Today, June 15, is the 5th annual World Elder Abuse Awareness Day.

Sponsored by the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse (INPEA), the first Awareness Day in 2006 involved several hundred organizations and governmental bodies throughout the world, on all seven continents. Their core message is this:  Never ignore elder abuse.

Throughout the world, abuse and neglect of older persons is largely under-recognized. It is an unspoken problem. Unfortunately, no community or country in the world is immune from this costly public health and human rights crisis.

Elder Abuse Facts

According to the World Health Organization, the elderly are especially at risk of abuse in institutions such as hospitals, nursing homes, and other long- term care facilities. In a survey in the United States, for example, 36% of nursing home staff reported having witnessed at least one incident of physical abuse of an elderly patient in the previous year, 10% admitted having committed at least one act of physical abuse themselves, and 40% said that they had psychologically abused patients.

Abusive acts include physically restraining patients, depriving them of dignity and choice over daily affairs, and providing insufficient care (for example, allowing them to develop pressure sores).

Signs and symptoms of abuse include:

• delays between injuries or illness and seeking medical attention;
• implausible or vague explanations for injuries or ill-health, from either patient or caregiver;
• differing injury accounts or case histories from patient and caregiver;
• frequent visits to emergency departments because a chronic condition has worsened, despite a care plan;
• laboratory findings that are inconsistent with reported treatment.

The HensonFuerst nursing home abuse team has seen first-hand the abuses that can be heaped on the elderly. Just a few months ago, six residents of the Britthaven of Chapel Hill nursing home were given overdoses of morphine, and one resident died. They were all in the Alzheimer’s unit, which means that they were helpless to know what was going on… helpless to fight back.

Stories like that are what keep HensonFuerst fighting against elder abuse every day of the year.

Attorney Carma Henson, partner with North Carolina-based HensonFuerst law firm, told reporters today that the HensonFuerst nursing home abuse team is conducting its own investigation into the the morphine overdose of nine Alzheimer’s patients being treated at Britthaven of Chapel Hill nursing home.

In February, six patients were admitted to the hospital after they tested positive for morphine, even though the pain killer hadn’t been prescribed. One of the patients, 84-year-old Rachel Holliday, died. At the time of her death, she also had high levels of morphine in her blood. On Monday, registered nurse Angela Almore was arrested and indicted on one count of second-degree murder and six counts of felony patient abuse. In a report from WRAL, Orange County District Attorney Jim Woodall said that the state believes Almore acted alone, and that he doesn’t expect any more arrests or charges in the case.

In a news report on WRAL-TV today, Carma Henson said that HensonFuerst is continuing its investigation on behalf of families concerned about how this type of abuse could have happened to their loved ones. The firm is not limiting its research to Almore’s actions; there is also the question of how drugs are administered throughout the facility. According to Carma Henson, a nurse is not supposed to be able to get access to morphine and administer it to patients if it has not been prescribed for those patients.

“This can’t be just a rogue nurse gone bad,” says Ms. Henson. Her hope is that the HensonFuerst investigation gets a look at the bigger picture of how this and other nursing homes are run, so changes can be made to bring about some good. There are still a lot of people in nursing homes who need help… HensonFuerst is determined to make a difference.

(Watch the WRAL video and read their complete story here: HensonFuerst continues investigation.)

WRAL.com reports that registered nurse Angela Almore was indicted on a charge of second-degree murder for the death of an Alzheimer’s patient at Britthaven of Chapel Hill nursing home. Almore is also charged with six counts of felony patient abuse, and is being held in the Orange County jail under a $500,000 bond.

In February, nine Alzheimer’s patients tested positive for powerful opiate medicines, the kind used to control pain. Six of the patients were hospitalized, and one patient–Rachel Holliday–died.  At the time of her death, Ms. Holliday had a blood morphine level of 50,000 ng/ml… even though she had not been prescribed morphine.

HensonFuerst is relieved to know that the investigation into patient abuse at this nursing home will continue, and that an arrest has been made. Our nursing home abuse lawyers are continuing their own investigation of this incident. There are many more questions to be answered….

To read the full WRAL story, click here: Murder Charge at Britthaven of Chapel Hill. And if you have questions about what you can do about suspected cases of nursing home abuse, contact our Nursing Home Abuse team–if you have questions, HensonFuerst has answers.

An article on the WRAL webite today reports that an excessive amount of morphine contributed to the death of a patient in the Alzheimer’s unit of Britthaven of Chapel Hill nursing home.

In February, patients were drug tested when managers expressed concern about the way the patients were acting. Of 25 Alzheimer’s patients, nine tested positive for opiates. (Morphine is a type of opiate.)  Three of the patients were removed from the nursing home and hospitalized, and one of those patients–Rachel Holliday–died on February 16, 2010. On autopsy, the medical examiner found extremely high doses of morphine in Ms. Holliday’s system, even though she was not scheduled to receive that medication at all.

The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) is still analyzing evidence in the case; the medical examiner did not rule out homicide.

Everyone at HensonFuerst is outraged and heartsick at these findings, and our prayers go out to the family members affected. Britthaven of Chapel Hill has been providing substandard care for a long while, as evidenced by its Medicare rating: an overall 1 out of 5 stars. It is also a “Special Focus Facility,” which means that they have a history of persistent poor quality of care. Every patient deserves the best possible care, and Britthaven of Chapel Hill has not been keeping up with the implicit promise made by every special care facility: That they will take care of your loved one.

