents given influenza vaccinations during flu season
  • Long stay residents assessed and given pneumococcal vaccinations
  • Short stay residents give influenza vaccinations during flu season
  • Short stay residents given pneumococcal vaccinations

Nursing Home Abuse: The Quality Measures inspections found that The South Jersey Health Care Center had higher than national and/or New Jersey percentage averages in the following areas:

  • High risk long stay residents who develop pressure sores
  • Low risk long stay residents who develop pressure sores
  • Long stay residents who have catheters inserted and left in their bladders
  • Long stay residents who spend most of their time in a bed or chair
  • Long stay residents who have urinary tract infections
  • Long stay residents who lose too much weight
  • Short stay residents with moderate to sever pain.

Nursing home abuse: Inspectors determined that the facility failed to give professional services that met a professional standard of quality, it failed to make sure each resident’s nutritional needs were met, failed to store, cook, and serve food in a safe and clean way, and failed to make sure that the nursing home area was free of dangers that cause accidents. Perhaps their biggest failure was their failure to provide immediate updates to doctors or family members when residents’ health or treatment changed, when residents suffered injuries, or when residents needed to be transferred or discharged.  Long-term care facility negligence and nursing home abuse, as you can and will further see, are a serious detriment to the long term care industry.

Have You Been Affected by Nursing Home Abuse?

If you or a loved one has suffered injury or loss due to nursing home abuse or negligence, you’ll need proper representation. The Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers at the Mininno Law Firm are here to help you receive the compensation you are due.
Contact Us to fill out a free case evaluation form, or call us for a free consultation: 856-833-0600 in New Jersey or 215-567-2380 in Philadelphia.

Note: Conclusions in this blog were formed from data provided by the State of New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services and Medicare .

The 10 Worst Nursing Homes in the Tri-County Area: #10

Nursing Home Abuse is a serious issue in today's long term care industry. It's time we started to attack the facilities that do not provide respectful and attentive care to our elderly citizens.

In a series of 10 blogs, the Mininno Law Firm will be revealing the 10 worst nursing homes in three of our surrounding counties- Camden, Gloucester, and Burlington. The ratings of these nursing homes were determined after inspection of health standards, staffing, and quality measures. Nursing homes can receive up to five stars. The facilities you will read about in the series have all received just one.

The Fountains at Cedar Park

The Fountains at Cedar Park is a long term care facility located in Atco, New Jersey. It participates in Medicare and Medicaid, has sixty certified beds, and is #10 in our list of the ten worst long term care facilities in the tri-county area. Based on the last two inspections the facility received, it’s failing on a large number of counts to provide services that meet professional standards. Inspection reports show isolated incidents of hazardous obstructions. They show patterns of drug regimens including unnecessary drugs (abuse), unsafe, unsanitary, and uncomfortable living conditions (negligence), improper housekeeping and maintenance (negligence), and regulations on meal frequencies not being met (abuse). The same reports show widespread instances of unsanitary conditions in food prep and service areas.

The Fountains at Cedar Park was found in their Quality Measures inspections to have higher than national and/or New Jersey percentage averages in the following areas:

• Long stay residents whose need for help with daily activities increased
• Long and short stay residents who have moderate to severe pain
• Long stay residents who are more depressed or anxious
• Low-risk long stay residents who lose control of their bowels or bladder
• Long stay residents whose physical independence became limited
• Long stay residents who developed urinary tract infections

Inspectors determined that the facility failed to give residents care and services to get or keep the highest quality of life, it failed to give professional services that met a professional standard of quality, and it failed to make sure the nursing home was free of dangers that could cause harm. A lot of these issues stem from the staff: negligent care takers who fail to spend appropriate amounts of time with each of their patients. Long-term care facility negligence and abuse run rampant throughout the industry.As you’ll see in future blogs, the amount of it is shocking.

Nursing Home Abuse and the Mininno Law Office

If you or a loved one has suffered injury or loss due to nursing home negligence or nursing home abuse, you’ll need proper representation. The Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers at the Mininno Law Firm are here to help you receive the compensation you are due.
Contact us to fill out a free case evaluation form, or call us for a free consultation: (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia.

Note: Conclusions in this blog were formed from data provided by the State of New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services and Medicare.

Nursing Homes: A Cure For Incontinence?

Electronic Underpants could bring an end to incontince related complications in nursing homes.

