Johnson & Johnson initiated a product recall of their antipsychotic drug, Risperdal Consta, on Wednesday due to mold contamination of their product. Risperdal Consta is an antipsychotic medication that has been approved for use in patients with bipolar 1 disorder and schizophrenia. It should be noted that this recall only…
A recent New York Times article brought to attention the growing oversight and neglect of dental hygiene in elderly residents in nursing homes. While the Elder Abuse Act states the failure to assist in personal hygiene constitutes an example of neglect, family members are finding their loved ones in nursing…
A June 2013 study published in the Journal of American Medical Directors Association found that apathy is the behavioral symptom most strongly correlated with weight loss in nursing home residents. This comes as a surprise because it was commonly believed that depression was most closely related to weight loss in…
According to an article in Bloomberg News, the for-profit private nursing home industry overbills Medicare by 1.5 billion dollars a year by conducting unnecessary procedures and therapy on their patients. This, however, is not the only way that for-profit nursing homes have been using unlawful methods to increase profits. Nursing…
It has been estimated that with the “baby boom” generation now approaching retirement age, nearly 25% of the elderly population aged 65 years or older will spend part of their life residing within a nursing home. While the elderly should both expect and receive excellent, loving care at a facility…
Recently, the Los Angeles Times reported on a hospital that has been accused of patient dumping. Jesse Bravo, a patient at White Memorial Medical Center here in Los Angeles was admitted to the hospital for treatment of schizophrenia. When he was discharged, Bravo’s wife was not notified and instead, he…
On December 11, 2011, the Detroit Free Press published a series of articles investigating nursing home neglect. The first article, titled “Nursing Homes with Good Staff, Stopgaps Can Still Fail”, reports the accidental death of a man as a direct result of nursing home neglect. After having an accident, James…
As of late, our nation has concerned itself with the widespread nature of obesity; however, this has resulted in inadequate attention to the problem of malnutrition or under-nutrition. Unfortunately, protein under-nutrition and malnutrition is regularly plaguing elderly residents of nursing facilities in California. A recent article by John E. Morley…