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Saturday, April 29, 2017
More than one-fourth of SNF residents colonized with drug-resistant bacteria, analysis shows
More than 25% of skilled nursing facility residents have
multidrug-resistant bacteria lurking within them, including E. coli, a
new research review has found.
Researchers with the Columbia University School of Nursing
analyzed 12 studies and found the 2,720 nursing home residents whose
data was included in the review had drug-resistant bacteria prevalence
rates ranging from 11.2% to 59.1%. The study found a 27% average
colonization rate, with E. coli accounting for the largest proportion of
colonizations.
The review's results, published in the May issue of the American Journal of Infection Control,
also identified factors such as advanced age, gender, comorbidities,
increased interaction with healthcare workers and delayed initiation of
antibiotics to raise residents' colonization risk.
“This study underscores the importance of having strong
infection prevention programs in all nursing homes and long-term care
facilities,” said Linda Greene, RN, MPS, CIC, FAPIC, president of the
Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology.
“Understanding the dynamics and cause of MDR-GNB transmission is crucial
to identifying effective infection control strategies speciļ¬c to these
settings.”
The research teams encouraged providers to identify which
residents are most at risk for multidrug-resistant gram-negative
bacteria, and allow infection preventionists to tailor efforts
specifically for those residents.
Full Article & Source:
More than one-fourth of SNF residents colonized with drug-resistant bacteria, analysis shows
Nursing home negligent in death of resident who fell into hot laundry water, state rules
Allenne Hookom, 90, reportedly wandered into the laundry room at Auburn Manor in Chaska, MN, on Dec. 31, 2016. Hookom eventually fell backward into a concrete basin on the floor of the room that collects hot runoff water, and was discovered by a nursing assistant who heard her calls for help.
Hookom suffered second-degree burns from the scalding water, and died the next day at a local hospital from “thermal injuries,” the report shows.
The state health department ruled that Auburn Manor was negligent in the incident, since Hookom was known to wander. The department's report also showed that facility staff had left the laundry room door open with a magnetic latch meant to “make it easier to go in and out of the laundry room.”
Mike Senden, CEO and president of Auburn's parent company Auburn Homes and Services, told The Minneapolis Star Tribune that he understands the state's report, and considers the incident “a really heartbreaking accident [that] affected our staff greatly and the family greatly.”
Following Hookom's death Auburn Manor has removed the magnetic latch from the door of the laundry room, and now requires it to be locked at all times unless a staff member has direct view of the door, the newspaper reported. A screen has also been placed on top of the wastewater basin.
Full Article & Source:
Nursing home negligent in death of resident who fell into hot laundry water, state rules
Friday, April 28, 2017
Man whose body was found encased in concrete may have been missing months
 |
| Carl DeBrodie |
A body that likely will be identified as Carl DeBrodie, 31, was found Monday in the dumpster in a storage unit in Fulton, about 100 miles west of St. Louis. A positive identification has not been made but Fulton Police Chief Steve Myers said Wednesday he is "95 percent" certain the body is DeBrodie's. A cause of death has not been determined.
DeBrodie, who had lived in a home for the developmentally disabled for nine years, was reported missing April 17. At the time, the residential home housing four or five residents was operated by a private contractor called The Second Chance but ownership was transferred recently to Finck & Associates.
The former director for The Second Chance reported DeBrodie missing but it is unclear how long he was gone and it's possible he was missing for months, Myers said.
"We have several different people we are talking to about that," Myers said. "We're getting conflicting information and are trying to establish some sort of timeline."
Rudy Veit, an attorney for the DeBrodie family, said DeBrodie's mother used to meet him at restaurants or parks but Second Chance officials stopped those meetings a year or two ago, telling her they caused her son to become anxious and were not in his best interests. The mother, who was not her son's legal guardian, was not aware of her legal rights and assumed the home had the authority to prevent the visits, he said.
A woman who was once DeBrodie's legal guardian and cared for him from age 11 to 21 reported to authorities that she believed DeBrodie was being abused at the home but did not get any response, Veit said. Her visits with him also were stopped.
A phone number for The Second Chance in Fulton was disconnected on Wednesday.
"Finck & Associates were not involved in DeBrodie's care at the time he went missing and have been extremely cooperative with our investigation," Fulton police said in a news release.
Law enforcement and private individuals conducted several searches for DeBrodie before the body was found inside the storage unit after investigators received a tip, Myers said. No further searches for DeBrodie are planned in Fulton and volunteers were planning a memorial service for next week.
The family appreciated the many people who helped search for DeBrodie and had hope until Monday that he would be found, Veit said.
"To find out they were all misled, and now to have the agony, anger, and fear of what he went through in the time period he was gone and who would do this, it's very difficult," Veit said.
Police were to meet with DeBrodie's mother Wednesday to obtain DNA, Myers said. The body was badly decomposed and police had not found dental records, so DNA will be needed to confirm the identity.
Investigators have pursued over 150 leads and are interviewing several people of interest, Myers said.
"At some point we're going to bring this to a conclusion, but we need a cause of death first," said Myers.
On Tuesday, a cousin, Rebecca Bell, told The Columbia Daily Tribune that DeBrodie had mental disabilities, difficulty communicating and was legally blind.
Bell said it's likely DeBrodie was dead for a long time because the body was so decomposed the family won't be able to have an open casket funeral.
DeBrodie belonged to a "good, loving family that would've done anything for him," Bell said. "He was a very sweet, caring young man, and all he wanted was to be loved and cared about."
