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Author Archives: Adam Peck

 About Adam Peck

Adam J. Peck, ESQ is a principal with Peck Law Group, APC. In 2008, Mr. Adam Peck received his Juris Doctorate from Whittier Law School where he graduated Cum Laude. His practice is primarily dedicated to representing Elders, Dependent Adults, along with their loved ones and family members, who have suffered horrific personal injuries.
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Chronic Wounds Such as Bed Sores and Pressure Ulcers Can Cause Severe Health Risks

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Chronic Wounds Can Cause Severe Health Risks

An acute wound that does not heal in an expected amount of time, typically within six weeks, is considered chronic. Chronic wounds can result from a number of conditions including diabetes, circulatory problems, trauma, vascular disease, and immobility (which can lead to pressure ulcers, commonly known as bed sores). If left untreated, chronic wounds such as a Bed Sores and Pressure Ulcers,  leg ulcers from a vein problem, a foot wound in a person with diabetes, an infected wound or a bed sore can cause severe health risks and result in life-threatening infections, possible amputation and debilitating health problems.

The signs of a chronic wound include the loss of skin or tissue surrounding the wound or the amount of time it takes for the wound to heal. Once a wound has become chronic, intensive medical intervention and wound treatments are required to heal it.

 Common chronic wounds

Pressure ulcers or bed sores are often the result of an individual staying in the same position, such as lying in a bed or sitting in a wheelchair, for extended periods. In these situations, the blood supply can become cut off to an area of skin.

Treatment of wounds

Receiving proper care and treatment for chronic, nonhealing wounds is important for the prevention of amputation and recurrent infections. There are a various forms of treatment for chronic wounds including antibiotics; debridement – a surgical procedure which removes nonliving and infected tissue; compression therapies; hyperbaric oxygen therapy; advanced bioengineered alternative tissues such as Apligraf and Dermagraft; Non-contact Ultrasound Mist Therapy; Total Contact Casting; CelluTome Epidermal Harvesting and LUNA Fluorescence Angiography.

Urgent Need for Effective Oversight to Counter Persistent Abuse and Neglect of Nursing Home Residents

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Urgent Need for Effective Oversight to Counter Persistent Abuse and Neglect of Nursing Home Residents

U.S. nursing homes provide essential care, support services and homes to approximately 1.3 million people every day. In fact, 40% of Americans who reach age 65 will need nursing home care at some point. Given that most of these individuals are highly vulnerable and dependent on their nursing homes for necessary care and services, and that a majority of these services are paid for by the public through Medicare or Medicaid, the quality of nursing home care and the safety of residents is of critical public interest. It is for these reasons that, 30 years ago, Congress passed and President Reagan signed into law the 1987 Nursing Home Reform Act. The Reform Law established standards toensure that every resident receives decent care and is able to live with dignity.

Unfortunately, though there have been improvements in nursing home care since passage of the Reform Law, abuse, neglect and substandard care persist. Too often, there is little accountability when residents are harmed – or even die – because the care they received was substandard. Qualityof life standards – which provide for basic human dignity and respect – are, too often, ignored with impunity.

That is why we, as advocates for nursing home residents, are deeply troubled by recent nursing home industry efforts to delay and undermine implementation of vital safety standards. We are especially dismayed by claims that the nursing home industry is facing a “spike” in enforcement actions. In fact,both empirical and anecdotal evidence indicate that this is a gross mischaracterization which beliesthe true conditions that too many residents and families face.

Following are highlights from the substantial body of evidence supporting the need for stronger – not

weaker – accountability for nursing home resident safety, care and dignity.

Richard Mollot, Executive Director

Long Term Care Community Coalition

www.nursinghome411.org

Lori Smetanka, Executive Director

Robyn Grant, Director of Public Policy &

Advocacy

National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-

Term Care

www.theconsumervoice.org

Toby Edelman, Senior Policy Attorney

Center for Medicare Advocacy

www.medicareadvocacy.org

Patricia McGinnis, Executive Director

Michael Connors, Advocate

Janet Wells, Public Policy Consultant

California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform

www.canhr.org

Peck Law Group, APC

Nursing Home & Abuse Lawyers

www.thepecklawgroup,com

Two wrongful death complaints against two nursing homes alleging that neglect and a lack of nursing staff led to the deaths of two patients in 2016

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Two men died after developing severe pressure ulcers that became infected while they were patients at the Eureka and Seaview rehabilitation and Wellness Centers.

In most instances pressure ulcers are entirely avoidable and can form when patients are not moved regularly by nursing stuff. Wheelchair- or bed-bound patients can have circulation cut at pressure points if they are not moved, causing underlying tissue to become damaged and form an ulcer.

The two nursing homes as well as their owning company Brius Healthcare Services, their administrative company Rockport Healthcare Services and Brius CEO Shlomo Rechnitz have been named as defendants in the complaints. Attempts to contact Rockport and Brius as well as their representing attorney James Yee were not returned Wednesday.

The lawsuits come after Eureka Rehabilitation and Wellness Center was fined $160,000 by the state last month for patient care and staffing violations in 2016, which are currently being appealed by the nursing home.

The latest lawsuit filed March 10 alleges that the Eureka Rehabilitation and Wellness Center failed to check the deceased’s residents skin.

it is alleged that the nursing home became aware that their deceased resident had developed ulcers on his tailbone in August 2016. By November, the ulcer had dramatically worsened.

About eight months earlier, the 76-year-old resident died at the same hospital from an infected ulcer on his tailbone, according to the complaint.

The resident was admitted to Seaview Rehabilitation and Wellness Center in Humboldt Hill in November 2015 after being treated for an aortic valve replacement, according to the complaint. He did not have an ulcer when he was admitted, the complaint states, but was known to be at risk for ulcer formation in his resident care plan. the family was never informed of the pressure ulcer. nor was the physician informed

The complaint alleges that Seaview did not have the required nursing staff under state law to ensure Sorensen received the care identified in his care plan.

The California Department of Public Health issued two state enforcement actions against Seaview in August 2016 for failing to report their residents health status changes and failing to provide treatment for or prevent a pressure sore from forming. The facility was fined $40,000 for these violations, but the nursing home has appealed the fines, according to the department website.

According to the Medicare nursing home comparison website, Seaview nursing staff provide an average of 18 minutes of time per resident each day compared to the state average of one hour and 57 minutes. Eureka Rehabilitation and Wellness Center has one hour and 29 minutes of nursing care time per patient per day.

This does not include certified nursing assistant time that patients receive, which is two hours or more at the two facilities, according to the Medicare website.

Brius is based in Los Angeles and has acquired more than 80 nursing homes throughout the state since 2006. The company acquired five nursing homes in Humboldt County — Eureka, Seaview, Fortuna, Granada and Pacific rehabilitation and wellness centers — from Skilled Healthcare Group in 2011,

Last year, the Department of Public Health denied Brius Healthcare’s applications to acquire five nursing homes because of the company’s history of health care violations. Former California Attorney General Kamala Harris issued an emergency motion to block Brius from acquiring 19 nursing homes in 2014, referring to the company as a “serial violator” of state health care laws.

 

 

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