Choking Death of Philadelphia Nursing Home Resident leads to Pennsylvania Attorney General Taking over DNA Testing

A hair discovered on a paper wipe found lodged in the throat of Cheryl Yewdall, a 50 year-old Philadelphia nursing home resident with cerebral palsy and intellectual disabilities, was recently ordered by a judge to be sent out for private DNA testing as part of an ongoing criminal investigation into the woman’s mysterious choking death in 2022. Before evidence could be sent to the lab, the Pennsylvania AG’s office stepped in to take control of the testing.

The Pennsylvania attorney general’s office has involved itself in the DNA testing of a hair discovered on a wipe removed from the trachea of a Philadelphia nursing home resident who later died, says an article in U.S. News & World Report.

Stuck to a wipe pulled from the windpipe of 50 year-old Philadelphia nursing home resident Cheryl Yewdall prior to her death, the hair was discovered by a pathologist for Yewdall’s family after having apparently been missed by Philadelphia investigators. The wrongful death attorney for the family requested a judge order DNA testing of the hair, which could potentially shed light on whether Yewdall’s death was an accident or a homicide.

According to the article, the state attorney general’s office originally appeared unwilling to get involved with the DNA testing; however, after Philadelphia was subpoenaed to turn over the evidence to a laboratory of the family’s choosing, the AG’s office took control of the evidence and will see the testing performed as ordered. The family’s wrongful death attorney subsequently withdrew his demand for private DNA testing, citing “pending criminal investigation” as the reason.

The investigation began nearly three years ago after Yewdall, a resident of the Merakey Woodhaven facility in Philadelphia, died five days after she was discovered lying face down on the floor of the facility, lips blue, lying in a pool of urine. At the hospital a 7-by-10-inch wipe was pulled from her airway; the medical examiner could not determine how the wipe appeared in Yewdall’s throat. Yewdall’s mother, convinced an extreme incident of nursing home malpractice had occurred, subsequently secured a wrongful death attorney and filed a $15 million lawsuit against Merakey Woodhaven. Charges have yet to be filed.

Merakey has denied all allegations of nursing home malpractice related to Yewdall’s death. In response to the wrongful death attorney’s claim that a Merakey employee forced the wipe into Yewdall’s throat, Merakey argued that the type of wipe discovered is not used at Woodhaven and instead was likely inserted into the victim’s throat after leaving the facility, perhaps by the EMTs who rushed Yewdall to the hospital. The wrongful death attorney in turn said that an expert will testify that the wipe was present when EMTs arrived on the scene.

The wrongful death attorney has previously contended that Yewdall, whose gag reflex functioned normally despite her cerebal palsy, could not have inserted the wipe into her own throat; moreover, the wrongful death attorney contended, the strand of black hair on the wipe could not have come from Yewdall, as a recent photograph of the victim showed her with mostly gray hair.

Certain incidents previously discovered by the family implicate Merakey Woodhaven as having subjected Yewdall to nursing home malpractice, such as allowing her broken leg to go undiagnosed for weeks and also including an alleged falling event that left Yewdall with a black eye and swollen cheek. Most damning is an audio recording of Yewdall saying, “Listen to me, a———. Settle down baby. I’m going to kill you if you don’t settle down. I’m going to kill you, a———.” According to the wrongful death attorney, Yewdall, who suffered from a condition called echolalia that caused her to repeat things she overheard, heard these threats at Marakey Woodhaven.

A trial has been set for next year.

Battling Nursing Home Malpractice and Wrongful Death

Attorney Brian P. Murphy is committed to combating nursing home malpractice in Philadelphia/PA and NJ nursing homes. No Philadelphia/PA or NJ nursing home resident should suffer abuse or negligence or live in fear of nursing home wrongful death. Attorney Brian Murphy has years of experience as a Philadelphia/PA and NJ nursing home malpractice and wrongful death attorney. He is committed to bringing his clients’ nursing home malpractice cases to successful resolutions. Should you find yourself needing to contact a nursing home malpractice and wrongful death attorney, call Brian Murphy today to discuss your legal options.

