San Antonio Personal Injury Law Blog

In a rare bipartisan gesture, the two chairs of the U.S. Senate Committee on Aging released a list of nursing homes across America that the federal government itself thinks need closer oversight. The so-called “secret list” includes facilities in Texas.

There are differences of opinion about the meaning of the list, but all agree it release is designed to agitate for better federal oversight of nursing homes. The move also suggests the U.S. Senate is noticing that angry voters are calling for nursing home reform.

Texas residents who may need to have surgery in the future should be aware that a link has been found between a higher chance of post-operative complications and surgeons whose unprofessional behavior was reported by co-workers. This is according to a study examining the reports made by the co-workers of 202 surgeons from two academic medical facilities.

The researchers also studied the medical records of 13,653 patients to glean information regarding any medical or surgical difficulties that occurred no later than 30 days of an operation. The unprofessional conduct included in the reports regarding surgeons pertained to polite and clear communication, not fulfilling professional duties, a lack of honesty and inadequate care.

When you help your parent get situated in an assisted living facility, you hope for the best. You do your research, tour the facility and get to know the staff. Once your parent settles in, you make regular visits to ensure everything is going according to plan.

But even if things seem fine from the start, that may not be the case. Staff members at some assisted living facilities are perpetrators of elder abuse. This may be more common than you think. In fact, 10% of Americans aged 60 or older experience elder abuse. But how do you know when this is happening? Here is some information on the forms of abuse that can occur in assisted living facilities and warning signs that should make you suspicious.

If you are someone who has made the difficult decision to move your parent into a Texas nursing home due to his or her age and/or health condition, you probably worry that the nursing home may not be giving him or her the necessary care (s)he deserves. Sadly, you may have more cause for concern than you realize, especially if your parent suffers from dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.

Recently, an investigation of 15,000 nursing home facilities throughout America revealed that the staffs in many of them routinely administer antipsychotic drugs to their patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, and other illnesses and conditions for which such drugs are contraindicated. The top three drugs of choice for this illegal drug administration consist of the following:

1. Haloperidol
2. Seroquel
3. Risperidone