The Guardian Blog : Arizona Nursing Home Lawyer & Attorney : Solomon & Relihan Law Firm : AZ Assisted Living Neglect & Abuse : The Guardian Blog

A mother daughter duo in El Segundo, CA are being accused by local police authorities of conning a 90-year-old man out of thousands of dollars in cash and expensive items, including a Mercedes-Benz.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

With technology advancing so quickly, there have been many developments in devices that can help elderly individuals. The Nara Institute of Science and Technology has created a robot that is able to dress the physically disabled and elderly. The device incorporates reinforcement learning and amazingly adapts to each person’s individual size and shape within minutes.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Hospitals around the country are trying to prevent a drug-resistant staph infection from becoming more of a threat. The bacteria called Clostridum difficile, or C. diff, is responsible for more than 20,000 deaths and at least $1 billion in heath care costs in the United States per year according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. C. diff is a bacteria found in the colon and spread through spores that can live on surfaces for months and cause diarrhea, intestinal inflammation and abdominal pain.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Research that was presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions in 2011 state that elderly who are lower income have a higher risk of suffering from heart failure regardless of their educational level. This particular study is the first to link Medicare-eligible individuals with an increase in the risk of heart failure.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (1)
• Trackbacks

It is devastating for any family to lose their loved one because a caretaker’s abuse and neglect. In Rock Hill, SC a 30-year-old caretaker was arrested and charged with murder of an 82-year-old woman.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Just months after proposing a series of bills that would loosen regulations of assisted-living facilities and strip away residents' rights, state legislators in Florida are now calling for tougher regulation of assisted living facilities. This reversal comes after a newspaper investigation revealed that nearly one resident per month dies of abuse and neglect in Florida assisted-living facilities.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

According to a state audit, the agency in charge of assisted living facilities and group homes in Maryland failed to perform annual inspections on 53% of the assisted-living facilities in the state last year. It also failed to inspect more than 75% of the group homes for developmentally-disabled adults under its supervision.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

An investigation by a local TV station revealed massive neglect and abuse at an Oklahoma nursing home. The investigation also revealed that, despite many reported cases of abuse and neglect, the state had not closed the nursing home because it lacks the power to do so.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Michigan Protection & Advocacy Service, a private nonprofit group, has released recommendations for strengthening laws governing nursing home abuse and neglect in the state. The recommendations follow a study of state records on abuse and neglect that showed the nursing homes and employees were allowed to continue without punishment despite documented cases of abuse and neglect.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

According to a investigation from the U.S. Administration on Aging, a Florida program designed to prevent elder abuse in assisted living facilities has been undermined by political and industry influence. The investigation was prompted by the firing of the outspoken head of the Florida Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program and determined that conflicts of interest in the organization of the program have allowed the program to be ineffective.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

With the proliferation of elder abuse and neglect in nursing homes becoming a growing concern across the country, family members have begun using hidden video cameras, dubbed "granny cams," to catch abuse of their loved ones by nursing home staff members. Though nursing home administrators dislike the practice, hidden cameras have helped family members hold nursing homes accountable through legal action.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

One of this year's winner's of the prestigious MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, commonly known as the MacArthur "Genius" grant, is being recognized for her work in fighting elder abuse and is planning to use the $500,000 grant to continue her fight. Marie-Therese Connolly is the the director of Life Long Justice, a Washington, D.C.-based group dedicated to fighting elder abuse and she plans to use her grant money to write a book and continue traveling the country educating people on elder abuse.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

The elderly are constantly targeted for theft because they are seen as weak and unable to defend themselves. Whether the elderly are living in a nursing home, or are still living on their own, they can become the targets for predators who wish to make a quick buck. In Philadelphia, PA an elderly woman woke up with a stranger covering her mouth and a knife to her face. Instead of submitting to the man who had invaded her home, she outsmarted the thief.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

In San Diego, CA an 81-year-old man was reunited with his family after three weeks of his disappearance. The elderly man suffered from dementia took a bus from his home in Mexico City to Los Angeles, but he never arrived to his destination.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Trying to find the right type of care for your loved one who is developmentally disabled can be extremely difficult. The developmentally disabled population is often fragile, immobile and some are unruly and inclined toward violence. Yet in some states, their care and unexplained deaths are gone ignored, and families are left to mourn the loss of their loved one whose death could have been prevented.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

When an elderly individual is under the care of a nursing home, we expect that since they are under constant surveillance their health will be monitored and taken care of at the best capacity. Based on a new study that was published in the Annals of Surgery, the findings suggest that the elderly who stay in a nursing home may suffer from more complications than other elderly who live on their own.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (1)
• Trackbacks

The Wisconsin Legislature on Thursday passed a bill reforming the state's regulation of nursing homes. The bill gives the state more power to revoke and suspend nursing homes' licenses and sue them for violation of federal rules, but it will also result in fewer citations being issued and give the homes more time to pay fines. It is estimated that homes will pay $1.5 million less per year in fines under the new system.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

The former administrator of a now-closed Kentucky personal-care home as admitted to stealing over $300,000 intended for the home's disabled residents. The administrator stole over $113,000 directly from residents and also stole all of their 2009 federal stimulus checks. He plead guilty to charges of theft, exploitation, and tax evasion and has agreed to repay the money stolen from the residents.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Make A Difference day occurs every fourth Saturday in October, and in some cases it is the step into taking the time to volunteer and help someone on a more regular basis. In Green Bay, WI a woman was prompted to help the elderly when she read an article about elderly abuse in her local newspaper.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks