Dementia Residents Subjected to Improper Medication, False Diagnoses, and Neglect at Massachusetts Nursing Home

A host of violations and “appalling” conditions amounting to nursing home malpractice were recently uncovered during an investigation at Bear Mountain Worcester nursing home.

A two-year Disability Law Center investigation of a Massachusetts nursing home has revealed numerous violations related to nursing home malpractice, says a Boston 25 News article. According to the DLC, the multiple Nursing Home Reform Act violations found during the investigation of Bear Mountain Worcester from October 2021 to October 2023 stem from understaffing and lack of clinical expertise—nursing home malpractice issues that are common among for-profit healthcare providers like Bear Mountain. Boston 25 says nearly two-thirds of Massachusetts’s nursing homes are for-profit.

According to the article, the neurobehavioral unit of Bear Mountain was especially impacted by the acts of nursing home malpractice. Residents of this unit, who suffer from dementia, anxiety, depression, brain injuries, and trauma, were discovered to have been regularly treated with a range of antipsychotics and other psychotropic medications. Some were given “questionable” schizophrenia diagnoses. The DLC also said that there was evidence of “minimal engagement with patients in the neurobehavioral unit;” the facility furthermore had no trained/credentialed psychiatric nurses, psychologists, or psychiatric and neurological consultations.

The issuing of false diagnoses and the inappropriate administration of antipsychotics or psychotropics to elderly residents are both acts of nursing home malpractice falling under the umbrella of nursing home medication errors. Giving the wrong medication in order to chemically restrain a dementia patient to make him or her easier to deal with not only violates that resident’s rights, but is also a dangerous practice that can lead to the following serious issues:

• Nursing Home Falls
• Bedsores
• Wrongful Death

Attorneys who handles matter of nursing home malpractice ought to be contacted if it is suspected that distribution of inappropriate medication is taking place in a nursing home. In the event of an accidental death related to medication errors, it will unfortunately be necessary to contact a wrongful death attorney.

Beyond the above violations, the article also stated that Bear Mountain was accused by guardians and families of nursing home infections throughout the facility, filthy communal spaces, and even rodent infestation.

“The conditions at Bear Mountain have been appalling,” said DLC Executive Director Barbara L’Italien. “It has been a dire situation, and we must hold the Commonwealth accountable for its duty to inspect and ensure proper care in these facilities.”

Holding Nursing Homes Responsible for Nursing Home Malpractice and Wrongful Death

Attorney Brian P. Murphy is a nursing home malpractice lawyer and wrongful death attorney committed to upholding the rights and safety of Philadelphia/PA and NJ nursing home residents. Your loved one living in a Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, or New Jersey nursing home should never be subjected to any sort of nursing home malpractice, including medication errors and false diagnoses. Brian Murphy holds accountable those Philadelphia/PA or NJ nursing homes responsible for elder abuse or neglect, particularly any incident of nursing home malpractice that results in wrongful death. Attorney Brian Murphy 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.

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Nurse Indicted for Falsifying Records and Diverting Narcotics from Nursing Home Patients

In an act of nursing home malpractice consistent both with false charting and with nursing home medication errors, a nursing home nurse falsified paperwork to divert drugs from her New York patients.

A nurse working at a New York nursing home has been indicted for allegedly altering medical records and diverting patients’ drugs to herself, says a Wayne Times article. Anita L. Walker, 34, a contract agency nurse, allegedly diverted oxycodone from patients at the Demay Living Center on or about Aug. 28, 2020, reportedly repeating the diversion multiple times the following day.

When the incident of nursing home malpractice was discovered, Walker was immediately terminated; a NYS Department of Health investigation was promptly initiated. Once the Wayne County District Attorney’s Office became involved, Walker was indicted. The charges include four counts of Felony Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree and four counts of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Seventh Degree.

The alleged acts reflect two common forms of nursing home malpractice: false charting and nursing home medication errors.

