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Health alarm raised about two state-operated veterans homes
By Walter F. Roche Jr. Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
After Pennsylvania health inspectors visited the 514-bed Hollidaysburg Veterans Home in February, they were clearly alarmed.
Hollidaysburg Veterans Home/ Photo: Greg Doll
Inspectors saw patients screaming, biting and kicking as four attendants held them down for bathing or treatment. Often, the inspectors found, patients received improper doses of powerful psychotropic drugs to avert bedlam. And when a staff member reported concerns about physical abuse of a resident, inspectors determined no one investigated.
“The administrator and director of nursing were not fulfilling their essential job duties to ensure the safety and proper health care services for residents,” the inspectors concluded in a 37-page report.
Experts the Tribune-Review interviewed say the use of drugs is not the first-line treatment for dementia patients with behavioral problems. What's more, state law mandates that hospital administrators investigate reports of suspected abuse.
Both the Hollidaysburg home and Gino J. Merli Veterans Center in Scranton show a series of serious deficiencies. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services rated the facilities below average in meeting inspection requirements, giving them the lowest possible ranking: one star out of five. Other homes in the system, including Pittsburgh’s, fared better.
From Erie to Pittsburgh to Hollidaysburg to Scranton and the Philadelphia region, the 1,632-bed state veterans health system dating to the Civil War era costs $165 million a year to operate. It is separate from the federal Veterans Affairs.
The state facilities include nursing home beds, personal care facilities and locked dementia units, where many of the serious violations occurred.
Read more at Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Greg Doll: Life of a Small Town Photographer
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Short URL: http://www.veteranstoday.com/?p=11878
Posted by Bob Higgins on Jan 25 2010, With 0 Reads, Filed under Health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
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I lived in the MN Vets home for 7 years. I was awarded $200.000 in a jury trial. Its amazing how everyone bury’s there head in the sand to hear no evil or see it.
Veterans really have to be there own best advocates. Jury trials is a big wake up for an instituton. A threat of jury trial for the VA claims run around also threatens VBA
Terry
Allowing such homes to operate without properly trained staff who are able to handle those with dementia is a recipe for bedlam. At the same time, if drugs are to be used, those who are prescribing such drugs should have to keep detailed charts of drug doses versus behavior to ensure appropriate management of doses. On top of all of it, regular inspections by health officials should be required. Nobody should expect to receive such bad treatment.
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This is such an important issue for our veterans. Please visit the website and by all means share it with family and friends. I have 2 sons that are veterans and I love this website. Our veterans deserve nothing but the best.