Alabama Nursing Homes Honored for Innovative Approaches to Elder Care

Several Alabama nursing homes were honored for implementing innovative approaches to elder care by the Alabama Nursing Home Association's Best Practices Program earlier this month. Eight long-term care facilities presented their creative techniques at the 16th annual Alabama’s Best Practices Program on August 13th in Birmingham.

According to the ANHA's web site, the eight selected nursing care facilities presented the following presentations on innovative care techniques:

“Validation If You Please" - Cherokee County Nursing Home - Centre: Home-like stations with different sets of activities in the Alzheimer’s unit provide residents with familiar work settings and can serve as behavioral intervention tools.

“Runaway Gang” - Southland Nursing Home - Marion: Social driven residents are given a breath of fresh air by participating in events outside of the nursing home which gives them a sense of purpose and accomplishment.

“July 4th Celebration” - Crossville Health & Rehabilitation - Crossville: Annual July 4th celebration has quickly become one of the largest events in the surrounding area and promotes a positive image of the nursing home to the community.

“Once We Get Them...We Keep Them” - Piedmont Health Care Center - Piedmont: Dramatically reduced nursing staff turnover by implementing a number of changes including having nursing staff assigned to specific residents.

“Word Bowl” - Crowne Health Care of Montgomery - Montgomery: Encourages exercising the mind by having teams of therapy and activities residents spell smaller words from one large word.

“I’ve Been Everywhere” - TLC Nursing Center - Oneonta: “Vacations” where residents experience a famous destination without leaving the facility has increased participation in activity programs.

“Hand in Hand - UTI Prevention” - Hanceville Nursing & Rehab - Hanceville: Seeks to improve a resident’s quality of life by reducing the number of urinary tract infections and training staff on how to prevent infections.

“Montessori Dementia Management" - Civic Center Health & Rehabilitation - Birmingham: Creates and presents activities and interventions based upon the teaching methods of Maria Montessori to assist dementia patients in becoming as independent as possible.

While I applaud these care facilities for striving to improve their residents' quality of life, I know that nursing home abuse and neglect has reached almost epidemic proportions in the nation's long-term care facilities. Nursing home abuse must not go unreported. If you have any reason to suspect that your loved one suffered abuse or neglect at a nursing care facility, contact an experienced nursing home abuse lawyer to stop the abuse and protect your loved one's rights.

The Birmingham nursing home attorneys at The Walker Law Firm can help you get justice for the mistreatment of your loved one. We provide aggressive representation to abuse and neglect victims in Bessemer, Birmingham, Fairfield, Helena, Homewood, Hoover, Irondale, Mountain Brook, Tarrant, Trussville, and Vestavia Hills. Call 1-877-925-5373 for a free consultation with a Birmingham nursing home lawyer regarding your case.

Illinois Nursing Home Facing Fines for Resident-on-Resident Abuse

A LaSalle County, Illinois, nursing home may be fined up to $20,000 by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for code violations that occurred earlier this summer. According to news reports, a male patient allegedly sexually molested 10 different female patients between June 6 and July 6, 2009. The home will be fined because it did not have policies in place to detect and stop the abuse.

Unfortunately, resident-on-resident abuse in nursing homes happens more often than you might think. Physical and sexual abuse committed by other residents often goes unreported. However, nursing homes and their staff are responsible for ensuring that residents are safe. If you believe your family member may have been a victim of abuse - whether by other residents or by nursing home employees - contact an experienced Birmingham nursing home lawyer immediately to stop the abuse and protect your loved one's legal rights.

If someone you love has been injured in a nursing care facility, call the Birmingham nursing home lawyers at 1-877-925-5373 for a free initial consultation. Our team of experienced personal injury attorneys can help you seek justice for your loved one's physical pain and emotional trauma. We provide aggressive representation to abuse and neglect victims in Bessemer, Birmingham, Fairfield, Helena, Homewood, Hoover, Irondale, Mountain Brook, Tarrant, Trussville, and Vestavia Hills. Our Birmingham nursing home attorneys won't charge a fee unless you receive monetary compensation in your case.