Obviously, there has been a serious disconnect somewhere along the way. Is the staff undertrained or incompetent?  Do the corporate heads not care enough improve the facility?

HensonFuerst is also investigating cases involving Britthaven of Chapel Hill nursing home patients receiving opiates. If you are concerned about a loved one who resides in this or any other facility, please give us a call. We want to help.

You can reach our nursing home abuse team by calling 1-800-4-LAW-MED.

We knew the Britthaven of Chapel Hill nursing home had substandard care, but today’s news is both terrifying and disheartening. It seems that a team of state inspectors are investigating why nine people living in the facility’s Alzheimer’s unit tested positive for strong pain-control opiate drugs that they weren’t supposed to be receiving. As we posted earlier this week, one patient died.

What the heck has been going on? Three possibilities come to mind:

1.  The staff may have been using the drugs to “chemically restrain” the residents—medicating them into silence;

2.  There may be rogue, out-of-control employees who are acting without proper supervision;

3.  There may be severe medication errors or medication control issues in their facility.

No matter what the explanation, we take these issues seriously, even if the Britthaven of Chapel Hill employees don’t. Based on our dealings with this facility in the past, this is not the first time that there have been medication problems—they have been cited by the state on multiple occasions in the past.

Prior to these most recent events at Britthaven of Chapel Hill, the nursing home had already been identified by the Centers for Medicare Services as a “Special Focus Facility,” which means that they have a history of persistent poor quality of care.  Their lapses have resulted in more frequent inspections and monitoring by Medicare. In addition, Britthaven of Chapel Hill has been given the rating of 1 Star by the Centers for Medicare Services, the worst rating possible, further proof its services are much below the national average.

But all those warnings and reprimands didn’t prevent this latest atrocity.

HensonFuerst is currently investigating cases involving patients receiving opiate medications, when they are not prescribed for Alzheimers patients.  If you have any information to assist in our investigation, or if you are concerned about a loved one who resides in Britthaven of Chapel Hill nursing home, please give us a call.  We want to help.

You can reach our nursing home abuse team by calling 1-800-4-LAW MED.

One patient from the Alzheimer’s unit of Britthaven of Chapel Hill nursing home died…six more have been hospitalized after opiates were found in their system…three others were hospitalized as a precaution. You know what happened to the staff? According to a report in the Raleigh News & Observer, they were put on paid leave. Paid. Kind of like a vacation.

Managers from Britthaven’s corporate offices were brought in to investigate. We truly hope that some drastic action will be taken, but we’re not holding our collective breath. This nursing home is one of the facilities that failed to show significant improvement after being tagged by Medicare as a “Special Focus Facility,” which is a gentle way of saying that they provide substandard care, and that serious problems persisted for a long time. (See our earlier blog about this rating.)

According to the newspaper, criminal investigation has not been launched.

We’ll keep you posted on further developments.

The HensonFuerst family extends its deepest and most profound sympathies to the families of Sunday’s massacre of eight innocent residents at the Pinelake Health and Rehab Center, 801 Pinehurst Ave., Carthage, North Carolina—a 110-bed rehabilitation, nursing and Alzheimer’s care facility.  As many blog viewers now know, a lone gunman, whom police have identified as Robert Stewart, age 45 of Moore County, began his rampage around 10 a.m. Sunday morning.  While his motives remain unclear, Stewart faces eight counts of first-degree murder.  Moore County District Attorney Maureen Krueger identified the dead as: Tessie Garner, 88; Lillian Dunn, 89; Jesse Musser, 88; John Goldston, 78; Margaret Johnson, 89; Louise Decker, 98; Bessie Hendrick, 78; and Jerry Avent. A young Carthage police officer, Justin Garner, was shot in the leg during the incident, but he was treated and released from First Health Moore Regional Hospital in Pinehurst.  Carthage Police Chief Chris McKenzie said Garner confronted Stewart in the hallway of the nursing home. Both men fired. Both were wounded, McKenzie said. The HensonFuerst family encourages you to share your feelings on this tragedy by posting messages with other blog viewers.

Mr. Carlson, author of “20 Common Nursing Home Problems—and How to Resolve Them” shares his wisdom and counsel on nursing home problems and patients’ rights. He answers questions like how laws governing assisted-living communities differ from nursing homes; can a nursing home evict a resident for being difficult; what is the biggest factor when it comes to quality of care, and are there special innovations to look for in Alzheimer’s and dementia care. The HensonFuerst Nursing Home Abuse lawyers encourage blog viewers to educate themselves on the issues raised by Eric Carlson.

Click to read the compete article published online by U.S. News & World Report.

According to Erdman B. Palmore, a professor emeritus of gerontology at Duke University, “The way our society devalues older people could contribute to their neglect and abuse on some occasions.” One Alzheimer’s patient cried out for water before going to the hospital with dehydration. Another broke an eye socket when a wheelchair rolled down a ramp and crashed. A patient at a third nursing home died when workers adjusted a breathing tube. Two at yet another home weighed less than 80 pounds each. Those cases and more were drawn from a Tribune-Review analysis of state surveys conducted at 118 nursing homes in Western Pennsylvania over the past three years.

Click to read “Care for Elderly Lacking” by Andrew Conte and Mike Cronin