Crime, Neglect and Abuse Go Unchecked in Nursing Homes

Ricky Bagolie

Contributor

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Lawsuits may be the only effective weapon available to end abuse and neglect in nursing homes. The idea is to make is to make it more expensive to give poor care than it is to give good care as most problems are the result of greedy nursing home corporations.

According to an article by Evelyn Pringle of opednews.com,

"Where a nursing home is located and who owns it was found to be critical when evaluating the care provided to its residents. Nearly 75% of severe and repeated violations of patient care between 1999 and 2003 were found at nursing homes in 12 states, including Texas, Illinois, Arkansas, Washington, New Jersey, Kansas, Missouri, Indiana, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Mississippi and Tennessee.

During its investigation, GNS interviewed dozens of people and analyzed 4 years of federal data on inspections and patient care and found that for-profit nursing homes accounted for 83% of the more than 500 nursing homes with repeated, serious violations, even though the for-profits accounted for only 65% of all Medicare and Medicaid certified nursing homes.

"Patients at for-profit homes had, on average," GNS said, "higher rates of infections and pressure sores than those the government and nonprofits own. Other violations found included failing to protect patients from mistreatment, hiring staff without running criminal background checks, and allowing patients to be abused and physically punished."