10 Trial Lawyer • Winter 2023 Lara Johnson By Lara Johnson OTLA Guardian Beulah’s daughter was looking for a nursing home to keep her mother safe and healthy. Beulah had previously had a stroke and she had a number of other issues, including low weight and dementia that required careful oversight. She needed adequate food and hydration to keep her weight up. Unfortunately, the facility was run by an administration focused on cost cutting instead of meeting resident needs. Snacks were locked away in the evening. Instead of receiving Ensure to boost her caloric intake, she was given a low-cost, nearly undrinkable “house shake” made up of dry pudding mix, Crisco and other ingredients. She should have been weighed weekly but the administration made a decision to reduce the weigh-ins to once a month. At her last weigh-in, she was 90 pounds. Reports by hospital staff to the Oregon Department of Human Services described Beulah as looking like a Holocaust victim. She died underweight, dehydrated and covered in rashes and blisters from an untreated scabies infestation. The facility, and the providers that the facility worked with, failed to contain the scabies, allowing residents to become infected repeatedly. Direct care staff were discouraged from cooperating with abuse investigators, but the truth eventually came out. In the end, the home's director of nursing services and the administrator were charged with and pled guilty to felony criminal mistreatment, but not before dozens of residents suffered from scabies and other conditions. Booming business Nursing homes and residential care facilities are part of the booming business of elder care. It is estimated that 70% of Americans who reach the age of 65 will need long-term care at some point in their lives. For some, the stay will be short, perhaps to recover from a stroke or a surgery, with the goal of returning home to a partner or other family member who will aid in their rehabilitation. For others, the stay will be permanent. They will rely on the nursing home or residential care facility staff to provide a safe and secure environment, necessary nutrition, and appropriate medical care. Good laws and the vigorous enforcement of those laws are needed to protect vulnerable seniors. There is some legislation in place which sets minimum standards for care and aims to provide remedies for injured residents and their families when things go terribly wrong. More can and should be done. Staff stretched thin between different buildings and/or multiple residents cannot be in two places at once. They do not have the time to take a resident to the bathroom and wait to take them back to bed. Mobility-challenged residents are left alone, resulting in falls, fractures and early deaths. Staff members often do not have the time or the support from colleagues to reposition bed-bound residents, which results in large, painful and infected bedsores. Staffmembers may not of elde r care Guarding Against the booming business Beulah's lack of care in her final days of life was evidenced by the scabies (see above) covering her body.
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