Full Article & Source:
Man whose body was found encased in concrete may have been missing months
Lafayette attorney arrested
An arrest warrant was issued Thursday by Lafayette Magistrate Thomas Frederick for Harold Register Jr., and was the result of a Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Office investigation that developed into probable cause that Register forged one of his client's checks.
The check was valued at $12,500 and deposited into his account.
Register surrendered himself to the LPSO Friday evening, and his bond is set at $50,000.
Full Article & Source:
Lafayette attorney arrested
Is $370 million in fines right way to stop dementia patient dumping?
But we’re skeptical that our two freshman Democratic legislators have a good grasp of the solution.
State Rep. LaToya Greenwood, D-East St. Louis, and Rep. Katie Stuart, D-Edwardsville, are sponsors on House Bill 3392. It adds fines for nursing homes that fail to follow staffing levels mandated in a state law passed in 2010. It also gives due process to patients that the nursing homes claim cannot be managed.
By their estimate, about 1,000 patents face the problem in our state of 12.88 million people. If the 2010 law were enforced, there would be 5,463 new jobs in Illinois.
So will adding more than five times the number of low-wage workers ensure those 1,000 difficult patients receive the proper care?
Matt Hartman, vice president of the Illinois Health Care Association, throws a lot of doubt on that. He also sees the bill creating a big state money grab of about $370 million in fines and penalties. That is about a fourth of the state’s Medicaid spending, he said.
He also said the state lawmakers numbers are off, and only about half as many people as they claim are affected.
Any time the state tries to dictate one standard to fit every single nursing home from Chicago to Washington County, there will be large expense to target a limited problem.
Maybe the state lawmakers need to work with the industry to figure out how to prevent patient dumping. Maybe they don’t need to take away 25 cents of every dollar spent on the care for all nursing home residents.
Full Article & Source:
Is $370 million in fines right way to stop dementia patient dumping?
Thursday, April 27, 2017
The Passing of Gary E. Harvey
Our hearts are heavy with sadness as we mourn the passing of Gary E. Harvey this past Sunday, April 23, 2017 and we pray for peace and strength for his loving wife, Sara, who was only permitted to see her husband for only 20 minutes in the last four years.
Gary committed no crime but was kept in isolation as if he were a prisoner and he was denied the comfort and love of his wife when he needed her most.
For 11 long and torturous years, Sara never stopped fighting for Gary; he couldn't have picked a more loving and dedicated wife.
Gary committed no crime but was kept in isolation as if he were a prisoner and he was denied the comfort and love of his wife when he needed her most.
For 11 long and torturous years, Sara never stopped fighting for Gary; he couldn't have picked a more loving and dedicated wife.
High court’s guardianship panel plans first meeting
The 16-member guardianship study commission will take public comment from 9:30 a.m. to noon on suggested changes and improvement to the state guardianship system. The meeting is expected to run until 4 p.m.
Barry Massey, a Supreme Court spokesman, said the guardianship commission has not yet mapped out the full scope of its work, but there have been preliminary discussions about reviewing the efforts of other states to improve their guardianship systems.
One noted program is in Palm Beach County, Fla., where court clerk and comptroller Sharon R. Bock, who is elected, has made guardianship fraud enforcement a priority. She oversees a staff of guardianship auditors who look for fraud, waste and financial mismanagement despite office budget cuts of 36 percent since 2009.
Bock, in a recent interview with the Journal, said her agency has been asked to provide information on best practices to groups around the country, from Portland, Ore., to Tennessee. Last May, she and her staff spent several hours speaking with the Nevada Supreme Court commission studying guardianship reform.
In March of this year, a former court-ordered financial guardian from a private firm in Las Vegas, Nev., was arrested and charged in an exploitation scheme involving more than $550,000 allegedly stolen from 150 people.
Bock’s agency, which runs a guardian fraud hotline, has identified more than $5.1 million in missing assets and fraud involving guardianships since 2011.
The Palm Beach County program last fall was recognized at the 4th Congress for Adult Guardianship in Berlin.
“We know there are honorable, hardworking guardians out there, but when you have a $270 billion industry that is unregulated, you’re always going to be getting your bad apples,” Bock told the Journal. “This is literally taking us by surprise, and we’re not prepared as a society for this.”
District courts in New Mexico oversee thousands of cases in which relatives or nonrelatives, including for-profit companies, are appointed as guardians or conservators for a adults deemed incapacitated or for those who lack the capacity to manage some or all of their personal or financial affairs.
The state Supreme Court earlier this month decided to appoint the commission, which includes current and former judges, to recommend changes in state statutes, funding, administrative practices or other proposals to improve the guardianship system. Wendy York, an Albuquerque attorney and a former state district judge, is chairwoman of the commission.
The commission is to submit an initial status report to the Supreme Court by Oct. 1 and continue its work until completing a final report and recommendations.
The commission’s creation comes amid an ongoing Journal investigation into criticism from family members whose relatives have been placed with for-profit guardians and conservators whose fees typically are deducted from the incapacitated person’s assets.
Some families complain their relatives have been neglected by court-appointed guardians; they question expenses that have drained their loved ones’ estates, and they say they’ve been stymied by confidentiality provisions in the law from learning about their relatives’ living status and finances.
Those who defend the current system say that the secrecy is designed to protect the privacy of the incapacitated persons and that guardians and conservators appointed by the courts serve an important role, particularly in cases involving feuding family members.
Full Article & Source:
High court’s guardianship panel plans first meeting
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