The post Pennsylvania Attorney General Takes over DNA Testing in Choking Death of Philadelphia Nursing Home Resident appeared first on The Law Firm of Brian P. Murphy, PC.

Elderly Resident Tied to Her Recliner With a Bedsheet by Two New Jersey Nursing Home Workers, says Attorney General

Two employees of a New Jersey nursing home have been named in a 10-count indictment accusing them of assaulting a 93-year-old woman they were meant to be caring for at the home, says a Patch.com article.

As announced by the state attorney general’s office in July, Maria Alcantara, 53, and Joseph Robles, 23, both workers at Alcoeur Gardens, a memory care facility in Toms River, are charged with tying the elderly resident to a recliner with a bed sheet in mid-January and then not checking on her, according to court documents. Beyond this charge of blatant nursing home malpractice, Alcantara and Robles are accused of creating false records saying they checked on her every 30 minutes when they neglected to do so, according to state investigators.

This sort of falsification of records is a lesser known type of nursing home malpractice called false charting. Nursing home workers engage in false charting for the purpose of concealing mistakes and hiding neglect. False charting unfortunately enables workers to engage in prolonged poor care, endangering the health and well-being of residents. This particular type of nursing home malpractice can have the following negative impact on vulnerable elderly residents:

• the neglect and worsening of illnesses
• nursing home falls and injuries
• in extreme cases, death, requiring the involvement of a wrongful death attorney

The nursing home malpractice charges against Alcantara and Robles were made following an investigation by the Office of Insurance Fraud Prevention’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. In total, the accused employees have been jointly charged with ten counts of nursing home malpractice, including:

• two counts of neglect
• two counts of criminal restraint
• two counts of assault on an institutionalized or elderly person
• two counts of endangering an elderly person
• one count each of destruction, falsification, or alteration of medical records

According to the article, both Alcantara and Robles have pleaded not guilty.

“When we place our loved ones in the care of others, we rightfully expect that they will be treated with compassion, respect, and dignity,” said Attorney General Matthew Platkin. “We have a duty to protect those who cannot protect themselves, and we will advocate for them and prosecute those who exploit and mistreat vulnerable members of our society.”

Fighting Against Elder Abuse, Substandard Care, and Wrongful Death

Attorney Brian P. Murphy strives to uphold the safety and the rights of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, and New Jersey nursing home residents. Your loved one living in a Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, or New Jersey nursing home should be protected from assault and from any dangerous circumstance caused by false charting or any sort of nursing home malpractice. As an experienced nursing home malpractice and wrongful death attorney, Brian Murphy holds accountable those Philadelphia/PA or NJ nursing homes responsible for any sort of negligence and abuse. Should you find yourself needing to contact a nursing home malpractice and wrongful death attorney, or if you need guidance in choosing a nursing home, call Brian Murphy today.

The post Two New Jersey Nursing Home Workers Tied an Elderly Woman in Their Care to a Recliner with a Bed Sheet, says Attorney General appeared first on The Law Firm of Brian P. Murphy, PC.

Elder Abuse and Neglect Investigations Are Staggeringly Slow in Pennsylvania, often with Tragic Result

Many of Pennsylvania’s agencies responsible for protecting older adults are failing to investigate complaints of elder abuse and neglect within a safe timeframe, says a Spotlight PA article. State regulations mandate that Pennsylvania’s 52 county protective services agencies, called Area Agencies on Aging, which are tasked with investigating allegations of elder abuse, must complete investigations within 20 days. According to data collected by a Spotlight PA investigation, certain of these county agencies have taken as much as five times longer than the 20 days to achieve determinations in abuse and neglect investigations.

What’s more, says the article, is that there has also been an astounding 91 percent increase in deaths of elderly Pennsylvanians during open investigations since 2018, a circumstance that would seem to require the involvement of wrongful death attorneys; however, accountability for these deaths is practically impossible to determine as the Department of Aging, which oversees the state’s agencies, does not track causes of death, and state’s agencies aren’t required to report it.

