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The U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently inspected the 139 nursing homes that it insures. HUD gave a Philadelphia nursing home its lowest possible rating. On a scale of 100, Bala Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Wynnefield Heights scored a 2.

Federal inspectors found 58 “safety and health” violations at Bala Nursing, including 37 that put residents in jeopardy. The violations including missing or broken handrails, blocked or locked fire exits, exposed wiring and missing protective plates, m broken “call-for-aid” devices, and rodent infestation.…

Continue Reading Lowest Rating for Philadelphia’s Bala Nursing Home After Inspection

Just this week the New Jersey Attorney General, Christopher Porrino, and the Division of Consumer Affairs announced an exciting new program to protect individuals from the abuses of home healthcare providers. It is called the Safe Care Cam program and the purpose of the program is to provide micro-surveillance cameras for free 30 day loans to families that suspect an in-home care giver is abusing or neglecting their loved one.
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Continue Reading NJ Attorney General Introduces New Program to Protect Residents from Abuse

In our practice, we represent individuals, who are often diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and dementia, and their families. It is not uncommon for individuals with Alzheimer’s and dementia suffer from poor safety awareness and poor decision making. This can lead to devastating results and injuries if a nursing home does not properly care for the resident’s…

It was recently reported by ABC27 News that the Pennsylvania Attorney General Office has brought a lawsuit against Grane Healthcare and their facilities individually for understaffing and not providing basic services to its residents.

More troubling is the fact that the state alleges that “Grane’s business practices are deceptive and misleading because it advertises that…

Throughout the country, trusting families are signing nursing home, rehab, and assisted living admission paperwork for someone they care deeply about. These documents are technical, long, and complicated. Hidden in many of these agreements is language that significantly curtails a family’s ability to hold a facility accountable if something terrible happens – including rape, assault, neglect, and death. This language is called “pre-dispute” or “forced” arbitration language.

Pre-dispute forced arbitration is where a person agrees to give up their right to sue in court if an injury or death happens. To be clear, your loved one’s admission to the facility cannot be denied if you don’t agree to arbitration and you get absolutely, 100%, nothing in exchange for agreeing to pre-dispute arbitration.…

Continue Reading Forced Pre-Dispute Arbitration Gets Federal Attention

Often, many of the problems that occur in nursing homes are a direct result of terribly insufficient staffing. This knowledge is born out in studies that show a direct correlation between staffing ratios and quality of care.

Despite all of this clear evidence, many facilities only meet the bare minimum hours required under state regulation. Some aides have told me the ratio on their day shift at a nursing home was as high as 1 aide to 14 residents. For those unaware, aides are the people who feed, bathe, and transfer residents, and they are also responsible turning and repositioning any residents who are at risk for developing bed sores. Having only 1 person in charge of caring for 14 patients at the same time is a catastrophe waiting to happen.…

Continue Reading New Jersey Looks to Improve Staffing Ratios

Our practice group has often written about how corporations unfairly use predispute arbitration agreements to sidestep the civil-justice system and gain disproportionate advantage when addressing their negligent conduct in arbitration.

Often times, corporations slip arbitration clauses into the admission papers and process—at a time when the family is justifiably thinking about the loved one’s health,…

In recent news in Pennsylvania, the Office of the Attorney General is suing the nursing home chain, Golden Living Center, for allegations that they repeatedly refuse to meet its residents most basic needs. Further allegations reported by WPXI include falsifying records and lying to state inspectors.

It looks like Pennsylvania is beginning to catch on…

While the risks of drinking moderately in adults is the subject of debate, a new study published by the American Heart Association and reported on by NDTV.com confirms that for the elderly, the debate is over – put the alcohol away.

The study showed that alcohol caused cardiomyopathy – a condition where the heart…