Nursing Home Director Sentenced To Prison For Drugging Elderly Residents

A nursing home director faces three years in jail for unnecessarily medicating nursing home residents.

2013-02-01

February 01, 2013 (Press-News.org) Nursing home director sentenced to prison for drugging elderly residents

A California nursing director at a Kern County hospital was sentenced to three years in prison for drugging elderly patients with potent and medically unnecessary anti-psychotic medication to make them easier to control. According to the California Attorney General, the nursing director convinced others to prescribe the drugs to the noisier and more argumentative patients, so that she could keep them quiet and more manageable. The unnecessary drugs killed three patients and many more suffered serious complications.

An attorney and spokesperson for the Center for Medicare Advocacy commented on the case, declaring that the overuse of anti-psychotic drugs in California nursing homes is "a serious problem." In November 2011, he testified at a U.S. Senate hearing, claiming that 83 percent of Medicare claims for drugs for seniors are for off-label uses -- that is, for uses not approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

Antipsychotic drugs are commonly used to sedate and control residents, especially those patients with dementia. In fact, according to the California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform, every day one in four nursing home residents is given a form of antipsychotic medication.

Antipsychotic drugs have many serious side effects including agitation, confusion, disorientation and even death. Death is more likely when the drugs are administered to patients with dementia.

In response to the increased use of anti-psychotic drugs to control nursing home patients and the devastating and sometimes fatal affects the drugs have on elderly patients, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services commenced a campaign to stop, or at least reduce, the use of anti-psychotic drugs in nursing homes.

Nursing home residents' rights

Nursing home residents have the right to be free from restraints. Drugging residents so that they are easier to manage is a type of chemical restraint. A chemical restraint is any drug that is used for discipline or convenience; rather than to treat medical symptoms.

The only time a chemical restraint can be used without consent is for a limited time in cases of emergency. An emergency exists when the resident is in danger of hurting him or herself or others. The nursing home does not have the right to restrain patients physically or chemically without consent from the patient, or his or her representative.

Protecting your loved ones

If you have noticed a change in your loved one's behavior or appearance and are concerned about the care they are receiving in a nursing home, contact an experienced nursing home abuse attorney. Knowledge is the first step in protecting the ones you love from elder abuse.

Article provided by The Evans Law Firm
Visit us at http://www.evanslaw.com

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Church Van Crash Victims' Families Sue Driver Who Crossed Center Line

2013-02-01

Church van crash victims' families sue driver who crossed center line The families of a teenage girl and a youth pastor who died when their church van was struck head on by another vehicle on Chapman Highway have sued the driver they say is responsible for causing the crash. The 21-year-old man was allegedly driving under the influence when police say he crossed the center line in his sport utility vehicle and struck the church van head-on, killing a 16-year-old and a 45-year-old, and injuring 12 others. Investigators reported that they found drugs in the man's SUV. ...

Jelastic Launches Auto-Scaling PHP Cloud Hosting Platform-as-a-Service

2013-02-01

Jelastic, Inc., the company behind the ultra scalable and interoperable cloud hosting platform for Java, today announced the launch of its highly anticipated PHP hosting service. Jelastic's PHP Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) runs applications without code changes and offers advanced options for experienced programmers. Jelastic is known for its advanced functionality that is both easy to use, and flexible and powerful enough for experts. Unlike most PaaS offerings, it does not require code adaptation, so anyone can deploy a PHP application in the cloud in just a few clicks. ...

Interstate Removalists Australia Launches a New Site to Bring Together Removalists Across Australia

2013-02-01

Interstate Removalists launches a new website to bring together interstate removalists across Australia. This website is actually an easy to access online directory that carries complete information on moving companies in Australia at a single online platform. The websites aims at providing an easy access to data of removalists Australia wide to the people seeking professional moving services in Australia. It tends to essentially save time spent in obtaining quotes from numerous moving companies whilst providing a wider market reach for its furniture removals members. Moving ...