False charting is the intentional forging of medical documents in nursing homes, including Philadelphia/Pennsylvania and New Jersey homes, for the purpose of hiding something. Whether the falsification of documents is to cover up mistakes, to indicate care has been given when it has not, or, as in the above case, to hide the diversion of drugs, false charting is a serious type of nursing home malpractice. It can have far-reaching and damaging effects, particularly for vulnerable patients whose prescribed care is negatively impacted, resulting in illness, injury, or possibly even death, warranting the involvement of a wrongful death attorney.

Medication errors, which involve the incorrect giving of or withholding of medication, are frequently incidences of nursing home malpractice. Deliberately taking patients’ medication, as allegedly occurred in this case, can result in serious, and even life-threatening, consequences for nursing home patients, meriting a call to a nursing home malpractice lawyer or, in tragic circumstances, the involvement of a wrongful death attorney.

Protecting against Nursing Home Malpractice and Wrongful Death

Attorney Brian P. Murphy is an accomplished nursing home malpractice lawyer and wrongful death attorney experienced in helping residents of Philadelphia/PA and NJ nursing homes. Your loved one living in a Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, or New Jersey nursing home should live free from worry about suffering elder abuse, neglect, or any kind of nursing home malpractice. Brian Murphy holds accountable negligent Philadelphia/PA or NJ nursing homes for medication errors, false charting, and any event of nursing home malpractice that results in wrongful death. Attorney Brian Murphy 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.

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Illinois Nurse Federally Indicted for Diluting Nursing Home Patient’s Morphine

In a gross act of nursing home malpractice, a registered nurse allegedly took an Illinois nursing home patient’s morphine and attempted to conceal this act by swapping the prescribed medication with morphine diluted with another liquid.

An Illinois nurse faces federal criminal charges after prosecutors alleged she tampered with a nursing home patient’s prescribed morphine, says a CBS News article.

According to the indictment against her, Nickole Butler, 40, while working as a registered nurse at a skilled nursing facility in the northern part of the state, on May 16, 2021, removed the morphine prescribed in liquid form for a patient at the facility and replaced it with morphine diluted with another liquid.

This act of tampering with a patient’s medication, a clear incident of nursing home malpractice, was done in full knowledge that the adulterated substance would be given to the patient and, the indictment said, was executed “with reckless disregard for the risk that another person would be placed in danger of bodily injury and under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to such risk.”

According to the article, Acting U.S. Attorney for Chicago Morris Pasqual commented on the alleged incident of nursing home malpractice in a press release. “Patients deserve to have confidence that they are receiving the legitimately prescribed medication and not a diluted substance,” he said. “Health care practitioners who illicitly tamper with prescription drugs will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

Medication errors commonly occur in nursing homes for a variety of reasons and are almost always incidences of nursing home malpractice. Deliberately tampering with a patient’s medication, as is alleged in this case, has a more malicious intent but can have the same kind of consequences: serious and even life-threatening conditions for the patient, ones that demand the involvement of a nursing home malpractice lawyer and, in extreme circumstances, a wrongful death attorney.

Butler was charged with one count of tampering with a consumer product, and pleaded not guilty at her arraignment in federal court in Chicago late last month. She faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted. According to the article, the date of her next court appearance date has not been made available.

Fighting to Protect against Nursing Home Malpractice and Wrongful Death

Attorney Brian P. Murphy is an accomplished nursing home malpractice and wrongful death attorney experienced in representing residents of Philadelphia/PA and NJ nursing homes. Your loved one living in a Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, or New Jersey nursing home should not have to live in fear of elder abuse, neglect, or any kind of nursing home malpractice. Brian Murphy holds Philadelphia/PA or NJ nursing homes accountable for substandard care and incidents of abuse, including medication errors and any event of nursing home malpractice that results in wrongful death. Attorney Brian Murphy 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.

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Pennsylvania Nursing Home Staff Shortage Places Residents in Harm’s Way:

Over 250 doses of medication for 14 residents were missed at the Claremont Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Cumberland County, thanks to the Pennsylvania nursing home staff shortage that amounted to nursing home malpractice.

