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"Nursing Home" -- the very words strike fear into the hearts of seniors. And with good reason. Today's nursing homes have too few skilled and dedicated workers, too many undertrained and poorly motivated workers. Most nursing homes are poorly regulated and inadequately supervised. Many of the patients may have long-term mental illness, criminal records or both. Chicago attorney Cliff Horwitz sounds a wake-up in his The House That Terror Built.

Does it have to be this way? Of course not. Dr. Bill Thomas is trying to change it through something called the Eden Alternative.

Abuse, Neglect

Sadly, abuse and neglect are common problems in nursing homes. Everyone knows this but it is often overlooked, especially by family members who want to believe that everything is just fine, even if it isn't. In her Nursing Home 101, attorney Joan E. Lisante tells you what you need to know to be an effective advocate for Mom or Dad.

Nursing Home News

Extendicare Suit Tossed for Vagueness Judge says allegations are not specific enough.

Video: Choosing a Nursing Home It boils down to one question.

Study Cites Aggressive Nursing Home Residents Shouting, pushing, bullying are common, researchers find.

Robotic Dog a Good Companion For Seniors? Nursing home study finds no difference between robots and real dogs.

Feds List Worst Nursing Homes 52 facilities make the 'worst of the worst' list.

Nursing Home Residents Get Less Vision Care Two-thirds of residents in Alabama study had no record of eye exams.

New York Nursing Home Aide Convicted of Rape Home failed to run a background check, prosecutors charge.

Pennsylvania Nursing Home Aide Faces Sex Assault Charges Man was found partially nude near a 90-year-old Alzheimer's patient.

Florida Nurses Arrested for Withholding Medication from Elderly Patients More than 70 doses of medication unaccounted for.

Nurses Aide Admits Slapping Patient Spring Valley, NY, aide hit Alzheimer's disease victim.

Nursing Home Operators Indicted on Fraud Charges Operators of five nursing homes accused of "massive fraud."

Older Drivers Steer Clear of Nursing Homes Nondrivers four times more likely to end up in long-term care.

California Nursing Home Operator Arrested in Alleged Bribery Case Residents allegedly neglected and abused while health inspectors offered bribes.

Researchers Test Robotic Dog As Companion for Nursing Home Residents Will the "Stepford Dog" be a substitute for the real thing? Stay tuned.

California Fines Nursing Home Chain $1 Million Pleasant Care required to improve the quality of care at its 30 facilities in the state.

Hidden Cameras Reveal Neglect at NY Nursing Homes Nineteen employees arrested in crackdown on patient abuse, neglect.

Nursing Home 101: Being an Effective Advocate Federal and state rules you should know to protect your loved one.

Sun Healthcare to Pay $2.5 Million and Improve Care at its Calif. Nursing Homes Firm violated terms of earlier injunction.

34 Louisiana Nursing Home Residents Drown; Owners Charged Owners failed to evacuate elderly patients, leaving them to drown.

Chicago Nursing Home, Doctor Charged with Abuse Elderly patient dies after large area of bedsores discovered.

Non-Profit Long-Term Care Facilities Outrank Profit-Making Centers Government statistics show fewer problems at non-profit centers.

Caregiver Shortage Predicted As ranks of older Americans grow, professionals warn of a dire shortage of caregivers.

Long Island Nursing Home Officials Charged with Stealing $400,000 Defendants allegedly used unqualified persons to perform higher-paying jobs and shared in the proceeds.

New Illinois Law Protects Nursing Home Residents Provides for better identification of sex offenders and felons housed in nursing homes.

Court Trustees Take Over 13 Texas Nursing Homes Facilities are owned by bankrupt Foremost Care Inc.

Indiana Nursing Home Fined After Resident Burns to Death Elderly resident, not a smoker, dies after his clothing is ignited.

NY Wins Overtime Pay for Home Health Care Workers At least $3 million owned to employees of Special Touch.

Michigan Finds Hundreds of Criminals Working in Nursing Homes Nearly ten percent of employees studied had criminal records.

Iowa Nursing Home Charged With Consumer Fraud Owners of home accused of using duplicate corporations to drain funds.

Drug Use, Violence, Sexual Threats Reported At Troubled Illinois Nursing Home Court-appointed managers say the facility needs massive resources to be turned around.

