Category: Nursing Home Abuse

On Monday, June 3, almost 400 nursing homes nationwide had their names released because of their poor safety records. The list of names was made public by U.S. Senators Pat Toomey (PA-R) and Bob Casey (PA-D). Six on the list are in Kentucky, and two are located right here in Louisville. The two Louisville nursing homes named were Klondike Center and Springhurst Health and Rehab.

Six employees and a contract worker at Whetstone Gardens and Care Center in Columbus have been indicted on a number of charges involving two neglected nursing home residents.

Two employees and the contract worker have been indicted on charges of involuntary manslaughter in relation to two patients in 2017. The other four employees were indicted on a total of 34 charges after one patient died as a result of neglect and another patient suffered physical harm.

In February 2017, a male patient is believed to have suffered serious neglect after wounds turned gangrenous. The patient was taken to a hospital but passed away from septic shock in early March, when the infection led to dangerously low blood pressure.

Lobbyists from Kentucky’s nursing home industry have helped compose two bills with the goal of placing restrictions on inspections of nursing homes and on personal injury and wrongful death suits filed against facility owners.

The first bill, House Bill 210, would require Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services inspectors to let nursing home management attend interviews with employees. The inspectors will also be barred from revealing information about what they witnessed during the inspection to anyone outside the Cabinet. This was filed by House Majority Leader John Carney and written by the Kentucky Association of Health Care Facilities.

Nursing home residents in Ohio have rights that protect their welfare. Unfortunately, sometimes their residencies don’t adhere to these rights, even though facilities are legally required to adhere to these rights at all times. If you’re in situation where you feel your loved one’s rights are being violated, you may have legal options. First, let’s find out what these resident rights are and what they mean exactly: 

A new Medicare payment program, Skilled Nursing Facility Value-Based Purchasing Program (SNF VBP), has penalized three-fourths of nursing home facilities in Kentucky. This program is part of an effort by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to reimburse medical providers based on the value or outcomes of the care they provide to patients.

The new program, which was created in 2014 by Congress, will impact payments made in federal fiscal 2019. It aims to encourage facilities to reduce hospital readmission rates by assigning facilities increases or reductions in Medicare payment based on the changes in how often skilled-nursing facility patients were readmitted to a hospital within 30 days after being discharged to a nursing home facility.