2010 November 11th
Glen Care of Mount Olive Assisted Living has some explaining to do. According to an article on WRAL.com, North Carolina health officials have reported that five residents of the facility are suspected to have died in an outbreak of hepatitis B. The residents ranged in age from 63 to 83.
At least three other residents have become ill, but survived.
Hepatitis B is a contagious illness that is transmitted only by exposure to infected blood or other body fluids. It damages the liver. In early stages, hepatitis B causes fatigue, fever, loss of appetite, nausea, and vomiting. As the liver starts to fail, patients will have dark-colored urine and will develop the yellow skin and eyes that are the hallmark of jaundice.
Donnie Ballard said that his 72-year-old father-in-law was diagnosed with hepatitis B at Glen Care and was hospitalized after becoming disoriented and weak. His father-in-law died at the hospital, according to an obituary by the funeral home that handled his arrangements.
Ballard said that Glen Care never notified his family about the disease and that the family got the news from hospital doctors.
“The trust is gone,” Ballard said after his father-in-law was hospitalized in late October. “I’m not sure how it would come back.” [from WRAL.com article.]
Although state officials are not sure how the outbreak occurred, they suggested that it may have started with infected medical equipment.
I don’t know about you, but that does not set my mind at ease. Infected medical equipment? How irresponsible does a care facility have to be to allow infected medical equipment to be used (or re-used)? Especially these days, when Purell hand sanitizers are a common part of households and offices, and dentists won’t even look in a mouth without donning latex gloves and a face mask. What type of infected medical equipment could have been used on all these patients? Did Glen Care of Mount Olive reuse needles? Did they reuse catheters? How can this possibly be explained in a way that does not drop responsibility straight on Glen Care of Mount Olive?
If you believe that you, or someone you love, was injured as a result of poor or neglectful care in a long-term care facility, contact the nursing home abuse lawyers of HensonFuerst. If you have questions, HensonFuerst has answers.
Click here to read the entire WRAL.com article
Click here to go to our HensonFuerst Nursing Home Abuse information page
2010 August 11th
According to an article on WRAL.com, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has recommended that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services fine Britthaven of Chapel Hill nursing home for violations that led to the hospitalization of six patients in February. One patient, 84-year-old Rachel Holliday, died.
Ms. Holliday and eight other patients tested positive for opiates, powerful and controlled pain medications–and many of them had not been prescribed opiates at all.
Angela Almore, 44, of 724 Berwick Valley Lane in Cary, was indicted in June on one count of second-degree murder and six counts of felony patient abuse. Almore worked as a registered nurse at Britthaven. Prosecutors allege that Almore drugged the patients to make them more manageable. [from WRAL.com]
After an extensive investigation, the DHHS Nursing Home Licensure Section found that Britthaven of Chapel Hill “didn’t ensure patients were protected from abuse, its services didn’t meet professional standards, unnecessary drugs were prescribed and significant medication errors occurred.”
The requested fines were $2,500.00 for each violation, for a total of $20,000.00.
HensonFuerst’s Nursing Home Abuse team continues to conduct an independent investigation into these and other episodes of nursing home abuse and neglect. If you have questions about potential abuse, we’re here to provide answers. Call us anytime, day or night, at 1-800-4LAW-MED.
2010 June 7th
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.
2009 March 10th
HB 493, according to The Pensacola News Journal, literally makes it easier for nursing home corporations to get away with poor care, abuse and even the death of a nursing home resident. The bill was introduced by Florida Rep. Dave Murzin, who, according to The NewsJournal, has been the most frequent author of bills to restrict the rights of the elderly living in Florida nursing homes. Viewers to the HensonFuerst nursing home blog may reach Rep. Murzin’s office by calling (850) 488-8278.
Click to read the entire www.PNJ.com article.
2009 February 26th
Breaking News: The State of California has fined a nursing center $75,000 in the case of an elderly man whose death was reported for months as a heart attack, although he really choked on a tuna sandwich. In 2003, the state accused the same facility of giving unnecessary drugs to eight patients. However, no fines or sanctions were given then. Viewers to the HensonFuerst Nursing Home blog are reminded to exercise extreme vigilance when family and friends in elder care are on restricted diets.
Click to read the entire article from the Orange County (CA) Register.
2009 February 18th
The family of Sarah Wentworth wants answers after her body was discovered outside of the suburban nursing home where she lived, Arbor of Itasca, which has a one star rating, on a 5-star federal government scale. That’s the lowest possible rating, meaning the facility is, by government standards, much below average. The family was not aware of the low score.
Click HERE to read & watch the entire story.
2009 January 29th
The Ohio Department of Health says it has identified three cases of salmonella in Portage County that are linked to the national outbreak linked to peanut butter products. In another case, involving the death of a nursing home patient in Minnesota, a large tub at the facility has been found to be contaminated with the same strain of salmonella which has sickened people throughout the United States.
Click to read the complete story from the website of WKYC-TV.