The Story of Purpose

2013-02-01

"We need the Purpose 500, a catalog of companies that are doing well by doing good"because it will be these companies that bring back business for good." Joey Reiman As CEO & Founder of BrightHouse, a global consultancy located in Atlanta, GA - Joey Reiman's mission is to bring more purpose to the world of business. Since 2001, he has been teaching Ideation and Purpose to MBA and BBA students at Goizueta Business School at Emory University.After 30 years of consulting for companies, Reiman has seen a common trend among those struggling - they all tend ...

HarmonyJobs LLC Unveils Website Dedicated to Nonprofit Jobs

2013-02-01

HarmonyJobs LLC announces its launch of HarmonyJobs.com, a website community that connects nonprofit professionals with jobs, internships, and volunteer opportunities. Job seekers can search for opportunities nationwide, ask employers questions, and connect with other nonprofit professionals. HarmonyJobs.com provides a unique advantage to nonprofits who want to control costs while finding great candidates who are specifically looking for nonprofit opportunities. Employers can post job listings at a relatively low cost, which are automatically shared on social media ...

"Sweat to Save Our Youth"

2013-02-01

Oakwood Escrow, an escrow company in Rancho Bernardo, is sponsoring a weekly community women's Zumba fitness class. These 50 minute Zumba classes are held each Monday at 5:00pm at Merrill Fitness & Dance Studio. Located at 12120 Alta Carmel Court, San Diego CA 92128. The weekly Zumba classes are sponsored by Oakwood Escrow with a $5.00 suggested donation per class. ALL proceeds go to the HOPE Foundation and are used for drug abuse education and creating awareness in the community. The HOPE foundation was created by parents whose children have been severely disabled ...

OMG Announces New Comprehensive Small Business Solutions

2013-02-01

OMG is a boutique consulting firm focusing on giving small-medium sized businesses the solutions and support they so desperately need. We deliver financial results by focusing on operations, customer experiences, services and retail offerings, visual design, marketing, public relations and more. We do this for a fraction of the cost of what a large consulting firm or even a PR firm alone would cost. Never before have small-medium sized businesses needed support and strategies to be more profitable. For example, Kimberly Weber, CEO and Co-Founder of OMG said, "with ...

BendFilm Announces Call for Entries for 2013

2013-02-01

Ten years ago this fall, Katie Merritt and a group of film lovers and culture enthusiasts founded BendFilm in Bend, Oregon. It has since grown to become a beloved regional happening, featuring more than eighty films over four days, has acquired the sobriquet "a gem of a small festival" and was named one of Moviemaker Magazine's "20 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee." To celebrate this important milestone, BendFilm has announced its 2013 call for entries and unveiled a series of local events in the months leading up to this year's 10th annual Festival, ...

Irvine Homeless Pets Receive Holiday Donations from Stanbridge College

2013-02-01

Stanbridge College, a technical college that offers Masters, Bachelor and Associate of Science degrees and diploma programs in Allied Health and Information Technology, raised funds and donated over $1,500 to the Irvine Pet Complex and its charity donation drive benefiting the Irvine Animal Care Center (IACC) in continued support of homeless, neglected and abused pets. Students, staff and faculty also collected pet food, leashes, blankets, towels, snacks, beds, toys and more for the IACC in a two-week long donation drive in December. This is the second time in which Stanbridge ...

New Release Non Fiction- Celibacy's Child a Story of a Forbidden Love Affair and the Child Who Was

2013-02-01

Celibacy's Child by Lisa B. Overton is an emotionally rigged, true story of a women's life starting from the first day she was brought into this world up to the present. This moving story details her experience growing up as the child of a Catholic priest and an ex-nun who entered into a 30+ year clandestine love affair. The author, Lisa B. Overton tells the poignant story of her childhood and how she survived loneliness, shame and hypocrisy in her parents' painful and secretive shadow and how she eventually forgave them both.. It was on her mother's death bed that Lisa ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

UK study shows there is less stigma against LGBTQ people than you might think, but people with mental health problems continue to experience higher levels of stigma