Reform and transparency are demanded immediately, says the article, especially as the number of adults aged 60 and over in the state continues to grow (projected by 2030 to outnumber every other age group). Apparently some new legislation introduced by State Rep. Lou Schmitt (R., Blair) would require the Department of Aging to make public the compliance status of every Pennsylvania county agency; meanwhile, Pennsylvania Secretary of Aging Jason Kavulich has told the agencies his office is formulating a plan to publish more performance information about them.

“We as a department have to do better,” said Kavulich.

Suspecting Nursing Home Malpractice and Elder Abuse

If you suspect your loved one living at a Pennsylvania or New Jersey nursing home is the victim of nursing home malpractice in the form of abuse or neglect, it is good practice to inform the nursing home administrator as well as your state’s Department of Health/Ombudsman’s Office, and certainly a state investigator, whose number is required to be made available to you by the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania or New Jersey nursing home. It is also imperative to contact a nursing home malpractice attorney immediately. While an investigation of the accusation of nursing home malpractice will be put into motion, having an experienced nursing home malpractice or wrongful death attorney available to you will be indispensible throughout the process, as he or she can inform you of pertinent matters of the law while also working on your behalf to ensure a comprehensive nursing home malpractice investigation is conducted.

Fighting Against Elder Abuse, Nursing Home Malpractice, and Wrongful Death

Attorney Brian P. Murphy strives to uphold the safety and the rights of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, and New Jersey nursing home residents. Your loved one living in a Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, or New Jersey nursing home should live without concern about being subjected to abuse, neglect, or any sort of nursing home malpractice. As an experienced nursing home malpractice and wrongful death attorney, Brian Murphy holds accountable those Philadelphia/PA or NJ nursing homes responsible for poor care. Should you find yourself needing to contact a nursing home malpractice and wrongful death attorney, or if you need guidance in choosing a nursing home, call Brian Murphy today.

The post Pennsylvania Investigations of Elder Abuse and Neglect Are Staggeringly Slow, often with Tragic Results, Report Says appeared first on The Law Firm of Brian P. Murphy, PC.

New Jersey Nursing Home Worker Indicted for Assaulting Resident with Bleach Spray

New Jersey nursing home worker indicted by a grand jury for abuse of a patient after spraying an elderly resident with bleach, says a Patch.com article. According to the article, Simone Goldsboro, 34, a worker at Dwellside Care & Rehab in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, sprayed bleach on a female nursing home resident’s face and body, a shocking act of nursing home malpractice. Goldsboro furthermore “purposely or recklessly” caused bodily injury by pulling the resident’s hair and aggressively undressing her, said the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General (OAG). Goldsboro was charged last August with aggravated assault for the incident of nursing home malpractice.

According to an affidavit referenced in the article, police received word that a Dwellside worker had reportedly been routinely assaulting a patient; they responded by meeting at the home with the aforementioned victim’s daughter, who claimed to have witnessed nursing home malpractice in the form of abuse against her mother. The daughter shared with the authorities a video recording she had made showing Goldsboro pulling her mother’s hair, yanking a shirt over her head and face, and using a spray bottle to spray a liquid—later determined to be bleach—directly onto the patient’s face and body.

This incident of nursing home malpractice illustrates classic physical nursing home abuse. Physical abuse occurs when a nursing home staff member (or even another nursing home resident) uses deliberate physical action against a nursing home resident. Common types of physical nursing home abuse involve hitting, shoving, kicking, hair pulling, and more. If your loved one lives in a nursing home, it is important to watch for signs of physical abuse, including unexplained bruises, burns, scratches, or bone fractures, or uncharacteristic displays of anger, depression, or violence. Unchecked nursing home abuse can lead to serious injury or even death, unfortunately requiring the intervention of a wrongful death attorney.

