nursing home neglect

Nursing Home Conditions a Holiday Concern

September 29, 2022 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

The coronavirus pandemic has been isolating for many of us, but some populations have been more severely impacted than others. Perhaps most affected by pandemic-related isolation were the elderly—especially those in nursing homes. This year will be the first near-normal holiday season in three years, as the last few seasons were marked by strict coronavirus policies that effectively suspended visitation time for nursing home residents.

News coming out of these facilities has not been encouraging. Large, nationwide, for-profit operators continue to consolidate the industry. A growing emphasis on the bottom line, combined with a critical shortage of skilled nursing care due to pandemic demands, continues to stress staffing levels in nursing homes and assisted-living centers.

Given the easing of restrictions as the pandemic wanes in severity, now is an ideal time to visit loved ones and survey their living conditions.

COVID Exacerbating Critical Staffing Shortages in Florida Nursing Homes

September 5, 2021 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

When it comes to the coronavirus pandemic, few places share a bleaker outlook than Florida nursing homes.

The Naples Daily News reports Florida nursing home employees continue to fight vaccine mandates, which could halt new admissions. The pushback against a federal mandate for all nursing home employees is worsening an already dire staffing shortage. Many employees have already left nursing homes for better, safer, jobs amid the nationwide shortage for hospital employees. Now, many others are threatening to leave in the face of the vaccine mandate.

The Daily News reports the resulting staffing shortage could halt new admissions, according to Leading Age, which represents a consortium of care providers in Florida.

While liability for preventable COVID-related injury and death is an issue in the early stages of litigation, with no clear-cut answers, our Fort Myers nursing home neglect attorneys know staffing shortage is a long-standing issue in many facilities that has directly contributed to countless preventable injuries and deaths.

Few Visitors Increase Risk of Nursing Home Neglect

August 25, 2020 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, our nursing home neglect and abuse attorneys have sounded the alarm about the failures in the system that have left powerless our most vulnerable citizens and their families. In April, we wrote about nursing home coronavirus liability, and in June we outlined failures of the industry to comply with safety regulations put in place after residents died in the wake of 2017’s Hurricane Irma.

Unfortunately, because of the threat posed by COVID-19, we enter the height of the hurricane season this year with the vast majority of nursing home residents isolated from friends, family and loved ones.

The threats posed by COVID are real, of course, particularly for this elderly, vulnerable population. The Wall Street Journal reported nearly half of Florida’s 7,000 virus deaths have occurred in long-term care facilities. About one in five residents in Florida is a senior citizen—the highest proportion in the U.S.

Increasing Risks of Nursing Home Abuse in SWFL

May 21, 2019 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Many of Florida’s best performing nursing homes are about to lose millions in funding, while some of the poorest performing homes, mostly operated by large for-profit corporations, stand to be awarded millions more in state and federal funding.

The funding changes were lobbied for and won by large nursing home companies in 2017. The companies sold the changes as an opportunity to increase accountability and quality of care at the state’s long-term care facilities, according to an analysis by The News-Press.

Our nursing home neglect lawyers in Fort Myers and Cape Coral continue to battle a legislative and regulatory environment that puts little emphasis on patient safety and care. It’s incumbent upon loved ones, friends and family members, to police the system and report violations.