A family has documented by videotape the abuse of a family member at a Richmond nursing home, Madison Manor, the Lexington Herald-Leader reports, "Videotape At Nursing Home Documents Abuse." Family members of an Irvine woman, Armeda Thomas, noticed bruises on her and could not get a straight answer from the nursing home staff. So to find out the truth they installed a videocamera in her room. The camera filmed numerous instances of physical abuse, failure to properly feed, and numerous other instances of neglect. The nursing home has been cited by the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services.
Madison Manor is owned by Extendicare, a Wisconsin-based company. Extendicare has been and is involved in numerous patient abuse and neglect lawsuits. A lawsuit in Washington state alleges that an Extendicare nursing home there violated a consumer protection law by advertising high-quality, skilled nursing care and failing to deliver and another law that that bars nursing homes from making residents sign a form waiving liability for injury or property loss, according to seattlepi.com. Also reported is that federal records show that nearly all of Extendicare's Washington homes have higher-than-average scores for health deficiencies from state inspectors. A class action lawsuit filed in Wisconsin claims that Extendicare fraudulently advertised its services and intentionally admitted more acutely ill residents without hiring enough staff to properly care for them, according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, "Class-action suit filed against Extendicare nursing home." The Chicago Nursing Home Lawyer Blogreports a similar class action lawsuit was filed against Extendicare in Minnesota.
Kentucky families with concerns about a nursing home, or the care a family member is receiving in a nursing home or about the possible abuse or neglect of a family member or loved one in a nursing home can find help by contacting or visiting the web site of Kentuckians for Nursing Home Reform or Nursing Home Ombudsman Agency of the Bluegrass.
Robert L. Abell
www.RobertAbellLaw.com
