The SmartMoney Magazine website published an eye-opening list of “10 Things Nursing Homes Won’t Tell You,” which was adapted from a book by Jonathan Dahl and the editors of SmartMoney. Everyone related to a nursing home resident should visit the site, read the list, print it, study it, and post it somewhere visible. So I […]
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The Raleigh News & Observer reports that a man being treated in a state-run drug treatment center in Butner, NC, after staff members gave him a lethal dose of methadone. The story took a frightening turn when we learned that there was no reason for the man to have been prescribed methadone in the first
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One of the many lessons of the still-developing story of Britthaven of Chapel Hill is that sick, elderly nursing home residents may be easy targets if the nursing staff wants to slip an extra pill or two into their patients’ medication allotment to ensure that the residents remain unresponsive and sleepy–a form of chemical restraint. There
Know EVERY Medication Given in Nursing Home Read More »
A recent New York Times article talks about a nursing home danger most of us don’t even consider–beds with rails. Although rails are commonly used to protect frail patients from accidentally rolling out of bed, their design actually poses a danger of entrapment, when a patient get trapped between the rail and the mattress. According
Unsafe, Even in Bed? Read More »
There is a very moving story in the April issue of The Atlantic magazine, written by a man who found himself utterly unprepared for the aging and decline of his father. Like millions of middle-aged Americans, he had to find a way to cope with the crisis. This article strives to give a voice to
Essay: Letting Go of My Father Read More »
There’s an interesting article, complete with resource links, in today’s New York Times about how to decide which is the best care for ailing, elderly parents. Check it out here: NYT: Deciding on Care for Elderly Parents in Declining Health.
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It was horrifying to families that had already lived through the tragedy of having a loved one diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. As reported in the media, 9 residents of the Britthaven of Chapel Hill nursing home tested positive for strong pain medication–opiates–that hadn’t been prescribed to them…one later died. Now, ENCtoday.com reports that the incident
Investigations into Britthaven of Chapel Hill Abuses Read More »
In response to continuing reports of deaths, abuse, and substandard care at long-term nursing facilities, the Senate Finance Committee has opened an investigation. The company in the spotlight is Select Medical Corporation, a for-profit long-term care provider with 89 facilities in 26 states, including North Carolina. (They own Select Specialty Hospitals in Durham and Winston-Salem.)
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Today’s The Daily Tar Heel has a terrific editorial about the heartbreaking saga of abuse at Britthaven of Chapel Hill nursing home. At HensonFuerst, we would like to commend and echo the conclusion: “Britthaven itself needs to seriously evaluate its commitment to those it serves. Real and fragile lives are at stake.” Click here to
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According to the Lexington Herald-Leader, another Britthaven nursing home facility is in trouble, this time for the death of a resident by abuse and neglect. A former nursing assistant at Britthaven Nursing Home in Pineville, Kentucky, left a partially paralyzed man unattended and without support. The man fell and later died of complications from the
Britthaven Makes the News…Again Read More »