 Fighting Nursing Home Neglect, Elder Abuse, and Wrongful Death

Attorney Brian P. Murphy is dedicated to ensuring negligent Philadelphia/PA or NJ nursing homes be held responsible for incidents of nursing home malpractice. As an experienced nursing home malpractice and wrongful death attorney, Brian Murphy fights untiringly to uphold the rights and preserve the health and safety of Philadelphia/PA and NJ nursing home residents. Should you find yourself needing to contact a nursing home malpractice and wrongful death attorney, call Brian Murphy today to discuss your legal options.

The post New Jersey Nursing Home Worker Indicted for Assaulting Resident with Bleach Spray appeared first on The Law Firm of Brian P. Murphy, PC.

Heat Wave Endured on Residents of Troubled New Jersey Nursing Home with Little to No Air Conditioning 

A poorly maintained heating and cooling system at Homestead Rehabilitation and Care Center in Newton, New Jersey, has twice threatened to expose fragile residents to an uncomfortable, and potentially dangerous, bout of nursing home malpractice.

A June heat wave and a faulty air conditioning system in a New Jersey nursing home forced dozens of elderly long-term residents—including some with medical challenges and/or memory loss—out of overheated rooms in the facility, an NJ Spotlight News article reports. When temperatures soared well into the 90s earlier this summer, Homestead Rehabilitation and Care Center in Newton, New Jersey, struggled to keep indoor temperatures within safe limits and to avoid subjecting residents to a dangerous circumstance of nursing home malpractice.

“Summer heat waves are foreseeable,” said Laurie Facciarossa Brewer, leader of the state’s Office of the Long-Term Care Ombudsman. “No nursing home should be operating with systems that cannot handle them.”

According to NJ Spotlight News, while upgrades were made to Homestead’s heating and cooling system on the building’s fourth floor—typically used for short-term residents undergoing rehabilitation after hospital stays—no similar upgrades were made for the lower floors where long-term residents live. Per the article, window-unit air conditioners were added to these floors only when the heat wave had gone on for days.

The article reported that Homestead residents have been subjected to similar issues of nursing home malpractice in the past. In December 2022, the furnace went out, and while outside temperatures plummeted into the teens, residents were told to remain in bed under the covers while wearing coats, hats and gloves. Nearly 24 hours passed before heat was restored.

“We are concerned that substandard infrastructure is an ongoing issue with this facility,” said Facciarossa Brewer of the persistent nursing home malpractice problems. “Residents have experienced issues with breakdowns related to heating in the winter and cooling in the summer, and yet we see no evidence that the management and ownership have committed to a long-term fix for the problems.”

Beyond difficulties with the heating and cooling system, Homestead also struggles with water pressure issues, which impacts residents’ ability to bathe and flush toilets. The water is furthermore frequently of questionable chlorination. While bottled water has been provided to address nursing home malpractice issues related to unsafe drinking water, it is uncertain what accommodations have been made for resident teeth-brushing.

Compounding the aforementioned nursing home malpractice problems, Homestead has also been recently fined by the state Health Department for multiple staffing violations between 2021 and 2023, which, said inspectors, potentially put residents at risk for “more than minimal harm.”

According to the article, Homestead is owned by 10 entities, a mix of limited liability corporations, and several individuals, including Benjamin Landa, a New York resident who has been charged with multiple abuse, neglect and other violations amounting to nursing home malpractice related to the New York nursing homes he operates.

Fighting Against, Substandard Care, Nursing Home Malpractice and Wrongful Death

Attorney Brian P. Murphy strives to uphold the safety and rights of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, and New Jersey nursing home residents, safeguarding them from nursing home malpractice and wrongful death. Your loved one living in a Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, or New Jersey nursing home should not have to be concerned about the quality of the facility in which he or she resides, or about being subjected to any dangerous circumstance arising from nursing home malpractice. As an experienced nursing home malpractice and wrongful death attorney, Brian Murphy holds accountable those Philadelphia/PA or NJ nursing homes responsible for any sort of negligence and abuse. Should you find yourself needing to contact a nursing home malpractice and wrongful death attorney, or if you need guidance in choosing a nursing home, call Brian Murphy today.

The post Residents of Troubled New Jersey Nursing Home Endure Heat Wave with Little to No Air Conditioning appeared first on The Law Firm of Brian P. Murphy, PC.