A Pennsylvania nursing home has been declared to be in “immediate jeopardy” by the state health department after having placed residents in harm’s way, says a Fox 43 article. In an inspection report by the Pennsylvania Department of Health, the Claremont Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Cumberland County is said to have failed in two separate incidents late last year to ensure residents received their medications. The issue, according to the report, was staffing levels that did not meet state and federal regulations and that impeded the facility from properly dispensing medications, a clear circumstance of nursing home malpractice.

In the two incidents of inadequate staffing at Claremont—once on November 6, 2022, and again on November 24, 2022—269 doses of medication for 14 residents were missed. Despite the low nursing home staffing that contributed to this incidence of nursing home malpractice, says the Fox 43 article, Claremont continued adding to its resident population, even after the “Immediate Jeopardy” declaration was made.

Failure to provide a nursing home resident with medication in accordance with doctor’s orders is a common type of nursing home medication error that can and does occur in nursing homes, particularly when there are improper staffing levels. When a nursing home fails to provide adequate nursing staff and medication errors occur as a result, nursing home malpractice has occurred in the form of neglect.  Nursing home residents who do not receive the correct medications at the correct dosages at the specified times are in danger of suffering serious illnesses or injuries, such as strokes, heart attacks, choking, fractures and head injuries, and even death, which would necessitate the involvement of a wrongful death attorney.

There are certain indicators that a nursing home medication error has occurred. Most typical is that your loved one is behaving differently or does not seem to be him- or herself. Such behavioral changes could involve heightened aggressive or violent behavior, or the exact opposite: they could be withdrawn and uncommunicative, or even confused and incoherent. These or any indication your loved one is suddenly behaving out of character could mean nursing home malpractice in the form of medication errors has occurred.

If you are worried about staffing levels at your loved one’s nursing home, or you suspect medication errors are happening there, it is important to reach out to a nursing home malpractice or wrongful death attorney right away.

Holding Nursing Homes Responsible for Inadequate Staffing

Your loved one living in a Philadelphia/PA or NJ nursing home should feel secure in the knowledge that an adequate number of trained nursing professionals and other staff are provided by the home to ensure resident safety. No one should tolerate circumstances of nursing home malpractice that compromise the health and safety of residents 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.

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White House against Antipsychotic Drug Use in Nursing Home Dementia Patients:

The use of antipsychotic drugs in elderly patients not diagnosed with schizophrenia falls into the category of nursing home medication errors, a common but lesser known aspect of nursing home neglect, and can lead to such serious issues as nursing home falls and nursing home infections such as bed sores.

Federal efforts toward thwarting inappropriate medical treatments for nursing home dementia patients will see a boost, according to a recent White House fact sheet. The fact sheet, issued on February 28, outlines a series of proposals for change in the nursing home industry, with the aim of improving safety, accountability, oversight, and transparency across the industry.

Coming as part of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) initiative to ensure nursing home residents receive the sort of safe, high-quality, and dignity-preserving care that taxpayer money aims to fund, the measure of further reducing antipsychotic drug use in nursing homes comes as a response to the tendency of some nursing homes to use antipsychotic drugs to make dementia patients calmer and easier to control. Providing the wrong medication to elderly nursing home residents—particularly those with dementia—can lead to grave and frequently life-threatening conditions. This kind of negligence falls into the category of nursing home medication errors.

A recent New York Times investigation revealed the frequency with which false diagnoses of schizophrenia has led to inappropriate use of antipsychotics for elderly patients. While just one in 150 people in the general population are diagnosed with schizophrenia, one in nine elderly nursing home residents receive the diagnosis, even though schizophrenia is typically diagnosed before age 40. The Times went on to report that, although Medicare data indicates that less than 15 percent of nursing home residents use antipsychotics, the true percentage as revealed by the Times investigation is closer to 21 percent. This number translates to about 225,000 elderly residents currently on antipsychotics.

