Dehydration, malnutrition, and falls in nursing homes

From the Hartford Courant on November 19, 2007 comes an indepth expose of nursing homes operated by Haven Heathcare, which owns 25 nursing homes -- 15 in Connecticut and 10 in other New England states. The article cites a litany of deaths caused by neglect of the nursing home staff and/or understaffing leading to resident harm.

What good is oversight when nursing homes are fined only a few hundred dollars where a resident dies of dehydration after the home has been cited for violations numerous times, has been made to come up with a plan for correcting the deficiencies leading to harm, but continues to neglect its residents?

The Courant also notes that these nursing homes are owned by limited liability corporations in a maze of three and four-tiered structure, such as the New York Times exposed earlier this year. [See Choosing a good nursing home for your loved one, September 23, 2007] Families can spend a year or more suing a nursing home to recover damages for the needless death of their loved one only to learn that they sued the wrong corporation.

See No Haven for the Elderly: Nursing Home Troubles Show Lack of State Oversight.