DNA Testing Could Give Answers in Mysterious Wrongful Death of Philadelphia Nursing Home Resident Found with a Disinfectant Wipe Lodged in Her Throat

In January 2022, Cheryl Yewdall, a 50 year-old Philadelphia nursing home resident with cerebral palsy and intellectual disabilities, died after a paper towel or disinfecting wipe was discovered lodged in her trachea. The woman’s mother secured a wrongful death attorney and filed a lawsuit against Merakey Woodhaven, where her daughter lived since she was ten. New DNA evidence could shed new light on the case.

The family of a Philadelphia nursing home resident who died after choking on a paper towel or disinfecting wipe has requested DNA testing on a hair stuck to the wipe, says a Bowling Green Daily News article. A single black hair, apparently missed by homicide investigators who were unable determine if the death was a homicide or an accident, has been discovered via magnification of police evidence photos by a pathologist for the victim’s family; the family subsequently contacted a judge to request DNA testing of the hair.

In January 2022, workers at Philadelphia’s Merakey Woodhaven found 50 year-old resident Cheryl Yewdall face down on the floor, in a pool of urine, her lips blue—circumstances indicative of nursing home malpractice. A 7-by-10-inch paper towel or cleaning wipe was discovered blocking her airway. Following an investigation, the question of how the wipe got into her throat remains a mystery. After contacting a wrongful death attorney, Yewdall’s mother filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the home.

According to the news article, the wrongful death attorney and a second lawyer filed a motion on June 21 that included a photograph of Yewdall with mostly gray hair. The black hair on the wipe—and even the wipe itself—might contain DNA not belonging to Yewdall, contends the wrongful death attorney. The article says that, thus far, no indication of a willingness to conduct DNA testing has been shown.

The nursing home has denied any responsibility for Yewdall’s death. The suit filed by the wrongful death attorney for Yewdall’s family accuses a staff member at Marakey Woodhaven of jamming the paper towel/cleaning wipe down her throat. While Yewdall suffered from cerebral palsy, her medical records indicated a normal functioning of her gag reflex, suggestive of the fact that Yewdall could not have inserted the wad of paper into her own windpipe; furthermore, previous incidents indicative of nursing home malpractice support the lawsuit’s accusations:

• In early 2021, Yewdall suffered an undiagnosed broken leg for weeks. When it was finally discovered, the physician-ordered leg immobilizer went unimplemented.
• Later that year, Yewdall suffered a black eye and swollen cheek, which the facility claimed was the result of a fall.
• Most significantly, an audio recording of Yewdall—who has a condition known as echolalia, which involves the repeating of other people’s words and phrases—reveals her saying, “Listen to me, a———. Settle down baby. I’m going to kill you if you don’t settle down. I’m going to kill you, a———.” According to the lawsuit, these words were overheard by Yewdall at Marakey Woodhaven.

Taking Nursing Homes to Task for Wrongful Death

Attorney Brian P. Murphy is committed to fighting against nursing home malpractice in Philadelphia/PA and NJ nursing homes. No Philadelphia/PA or NJ nursing home resident should be subjected to the abusive and negligent acts that amount to nursing home malpractice, and no one should live in fear of nursing home wrongful death. Attorney Brian Murphy has years of experience coming up against Philadelphia/PA and NJ nursing homes in matters of nursing home malpractice and as a wrongful death attorney. He is dedicated to successfully resolving his clients’ cases. Should you find yourself needing to contact a nursing home malpractice and wrongful death attorney, call Brian Murphy today to discuss your legal options.

The post DNA Testing Could Give Answers in Mysterious Wrongful Death of Philadelphia Nursing Home Resident Found with a Disinfectant Wipe Lodged in Her Throat appeared first on The Law Firm of Brian P. Murphy, PC.

