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Poor staffing levels at nursing homes is leading to thousands of cases of residents suffering from sepsis, a severe infection that can be deadly without proper treatment, according to an investigation by the Chicago Tribune and Kaiser Health News. The investigation found that understaffed nursing homes across the country often fail to prevent bedsores and...

Placing your loved one in a nursing home may be one of the most difficult decisions you will ever make, and for good reason. We have all heard the horror stories about abuse and neglect in nursing homes. According to the National Center on Elder Abuse, approximately 1 in 10 elders age 60 and over...

A nursing home resident who falls and strikes a hard surface may end up with a debilitating injury to the face. These types of injuries are more common - and often more serious - than people might realize.  According to one study, 109,795 people in nursing homes required emergency room care for facial injuries suffered between...

If you think a strong economy is good for all businesses, think again. According to CBS News, a recent study shows that a low unemployment rate results in a lower quality of care at nursing homes.   When jobs are plentiful - as they have been in 2018 - some people looking for work will not consider employment at...

We trust nursing homes to care for our loved ones. That's why financial exploitation of nursing home residents can be so disturbing. Instead of taking care of residents, some nursing homes steal from some of society's most vulnerable people.   But spotting victims of nursing home financial exploitation isn't as easy as you might think. So what should you look for? And what should you do?...

Are you worried that your loved one is being abused in a nursing home and such abuse is not getting the attention it deserves? You're not alone. And you're right to be concerned.  In August, as part of a larger ongoing study, the Health and Human Services inspector general's office noticed a disturbing gap in...

New data suggests that elderly patients who are given breast cancer surgery are at a higher risk of death than other individuals their age. In fact, in many cases, it may be that the treatment for breast cancer is actually more dangerous to nursing home residents than the breast cancer itself.  Relative Dangers The side...

In accordance with changing federal regulations, Medicare has changed the way it reports the average number of staff present in nursing homes. Where earlier methods relied on self-reporting from nursing homes, the new system examines actual payroll records to identify staffing practices. Unfortunately, the new numbers are not encouraging. Significant Understaffing It is worth noting...

Falling is a common risk for elders, and suffering just one fall doubles the probability that a person will fall again. More than one in every four adults over the age of 65 will fall each year, and one out of every five falls results in a serious injury. This raises questions as to whether...

Nursing homes, by their nature, are home to a large amount of contact among people with weakened immune systems. In such environments, contagious diseases can spread quickly, to both residents and staff. There are methods to control this spread, and a good nursing home will do what it can to keep the residents and staff...