We at the Mininno Law Firm are advocates for health and safety in nursing homes. We applaud any and all uses of technology that could improve the quality of life for patients in nursing homes and convalescent centers. Anything these facilities can employ that will help prevent bedsores, patient falls, and prolonged pain or discomfort , is something this firm stands behind. That is why we post this blog about a new technology that could potentially end patient complications due to incontinence.

The product, developed in Australia and focused on incontinence management, could change the way elderly citizens are cared for. Simavita, a “company established to develop solutions that improve quality of life across the global spectrum,” has been developing the product for the last ten years. Simavita’s “SIMsystem” is a new continence aid that will revolutionize the way caretakers handle patient continence. SIMsystem, or Smart Incontinence Management System, will work towards four separate goals:

1. To limit the time patients spend in soiled undergarments.
2. To limit the time caregivers spend on incontinence management.
3. To use the data collected by the SIMsystem to schedule bathroom visits to eventually prevent events on incontinence.
4. To limit costs for facilities on incontinence consumables.

How Does it Work?

The product is, in laymen’s terms, a pair of electronic underpants. Under a disposable pad lies a sensor strip that measures frequency and level of incontinence. Ultimately, the use of the sensor strip is imperative to prevention of incontinent events. The entire system works as a 4 step process through the SIMserver.

1. An incontinent event is read by the SIMbox.
2. The event is recorded on the computer at the time that it occurs.
3. The caregiver is notified over the facilities paging system, or via SMS text message to a mobile phone or pager.
4. The caregiver tends to the patient implementing required procedure, and the intervention is recorded via the SIMbox.

The Chief Executive of Simavita, Phillipa Lewis, says:

“Incontinence Management is a key area in which innovative technologies can benefit aged care. We developed SIMsystem to provide greater comfort and dignity to the elderly while aiming to significantly lower costs for aged care facilities.”

When asked about the safety of the product, Lewis called the product “completely safe,” using very low power as well as the accepted form of wireless technology for body worn products. Some naysayers have commented on the ethics of the new invention, claiming that the tracking portion of the system is an invasion of privacy that may work to diminish dignity, rather than the opposite.
In the end, however, it seems that removing patients from incontinence pads and gaining them some form of freedom does much more to build dignity than the tracking does to take it away.

Incontinence is a very time consuming aspect of a nurse or caregivers job. It’s often necessary to for caretakers to check for incontinence upwards of ten times a day. The SIMsystem will potentially cut the time spent on incontinence management in half, freeing up time to pay attention to other dire needs of patients.
With this new technology, currently being used only in care facilities in Australia, the quality of life for elderly patients in nursing homes and convalescent centers will gradually and greatly improve.It’s not really clear how long it will be before the SIMsystem is being used world wide, but hopefully, it will be soon. Far too many of our elderly citizens are being victimized by their own incontinence, and by nursing home attendants not providing the proper care and attention.

Has Your Loved One Been Victimized by Nursing Home Abuse?

If you or a loved one have suffered from this kind of negligence at a nursing home or care facility, you need help. A New Jersey trial attorney will help you receive the compensation you deserve. Contact us to fill out a free case evaluation form, or call us at (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey, or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia for a free consultation.

How to look for Good Long Term Care Facilities

When a family member or loved one needs care but it has become too hard for you or your family to give it yourself, you want to find the best care possible for your loved ones. Too many times we hear stories about people that go to this nursing home or to that one and end up with injuries, are abused, suffer from malnutrition, have bed sores or other problems. Unfortunately, these are not just stories. These things happen to millions of elderly people every single day. If you want to make sure you are taking your loved one to a “sage” or high quality care facility, there are couple things you can do. You can talk with friends and neighbors about places they have tried and get a general idea of what to look for and then you can go online to www.medicare.gov

On this website you can search for nursing homes by state, city and more and then it will bring up a list of nursing homes and how they are rated based on their overall rating, health inspections, nursing staff, and quality measures. This website also lists what insurance programs they participate in and whether or not the nursing home is non-profit. Once you have this list, you can begin calling places and asking to see the facility or even to spend a day with a resident who lives there. It is important to see what actually goes on at a long term care facility, so that you know you are sending your loved ones to a place where they will be treated well for any injuries or sores they may get and where measures are taken to prevent nursing home abuse and other problems. This way you can feel better about the care of your loved one now and in the future.

For more information on nursing home ratings in New Jersey, you may visit: www.medicare.gov.

 

If you feel that your loved ones have been a victim of nursing home abuse, please contact a nursing home abuse lawyer right away.
He will help you advocate for the rights of you and your loved ones, to get the quality care they deserve.