Tougher Sanctions Are Needed against New Jersey Nursing Homes that Repeatedly Put Residents at Risk, Says New Report

New Jersey has failed at holding the worst nursing home operators accountable for repeatedly subjecting residents to nursing home malpractice, says NJ.com. The article cites a long-awaited report by the New Jersey Task Force on Long-Term Care Quality and Safety, which calls for a sweeping transformation of the nursing home system in New Jersey.

Released in late May, the 74-page report called for tougher sanctions against nursing homes that repeatedly neglect to meet staffing and safety standards that safeguard against nursing home malpractice. The task force was created in 2020 to investigate what factors contributed to the shocking number of nursing home deaths in New Jersey during the pandemic—over 16,250 people through March 2022. The study concluded in August of last year, meaning 10 months elapsed before its findings became public.

Among its recommendations for the state’s nursing home industry—such as making facilities less like hospitals and more home-like, and making it easier for elderly citizens to receive support while staying in their own homes—the task force gave particular attention to those New Jersey nursing home operators recurrently cited for violations amounting to nursing home malpractice.

“There is a group of chronically poor performing facilities that consistently fail to provide high-quality, safe care, in some cases for many years,” said the report, which called for more resources to be dedicated to oversight and intervention. For operators guilty of such incidences of nursing home malpractice as violating the state’s minimum staffing law and other health and safety codes, the report suggested taking such actions as halting admissions, appointing a monitor, and imposing substantial fines.

This report comes on the heels of the March independent report on New Jersey’s response to the pandemic, which called the state’s nursing home response to Department of Health directives “inconsistent and confused,” allowing COVID-19 to run rampant in its nursing homes.

According to the article, another suggestion put forth in the report includes holding the nursing home industry more accountable for how it spends its money, and insisting on more detailed, verifiable, and transparent information about any person or entity that owns any part of a nursing home.

When nursing homes repeatedly fail to meet standards for staffing, health, and safety, it is the vulnerable residents who pay the price. Conditions are established that can lead to a host of issues equating to nursing home malpractice, including nursing home illnesses, injuries, and even death. If you’re concerned nursing home malpractice is occurring in your loved one’s nursing home don’t wait to contact a nursing home malpractice or a wrongful death attorney.

Advocating for Your Loved One against Nursing Home Abuse, Neglect, and Wrongful Death

Attorney Brian P. Murphy is dedicated to protecting the safety and preserving the rights of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, or New Jersey nursing home residents. Your loved one living in a nursing home should not fear that their home’s negligence will result in illness or wrongful death. Attorney Brian Murphy has years of experience fighting negligent nursing homes in Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, and New Jersey. As a seasoned nursing home malpractice and wrongful death attorney, he holds accountable the Philadelphia/PA or NJ nursing homes responsible for elder abuse, neglect, and other types of nursing home malpractice. Should you find yourself needing to contact a nursing home malpractice and wrongful death attorney, or if you need guidance in choosing a nursing home, call Brian Murphy today to discuss your legal options.

The post Tougher Sanctions Are Needed against New Jersey Nursing Homes that Repeatedly Put Residents at Risk, Says New Report appeared first on The Law Firm of Brian P. Murphy, PC.

Former Pennsylvania Nursing Home Aide Sentenced for Stealing Jewelry from Dementia Patients 

In a shocking incident of nursing home malpractice, a former nursing aide of a Pennsylvania nursing home has been sentenced to time in jail for stealing jewelry from dementia patients, says an article on triblive.com. Christina Louise Ankney, of Allegheny County, has pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of theft and receiving stolen property related to two incidents that took place while she was subcontracted to work as an aide at Redstone Highlands in Murrysville, Pennsylvania.

According to the article, Ankney stole rings from two patients and later pawned them at a local pawn shop for cash. Two of the rings she’d pawned were wedding and engagement rings wrested from the fingers of a patient who suffered from a condition that left her hands in a constant state of contraction.

“For Ankney to steal the two rings…she would have had to forcefully pry (the victim’s fingers) open and physically keep them open long enough for her to pull the two rings from her fingers, a task that most likely caused (the victim) discomfort,” said an officer quoted in the criminal complaint about the incident of nursing home malpractice.

