The latest proposal to overhaul the federal Five-Star Quality Rating System should concern every family searching for a safe nursing home. According to McKnight’s, CMS and federal advisers are considering a ratings redesign that would heavily weight one factor above all others — staffing — and the impact will be dramatic. Under the new model, only
Food pyramids released in 1992 (left) and yesterday. Images: HHS/USDA
A quiet federal rollback is about to make an already dangerous situation even worse. Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services eliminated the safety requirement that nursing homes maintain a registered nurse on site 24 hours a day, reducing it to just eight hours. For states like South Carolina — this
What happened to this hospice patient in Sacramento County is unspeakable. A chaplain — someone whose entire role is built on trust, compassion, and spiritual comfort — used that access to sexually assault a 76-year-old hospice patient who was medically incapacitated and unable to defend herself. He has now been sentenced to five years in
A deeply troubling case out of Cape Girardeau County, Missouri, shows yet again how easily elder abuse can take root in long-term care facilities when there is little oversight. Three caregivers have been criminally charged after allegedly spraying a vulnerable resident with a water bottle to “aggravate” and “humiliate” them, even recording at least one
The class action lawsuit filed against the California Department of Veterans Affairs over conditions at the Veterans Home of California – West Los Angeles reveals a deeply troubling reality: even state-run facilities, even homes built specifically for veterans, are subject to the same chronic understaffing and systemic neglect we see throughout the long-term care industry.
Recent Comments