Nurse Convicted of Sexually Abusing Nursing Home Patient Nurse molested a bedridden female patient at Monroe Community Hospital.

Three New York Health Care Workers Charged with Abuse Tied elderly patient to wheel chair and left him unattended.

Illinois Bill Would Protect Nursing Home Residents Convicted sex offenders and parolees would be identified to nursing home and long-term-care facilities.

Florida Nursing Home Employee Arrested For Neglect Nurse failed to provide medications and falsified records, state charges.

Oklahoma Nursing Home Shocks Inspectors Residents relocated after inspectors find widespread infestation of rodents and insects.

Workers Plead Guilty In Nursing Home Death Louisiana nursing home resident suffocated.

Illinois Creates Elder Abuse Squad Illinois recorded a 31 percent jump in reported cases of elder abuse statewide between 1997 and 2003.

Feds Want More Smoke Detectors in Nursing Homes Fatal fires could be avoided with inexpensive devices, Medicare finds.

Nursing Home Patients Sicker Than a Decade Ago Ohio study finds few patients able to return to the community.

Feds Settle With New Jersey Nursing Home Mercer County facility failed to provide adequate care, Justice Department charged.

Nursing Home Agrees To Refunds for Residents Who Die Facility reneged on promise to refund unused portion of lease to families of the deceased.

Kentucky Nursing Home Worker Charged With Abuse Worker indicted for slapping patient.

Study: Nursing Home Residents Dying Of Hunger, Thirst Federal records indicate malnutrition and dehydration killed at least 13,890 nursing home residents between 1999 and 2002.

A Future Without Nursing Homes Baby boomers' last public act may be to replace nursing homes with small group-living arrangements, expert predicts.

Too Many Malpractice Suits or Not Enough? Evidence lacking to support claims that malpractice cases are a national menace.

Assisted Living Residents Not Getting Proper Meds, Study Finds Undertreatment appears "prevalent" in retirement communities and assisted living facilities

Support for Dying Patients Often Lacking Studies fault nursing homes and hospitals.

Improper Tube Feeding Blamed in California Nursing Home Deaths Report finds at least 14 deaths over 20 months.

Ensign Group Nursing Homes on Watch List Yearly expose finds substandard care and repeated patient care violations.

Nursing Home Chain Settles Arkansas Charges Advocat agrees to settle allegations of mistreatment and neglect at 13 of its Arkansas facilities.

FDA Proposes Hospital Bed Entrapment Rules Agency received 575 reports of patient entrapment over 15 years.

Nurse Aides Arrested for Abusing Syracuse Nursing Home Residents Aides could draw jail time for punching resident.

Nursing Home Employee Charged With Stealing Patient's Credit Card Long Island woman, 93, victimized by Nassau Extended Care employee, authorities allege.

New York Nurse Drugged Nursing Home Patient for Acting Up Nurse gave an 88-year-old patient over-the-counter sleeping medication to keep him quiet.

Nurse Convicted of Abusing Elderly Patient Incident occurred at St. Joseph Nursing Home in Ogdensburg, NY.

Rochester Nurse Admits to Patient Neglect and Cover-Up Nurse faced 31 criminal counts including abuse and neglect of nursing home patients.

Pennsylvania Nursing Home Owner Sentenced to Prison Heritage Nursing Home stole millions from New York taxpayers by fraudulently billing for services never provided to New York State Medicaid patients.

Minnesota Facility Commingled Sex Offenders with Vulnerable Adults Attorney General sues Concordia Care Center, Minneapolis.

Low Staffing, High Turnover Blamed for Poor Nursing Home Care California study finds more than one-third of freestanding nursing homes do not meet the state's minimum nurse staffing standards.

NY Nurse's Aide Gets Jail for Lying About Criminal Convictions Applicant had previous convictions he failed to disclose on job application.

California Steps Up Nursing Home Oversight More surprise inspections lead yield 749% increase in criminal prosecutions.

Five Texas Nursing Home Workers Face Felony Charges CNAs, LVNs implicated in deaths of two patients.

Four South Florida Residents Charged with Patient Neglect Colonnade Regional Medical Center employees accused of multiple violations.

Nurse Charged With Stealing Pain Killers From Nursing Home Patients Hospice nurse faces multiple felony charges.

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