A tip to police about the pawning led authorities to identify the missing rings and confirm Ankney as the person who had pawned them.

As penalty for the theft equating to nursing home malpractice, Ankney was sentenced to serve 306 days to 23 months in jail and to pay $9,500 in restitution to one victim’s family and $130 to Redstone Highlands.

Beyond this incident of nursing home malpractice, Ankney is separately the subject of a federal indictment for allegedly stealing mail while employed by the U.S. Postal Service in 2022.

Nursing home theft is a type of nursing home abuse, and when it happens, an incident of nursing home malpractice has occurred. If you suspect your loved one living in a nursing home has been victimized by nursing home theft, don’t hesitate to report it. For any questions about what to do if you suspect elder abuse or what steps to take if you need a wrongful death attorney, you should contact a nursing home malpractice attorney immediately.

Fighting Against Nursing Home Malpractice and Wrongful Death

Attorney Brian P. Murphy endeavors to protect the safety and rights of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, and New Jersey nursing home residents. Your loved one living in a Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, or New Jersey nursing home should not need to worry that his or her person items are at risk of being stolen or that he or she should be subjected to any sort of nursing home malpractice, especially any sort that would require securing a wrongful death attorney. As an experienced nursing home malpractice and wrongful death attorney, Brian Murphy holds accountable those Philadelphia/PA or NJ nursing homes responsible for every kind of negligence and abuse. Should you find yourself needing to contact a nursing home malpractice and wrongful death attorney, or if you need guidance in choosing a nursing home, call Brian Murphy today.

The post Former Pennsylvania Nursing Home Aide Sentenced for Stealing Jewelry from Dementia Patients appeared first on The Law Firm of Brian P. Murphy, PC.

Staff Requirements are Falling Short for Most Pennsylvania and New Jersey Nursing Homes, Says Analysis

In 2026, federal staffing minimums will be implemented in an effort to address staffing shortages that contribute to incidences of nursing home malpractice. Few facilities in Pennsylvania and New Jersey are close to meeting these minimums, a new report finds.

The majority of Pennsylvania and New Jersey nursing homes don’t meet the staffing requirements drafted under a new rule from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, a Philly Voice article says. According to a Kaiser Family Foundation analysis, under 20 percent of Pennsylvania nursing homes and only 15 percent of New Jersey nursing homes meet certain staffing requirements due to take effect in 2026.

Following the pandemic, during which over 167,000 nursing home residents died, a severe drop in nursing home staff occurred. Subsequent reports of neglect, abuse, and nursing home malpractice followed. The CMS rule, proposed last year and released in finalized form in April, seeks to help resolve the low staffing that results in nursing home malpractice as well as tragic deadly incidents that require the intervention of a wrongful death attorney.

The finalized CMS rule will require a total nurse staffing standard of 3.48 hours per resident day (HPRD), which needs to include 0.55 HPRD for registered nurses and 2.45 HPRD for nurse aides. According to the Philly Voice article, the KFF analysis shows the following data related to Pennsylvania and New Jersey nursing homes vis-à-vis the staffing requirements:

• Pennsylvania – Only 18 percent of nursing homes currently provide the 2.45 HPRD from nurse aids, while 56 percent of homes meet the total nursing standard and under 70 percent meet the 0.55 HPRD for RNs.
• New Jersey – In New Jersey, 19 percent of nursing homes meet the minimum 2.45 HPRD from nurse aides, while 55 percent meet the registered nurse staffing standards, and just over 50 percent meet the total nursing standard.

Low staffing in nursing homes interferes with workers’ and nurses’ ability to adequately perform tasks and give care to vulnerable nursing home residents, which equates to nursing home malpractice in the following forms:

• Malnutrition and dehydration from inadequate provision of food and water
• Poor nursing home hygiene and the development/deterioration of bed sores
• Increased nursing home falls  and medication errors
• Nursing home illnesses
• Nursing home infections
• Nursing home injuries
• Wrongful death, necessitating the involvement of a wrongful death attorney

If you are worried about staffing levels at your loved one’s nursing home, or if you suspect injuries, illnesses, or wrongful death has occurred as a result of poor nursing home staffing, don’t hesistate—contact a nursing home malpractice or wrongful death attorney right away.

