Articles Posted in Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect

The family of Annie Lou Jefferson is pursuing Palm Beach County nursing home negligence damages against the Hamlin Place Rehabilitation Center. Jefferson, who died four years ago, developed multiple bedsores while staying at the Boynton Beach assisted living facility.

Her daughter, Maxine Chavis, blames nursing staff for not treating the decubitus ulcers. She is alleging Boynton Beach nursing home neglect.

It wasn’t until Jefferson became unresponsive and was taken to a hospital that a nurse there discovered the bedsores, some of which were open wounds that were as large as grapefruits. Chavis says that her mother also had a huge bedsore on her head.

According to a recent Miami Herald investigation, incidents of Florida nursing home neglect are more rampant than we realize. The newspaper cites a number of examples that resulted in patient deaths, including:

• A 74-year-old woman at a Kendal assisted living facility that died after she was restrained too tightly for more than six hours.

• A 71-year-old mentally ill patient that died from burn injuries he sustained after he was left in the bathtub with scalding water at a Hialeah nursing home.

• A 75-year-old patient with Alzheimer’s was ripped apart by an alligator after he wandered from a Clearwater nursing home. This was his fourth elopement incident while at the facility.

According to the Miami Herald, the Agency for Health Care Administration has failed to properly oversee Florida’s 2,850 nursing homes and its operators, investigate dangerous practices, or act on notifications submitted by its own inspectors about possible incidents of nursing home neglect.

Our Miami nursing home abuse and neglect lawyers take allegations of patient neglect or abuse very seriously. Please contact us right away if you even suspect that a resident is being abused or neglected at a South Florida assisted living facility.

More Florida nursing home negligence facts:
• 26 Florida facilities have been closed by the AHCA since 2005.
• In the last year, about 13,250 calls have been made by police to assisted living facilities in Broward County-that’s one call every four hours.
• 1,732 nursing homes have been caught employing illegal restraints, including chemical restraints, on patients since 2002.
• At least once a month a ALF patient dies from Florida nursing home abuse or neglect.
• Out of 70 nursing homes that Florida regulators could have shut down for severe violations in the last two years, only seven facilities were closed.

Signs of possible Florida nursing home abuse or neglect:
• Overmedication or too much sedation
• Broken bones
• Sudden weight loss or gain
• Unexplained bruises or welts
• Frequent illnesses
• Bedsores
• Malnutrition
• Dehydration
• Unsanitary conditions
• Poor hygiene
• Infections

NEGLECTED TO DEATH | Part 1: Once pride of Florida; now scenes of neglect, Miami Herald, April 30, 2011
Florida is taking elderly down a dark, deadly path, Orlando Sentinel, May 15, 2011

Related Web Resource:
Agency for Healthcare Administration

More Blog Posts:
Bills Seeks to Cap Florida Nursing Home Negligence Damages Over Wrongful Deaths, South Florida Injury Lawyer, April 20, 2011
Florida Nursing Home Neglect?: Maggots Found in 76-Year-Old Patient at Assisted Living Facility with Palm Beach County Ties, South Florida Injury Lawyer, September 14, 2010 Continue reading

The state is investigating a possible case of Florida nursing home negligence involving a 76-year-old patient who had maggots in his eye socket. The man, John Stumpp, had lost an eye to cancer and was suffering from an infection.

The maggots were discovered when he sought treatment at a Veterans Administration facility. The VA has filed a report with the Florida Department of Children & Families’ Adult Protective Services.

Gainesville Health Care Center, which has ownership ties to Treasure Coast and Palm Beach County, is the assisted living facility that was in charge of Stumpp’s nursing care. One of a number of Florida nursing homes that state regulators have given a one-star rating, which is the lowest ranking possible and places it in the lower 20% of nursing homes in its region, by November 2009 the Agency for Health Care Administration had flagged 39 violations at the assisted living facility over the two previous years.

Just last month, AHCA paid an unannounced visit to the Gainesville nursing home and cited it for failing to tell a doctor about problems that nursing home workers experienced when attempting to following instructions regarding the changing one patient’s bandages. Also, a bottle of liquid bleach had been left on a patient’s dresser and there was an elevator that needed cleaning and repairs.

Florida Nursing Home Neglect
Inadequate nursing care is a form of Miami nursing home neglect and can cause infections, deterioration of health, and Florida wrongful death. Nursing home workers are supposed to follow the instructions issued to make sure that each resident gets the care that he or she needs. Any changes in a patient’s health must be reported to his/her physician and family members.

Some Signs of Possible Ft. Lauderdale Nursing Home Neglect:

• Dehydration
• Malnutrition
• Bedsores
• Maggots
• Inadequate hygiene
• Poor grooming
• Wounds that are not treated regularly
• Recurring health issues
• A dirty environment
• Spoiled bed sheets that are left unchanged

Maggots found in eye socket of man in nursing home with Palm Beach County ties, Sun-Sentinel/Palm Beach Post, September 14, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Nursing Home Information, Florida Agency for Healthcare Administration

Florida Nursing Home Guide

Florida Department of Children & Families
Continue reading