White House against antipsychotic drug use in nursing home dementia patients due to the fact that antipsychotic drugs are not only inappropriate, but also dangerous, for non-schizophrenic elderly people with dementia, and have been linked with the following problems:

• Nursing Home Falls–The drowsiness produced by antipsychotic drugs often results in increased rates of nursing home falls and consequential injuries.
• Bedsores and Other Infections-The sedation effects of antipsychotics can leave dementia patients practically immobilized. Remaining in one position for prolonged periods in beds or wheelchairs is a primary cause of bedsores which, if not tended to quickly, can escalate into serious infections.
• Increased Heart Problems–Antipsychotics have been linked to heart problems in people with dementia.
• Wrongful Death–Clinical trials have revealed that, in elderly dementia patients using antipsychotics, the risk of death nearly doubled for older dementia patients using these medications.

According to the White House fact sheet, noting the continued inappropriate nursing home diagnoses and subsequent dispensing of unnecessary medications, CMS intends to launch new efforts to complement its current program, the CMS National Partnership to Improve Dementia Care in Nursing Homes, with the aim of decreasing the unsuitable use of antipsychotic medications and upholding person-centered care for people with dementia.

Securing Your Loved One’s Safety

Determining the quality and safety of the Philadelphia/PA or NJ nursing home where your loved one lives is essential. Meeting health and safety standards and to ensuring the physical, mental, and psycho/social well-being of their residents is a requirement to which Pennsylvania and New Jersey nursing homes must adhere. Should you have concerns about the quality of care in a Pennsylvania or New Jersey nursing home, or if you suspect neglect, abuse, or fraud has occurred at the Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, or New Jersey nursing home where your loved one lives, please contact nursing home abuse attorney Brian P. Murphy to discover your legal rights and options.

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According to a CNN analysis of Nuedexta prescription by doctors for nursing home residents, thousands of doctors (approximately half) received some sort of perk, either in the form of monetary payment or other compensation by the pharmaceutical company to promote Nuedexta use in nursing homes.

Nursing home residents are being prescribed a powerful drug that might not be necessary and could even be harmful.  Made by Avanir (parent company Otsuka), Nuedexta use in nursing homes has increased by 400% in recent years.  Nuedexta is a drug intended for an extremely rare condition called PBA, which impacts approximately five percent of the nursing home resident population.

Nursing home caretakers have determined that Nuedexta controls residents’ “mood disturbances” and reduces episodes of yelling out; consequently, some nursing homes and affiliated doctors have come up with ways to justify the drug’s prescription, even though the residents do not have PBA.  In some cases, doctors are “diagnosing” residents with PBA, so that the prescription for Nuedexta will not be questioned.

Medicare Part D prescription drug funding is responsible for payments related to Nuedexta use in nursing homes; however, the funds are only disbursed if there is a diagnosis of PBA. According to the most recent data, Medicare spent over $137 billion on Nuedexta.

“Nearly half the Nuedexta claims filed with Medicare came from doctors who had
received payments or meals from the drugmaker.”

Presently, there are no FDA-approved, dementia-related agitation drugs.  In the past, other drugmakers, such as a case against Abbott Laboratories in 2012, have been penalized for marketing drugs to control nursing home residents’ behavior, including but not limited to:

• Emotional and physical outbursts
• Restless behavior
• Dementia-and Alzheimers-related agitation

Dangers of Nuedexta Use in Nursing Homes

The Benefits of Increased Staffing

Many caretakers in the study believe that increased staffing in nursing homes would reduce the need for additional medication given to residents who suffer from these emotional/psychological behavioral issues. Understaffing is already a problem among nursing homes and has been shown to increase neglect, falls, and potentially death. Furthermore, Nuedexta does not come at a low cost.  The drug’s price tag approaches $10,000 per year, increasing the already-strained financial burden most patients experience.

Contact Nursing Home Attorney Brian Murphy

If you believe your loved one has been unjustly placed on Nuedexta, is suffering from abuse and/or neglect in a Pennsylvania or New Jersey nursing home or assisted living facility, has developed unexplained bed sores, or is not being properly cared for, please contact Brian Murphy for a consultation.  All matters are handled on a contingency fee basis.

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