Holding Nursing Homes Responsible for Poor Staffing Levels

Your loved one living in a Philadelphia/PA or NJ nursing home should not need to tolerate circumstances of nursing home malpractice related to low staffing, especially those that compromise their health and safety or subject them to the possibility of wrongful death. As a nursing home malpractice and wrongful death attorney, Brian P. Murphy is committed to fighting for the health and safety of Philadelphia/PA and NJ nursing home residents. With extensive experience as a wrongful death attorney fighting negligent nursing homes in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, Brian Murphy is committed to successfully resolving his clients’ nursing home malpractice cases. Should you find yourself needing to contact a nursing home malpractice and wrongful death attorney, call Brian Murphy today to discuss your legal options.

The post Most Pennsylvania and New Jersey Nursing Homes Fall Far Short of Impending Staffing Requirements, Says Analysis appeared first on The Law Firm of Brian P. Murphy, PC.

Missing Elderly Woman Who Wandered from Pennsylvania Nursing Home Found Dead 

An elderly woman who wandered from her Pennsylvania nursing home last month was found dead the day after she was reported missing, says an NBC Philadelphia article. On Monday, July 8, 84-year-old Nadine Beech was reported missing from the Waverly Heights retirement community in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania, after staff members discovered she hadn’t shown up for lunch. Her body was found the following afternoon in Bryn Mawr.

Due to the dangerous heat that Monday, the woman’s unfamiliarity with the area, and her possible confused mental state, police initiated a search for Beech and asked hospitals and local residents to check areas of their property in an effort to find her. The police search for Beech, who apparently wasn’t carrying her cellphone or any money, involved drones, choppers, ATVs and K9s making a large-scale search of the area.

Beech, who had moved to Waverly Heights on June 29, had been assessed as someone not at risk of wandering off and was “free to come and go,” according to Waverly Heights president Tom Garvin. According the article, officials could not determine why Beech had walked out of the facility, other than that she “wasn’t thrilled” about having been admitted. Garvin said that Waverly Heights implemented a missing resident protocol once Beech was discovered missing.

Elopement, the term for when a resident at risk of wandering leaves his or her nursing home undetected, is a surprisingly common type of nursing home malpractice that unfortunately often results in death, requiring the involvement of a wrongful death attorney. A recent investigation shows that a startling number of American nursing home elopements occur, often with tragic results, as was the case with Nadine Beech.

Many times nursing home elopement is the result of low staff-to-resident ratios. Elopement sometimes goes undetected when staff engages in such neglectful instances of nursing home malpractice as ignoring door alarms, skipping bed checks, or sleeping on the job.

If your loved one living at a nursing home has been determined to be at risk for wandering and staff does not prevent him or her from elopement, nursing home malpractice has occurred and a nursing home malpractice lawyer should be immediately contacted, particularly if injury has occurred. In the tragic situation of a death occurring as a result of elopement, a wrongful death attorney needs to be contacted.

Protecting Your Loved Ones from Nursing Home Malpractice and Wrongful Death

Attorney Brian P. Murphy represents victims of abuse and neglect in Philadelphia/PA and NJ nursing homes. As an accomplished nursing home malpractice and wrongful death attorney, Brian Murphy holds Philadelphia/PA or NJ nursing homes accountable for substandard care and incidents of abuse, particularly staff negligence that leads to elopement or any type of nursing home malpractice that results in wrongful death. Attorney Brian Murphy is convinced that no resident of a Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, or New Jersey nursing home should need to live in fear of elder abuse, neglect, or any kind of nursing home malpractice. He is ready to discuss your legal options. If you or your loved one needs to contact a nursing home malpractice and wrongful death attorney, call Brian Murphy today.

The post Missing Elderly Woman Who Wandered from Pennsylvania Nursing Home Found Dead appeared first on The Law Firm of Brian P. Murphy, PC.