nursing home care

May 13, 2019

Understanding Poway Long Term Care Facility Citations

When nursing homes are cited for nursing home abuse and neglect in Poway, how are those citations determined? What can the type of citations a facility has received in the past tell potential residents about the quality of care at the facility?

It can be difficult to find a skilled nursing facility in Southern California that has a strong record when it comes to patient safety and patient care. One clear way to know that a facility has had problems in the past is to look into its citation history. However, nursing home citations can be difficult to understand. While a citation of any sort indicates that there is a problem, the different citation levels, including the most serious of the penalties, do not always clearly indicate by title alone that the facility has been cited for a serious incident of nursing home abuse or neglect. The following will explore these citations and describe the different categories.

Class AA Nursing Home Citations are the Most Serious Citation

September 18, 2018

Mental Health May Affect a San Clemente Nursing Home Resident’s Ability to Find a Top-Quality Facility

by Walton Law Firm

When you have an elderly loved one with mental health issues in San Clemente, it can be difficult to find a skilled nursing facility that can provide the type of care, as well as the quality of care, that your family member needs. Having a loved one with a mental health issue can mean that she or he may be more vulnerable to nursing home abuse or neglect, or at least the ability to identify and properly report it. As such, it is often particularly important for families searching for nursing homes for a loved one with a mental illness to find a facility with high marks and a history of quality care.

According to a recent article from Reuters Health, “even people with common and often treatable mental health problems like depression and anxiety may have a harder time than patients without these diagnoses getting admitted to a high-quality nursing home.” How does an elderly patient’s mental health impact his or her ability to get accepted into a particular nursing home or assisted-living facility?

Study Says Nursing Homes With High Ratings May be Less Likely to Accept Patients With History of Mental Health Problems

August 23, 2018

Prescription Drugs and Nursing Home Neglect in Rancho Bernardo

by Walton Law Firm

News about the opioid crisis or opioid epidemic has put many patients on notice about the dangers of these drugs. But what about nursing home patients in Rancho Bernardo and elsewhere in Southern California who may be suffering harms from opioids, benzodiazepines, and other prescription medications? Should physicians be prescribing such medications for seniors in skilled nursing facilities, or could these drugs be doing more harm than good? Is it possible that the use—and overuse—of benzodiazepines and opioids together in nursing homes could rise to the level of nursing home abuse or nursing home neglect?

According to a recent article in The New York Times, use of benzodiazepines is on the rise among America’s seniors, yet older adults are “particularly vulnerable to the drugs’ ill effects.” In combination with opioid prescriptions, elderly adults using benzodiazepines may be at particularly severe risk of harm.

History of Benzodiazepine Dangers in Older Adults