The Duluth News Tribune reported that two nursing home employees were fired after falsifying medical records. Two nurses at Cook Nursing Home failed to conduct blood sugar tests on seven residents, and then filed reports on insulin levels with made-up numbers, according to Minnesota Department of Health documents. Insulin was then withheld or given to residents based on the falsified numbers. No criminal charges were filed yet.
This type of willful falsification typically is a result of inadequate staffing. Not enough staff to get everything done so they take shortcuts. A full investigation into the staffing data at the facility is necessary.
Article source: http://feeds.lexblog.com/~r/SouthCarolinaNursingHomeBlog/~3/tM67ZKXFOdM/
Kaiser Health News reported on the new “resource use” reports which show the amount patients cost on average as well as the quality of the care doctors provided. The reports also showed how Medicare spending on each doctor’s patients compared to their local peers. In the reports, Medicare measures the average payments it made for each doctor’s patients, as well as subgroups of patients with common chronic conditions, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes and heart failure. Medicare adjusts the costs to take into account differences in patients’ age, gender, poverty and history of medical conditions. The “resource use” reports are one of the most visible phases of the government’s effort to figure out how to enact a complex, delicate and little-noticed provision of the 2010
Article source: http://feeds.lexblog.com/~r/SouthCarolinaNursingHomeBlog/~3/oBPQqjebdpg/
The News-Messenger had a good article on how new regulations in Ohio will require nursing homes to show that they’re providing quality and comfortable care for their residents or risk losing funding. Future funding for nursing homes could be tied to whether they reduce the number of times their residents go to the hospital, for instance, or increase the number of bathrooms that are wheelchair accessible.
For now, effective July 1, nursing homes must meet any five out of 20 standards or risk losing nearly 10 percent — $16 per patient per day — of their full Medicaid payments for services they provide. Some of the standards are based on staffing levels, facilities and resident satisfaction.
Article source: http://feeds.lexblog.com/~r/SouthCarolinaNursingHomeBlog/~3/tmKl2s887Ro/
For most elderly, the idea to leave home is scary and undesirable. Living on your own represents independence and sometimes the last remaining piece of their life that they want to hold on to. Unfortunately for most aging Americans, living at home becomes increasingly difficult because they are unable to care for themselves health wise. Even if the elderly were able to live with loved ones, they often find it difficult to feel at home again.
In order to solve this growing problem, many families have purchased MedCottage, a Article source: http://feeds.lexblog.com/~r/TheGuardianBlog/~3/TuGB3cFJ1Ig/
It is never an easy decision to put your loved on in a nursing home. Many families walk through the halls of a nursing home and feel tremendous guilt for admitting that they are unable to care for their loved one properly. When families tour nursing homes they often feel like they are cold and impersonal and with such a high cost of admitting your loved on in a care facility it’s no wonder why there is so much hesitation.
Those who decided to take on the caregiving themselves, often find Article source: http://feeds.lexblog.com/~r/TheGuardianBlog/~3/GiDuoXQdO84/
WSBT reported another arrest of two nursing home employees accused of stealing from a resident who was in the final days of her life. Alice Phillips and Kendra Echols were arrested and charged with multiple counts of fraud and forgery. Maria Partin was a resident at the Liberty Village Nursing Home where they worked as Certified Nursing Assistants.
Her family discovered $4,000 in small purchases on Partin’s bank statement. Muncie Police Detective Robert Scaife examined surveillance video from several Muncie stores where the purchases were made. He said the video showed Phillips and Echols buying all kinds of things.
Article source: http://feeds.lexblog.com/~r/SouthCarolinaNursingHomeBlog/~3/nyajcbGfJ7I/