Articles Posted in Elder Law

A former employee of the Focus Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Utica has been arrested and faces several charges after allegedly sexually abusing a resident at the facility. John Tamba, 48, of Utica is charged with three separate counts of sexual abuse, three counts of endangering the welfare of a vulnerable elderly person or an incompetent or physically disabled person, and three counts of willful violation of health laws.

According to the indictment and the New York Attorney General, Mr. Tamba allegedly engaged in forcible sexual contact with a physically disabled elderly woman who is a resident at the facility where Mr. Tamba worked. He was employed as a certified nurse’s aide at the facility. He was arrested Monday and is being held without bail. If convicted, Mr. Tamba faces up to 21 years in prison for his crimes.

Nursing Home Abuse Statistics

One of the hottest debates currently happening in elder law and nursing home care is whether video cameras should be allowed in nursing home rooms. Many residents of nursing homes and their children believe that installing surveillance will benefit everyone involved; however, many nursing home facilities are attempting to block the installation of video cameras in their communities.

Nursing Homes Banning Use

The most common reason that nursing home facilities give to the children of residents about why video surveillance is not allowed is that the video recording violates federal privacy laws under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). However, that is not the case as long as the video cameras and recordings are owned by the families. Still, that reason remains commonplace for many nursing home providers.

A U.S. nursing home chain has agreed to pay $38 million in a settlement to end a federal government investigation into whether its nursing homes billed Medicare and Medicaid for poor care for its elderly residents. The settlement was specifically with a subsidiary of Extendicare Inc., Extendicare Health Services.

Extendicare Nursing Homes

The investigation focused on 33 of the company’s nursing home facilities in eight states: Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, and Washington. Extendicare provides post-acute and long-term senior care services. The company has in total 251 different care facilities across the country and the capacity to care for 27,600 residents. It is the seventh largest nursing home chain in the country.

More than one dozen U.S. senators from both sides of the aisle are pushing the Obama administration to broaden the Medicaid program for the nation’s frailest seniors. They are pushing the idea as a proven alternative to pricier nursing home options, as states are looking to minimize long term medical costs. The senators released a statement to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to follow through on plans to loosen restrictions on the Program of All Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE).

Broadening the PACE Program

The PACE program is offered to Medicaid eligible seniors and people with disabilities who need nursing home care. The program offers an alternative to nursing homes that allows the elderly to stay in their homes and receive coordinated care from a team of doctors, nurses, and social workers at an independently operated day center. However, enrollment in this program has been small due to the limiting federal regulations and a push by states to move patients into more cost-effective health care plans.

In part one of this article the statistics and reasoning behind an increased possibility of LGBT elder abuse was discussed. The second part of this article concludes the reasons why LGBT seniors are at a higher risk of elder abuse and what to look for to prevent elder abuse against LGBT seniors that you care about.

In addition to an abuser threatening to out an individual, telling a senior that the authorities will not believe them, gaining control of finances, fear of spending the rest of their lives alone, and being easier to isolate the following are reasons why LGBT seniors are at more risk for elder abuse.

Abuser says that “this is what it means to be LGBT”

Between two and ten percent of seniors experience some type of elder abuse, and LGBT seniors have additional vulnerabilities that open them up to further opportunities for abuse. As discussed by the National Resource Center on LGBT Aging (led by SAGE), many people believe that elder abuse only pertains to bruises, broken bones, or other physical injuries; however, experts define elder abuse as physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional or psychological abuse, neglect, abandonment, and financial exploitation.

For the most part, LGBT seniors face the same types of abuse as non-LGBT elders. However, LGBT elders can be victimized in additional ways, and more reasons exist why people are so accepting of this type of victimization. The National Resource Center on LGBT Aging notes that these additional factors for LGBT seniors include:

Abuser threatens to “out” the senior

A large scale study recently published by The Gerontologist looked at the effects of the fuzzy concept, resilience, and how it impacts the lives of seniors. The surprising results of the study showed that this intangible concept can have a major effect on aging seniors‘ lives.

What is Resilience?

Resilience is a concept that is difficult to define. The study’s lead author described resilience as “how people manage adversity and hardship over the life course.” As one U.S. Supreme Court Justice once said about pornography, we know it when we see it.

For the last four years, doctors, pharmacies, and medical clinics have all offered seniors a higher dose version of the annual flu shot. At the time that the vaccine was released the science was lacking but the hope from medical professionals was that the higher dosage would provide better protection for the elderly. Now, the first studies on this version of the flu shot are in, and the results are looking positive.

Higher Dose Flu Shot

The annual flu shot for seniors, known as Fluzone High-Dose, contains up to four times the amount of antigen found in the typical flu shot. Antigens are chemicals within the shot that stimulate the immune system. Previous research has shown that the increased antigens in the Fluzone produced a greater antibody reaction in seniors. This is significant because as the body ages the immune system becomes less effective.

Only one-fifth of all 15,000 nursing homes in the nation hold the distinction of a five star rating by the Medicare system, but an examination into the process has found that many top ranked nursing homes have been given their rating due to incomplete information regarding the conditions at their homes. This misinformation has an effect on the facilities’ residents, potential consumers, and investors regarding the communities.

Medicare Nursing Home Ratings

The Medicare ratings system is considered one of the best ways to evaluate nursing homes in the country. When nurses and doctors discharge patients from the hospital, they often use the ratings in referral decisions. Insurers also look at the ratings when creating preferred insurance networks. Medicare ratings are also the first metric that investors and lenders look at when deciding whether a nursing home is a safe bet.