Sick, dying and raped in America’s nursing homes – a CNN Investigation

2-22-17 National:

They go to nursing homes to be cared for. Instead, the unthinkable is happening at facilities across the country: Vulnerable seniors are being raped and sexually abused by the very people paid to care for them.

Senior Writers Blake Ellis and Melanie Hicken provide a shocking and detailed account of the rape and sexual abuse occurring in nursing homes across the country — and the systemic failures of nursing homes and state regulators to stop it.

The graphic reports of abuse they uncovered are horrifying.

• 83-year-old Sonja Fischer fled war-time Indonesia as a young girl only to be raped by a nursing assistant during the “final, most vulnerable days of her life."
• An 88-year-old California woman only had sex with one man her entire life - her husband of nearly 70 years — then contracted a sexually transmitted disease from her alleged rapist.
• One elderly man with paralysis was sexually abused and forced to eat feces out of his adult diapers by a group of nursing aides.

As part of the five-month investigation, CNN Correspondent Ana Cabrera confronted multiple nursing homes where caregivers were accused of sexually assaulting multiple residents before eventually being convicted of rape.

Ellis and Hicken also read through thousands of government documents to conduct a detailed analysis of federal data - the first of its kind.

Some of the findings: CNN found that more than 1,000 nursing homes have been cited for mishandling or failing to investigate or prevent alleged cases of rape, sexual assault and abuse at their facilities between 2013 and 2016. Nearly 100 of these facilities have been cited multiple times during the same period. At least a quarter were allegedly perpetrated by aides, nurses and other staff members.

The reporters also traveled to the small town of Waynesville, North Carolina, to tell the story of one certified nursing assistant who worked at multiple facilities in the area and now stands accused of rape. This deeply reported account comes from police reports, court documents, interviews with the alleged victims and even the accused rapist, who denied the charges from jail.

Read the full investigation here. ..Source.. by CNN

Editorial: Sex-offender notification falls victim to lobbying

11-28-2016 Iowa:

Sometimes it’s hard to tell when politicians are grandstanding, pandering to the crowds and playing to the cameras.

It’s hard because such scripted statements may also be grounded in truth and genuine sincerity. Just because there’s sizzle doesn’t mean there’s no steak on the plate. But there are occasions when the words of politicians are completely at odds with their own actions, and the words are revealed to be pure window-dressing.

Take the controversy over Iowa’s practice of placing sex offenders and violent criminals in Iowa care facilities alongside elderly and disabled adults.

For years, Statehouse politicians and Gov. Terry Branstad have decried the situation, wrung their hands and then failed to act — even as vulnerable adults were sexually abused and even murdered by fellow residents known to have posed a threat to others.

Granted, this is not a particularly easy issue to address. Sex offenders and violent criminals age just like the rest of us, and many of them eventually need 24-hour care. Ideally, they would be placed in either a dedicated facility for high-risk individuals, or placed in the secure wing, with close monitoring, of a traditional care facility. Both solutions entail additional spending.

As things stand now, many of these individuals are simply placed with the general population of care-facility residents, with no additional oversight.

Dearden: Nursing care for hard-to-place Iowans

3-23-2015 Iowa:

Iowa's long-term care services receive high praise for quality and affordability. In fact, Iowa's long-term care services are ranked 13th best in the nation in the AARP's most recent Long-Term Care Scorecard.

However, Iowa has struggled to find appropriate nursing facility placements for sex offenders and those who are aggressive or violent, as well as older Iowans who require psychiatric services and nursing home care. Unfortunately, there have been cases in which staff and other residents have been harmed, and facilities have been fined for not providing adequate security when caring for these individuals.

Providing long-term care for sex offenders and those who are aggressive or violent is costly. It requires special training, security and insurance coverage.

The Legislature has attempted to research the issue, most recently in 2013 when a study committee was approved by the Legislature but vetoed by Gov. Terry Branstad. At the governor's direction, the departments of Corrections, Human Services and Inspections & Appeals created an informal work group that met over the past couple of years but produced no policy or funding recommendations.

Nursing home study for dangerous patients passes Iowa Senate

3-12-15 Iowa:

A legislative interim study committee would be created to study the establishment of one or more nursing home units for the treatment of persons who are sexually aggressive, combative or who have other geriatric mental health needs, under a bill approved Thursday by the Iowa Senate.

The Senate voted 48-0 for Senate File 386. Sen. Amanda Ragan, D-Mason City, said state officials have struggled with the issue for years about how to care for persons whose sexual or physical aggression poses a danger to other residents. The issue has received increased attention recently because of the Gov. Terry Branstad’s plans to close the Clarinda Mental Health Institute, which has housed four elderly sex offenders in a locked unit. ..Source.. by William Petroski,

Study Exposes Nursing Home Residents’ Aggression Against Each Other

1-7-2015 Ohio:

COLUMBUS, Ohio--When people talk about abuse in nursing homes, they generally are referring to staff members victimizing the elderly.

But researchers say an even more pressing, prevalent problem might be the violence that can — and does — erupt between residents.

According to a new study by Cornell University, nearly one in five people living in nursing homes is involved in at least one aggressive encounter each month.

“These altercations are widespread and common in everyday nursing-home life,” said Karl Pillemer, PhD, a professor at Cornell and at the Weill Cornell Medical College and a co-author of the study.

Staff Often Unaware

Resident-to-resident mistreatment is under-reported to the point that, at some long-term-care centers, “staff members seem almost unaware,” Pillemer said.

Nursing homes provide care for about 1.5 million older Americans nationwide, including about 90,000 in Ohio. By 2030, the number of U.S. adults 65 and older will more than double, to about 71 million.

Nursing home residents’ aggression is studied

12-13-2014 National:

When people talk about abuse in nursing homes, they generally are referring to staff members victimizing the elderly. But researchers say an even more pressing, prevalent problem might be the violence that can — and does — erupt between residents.

According to a new study by Cornell University, nearly 1 in 5 people living in nursing homes is involved in at least one aggressive encounter each month.

“These altercations are widespread and common in everyday nursing-home life,” said Karl Pillemer, who is a professor at Cornell and at the Weill Cornell Medical College and a co-author of the study.

Resident-to-resident mistreatment is under-reported to the point that, at some long-term-care centers, “staff members seem almost unaware,” Pillemer said.

Nursing homes provide care for about 1.5 million older Americans nationwide, including about 90,000 in Ohio. By 2030, the number of U.S. adults 65 and older will more than double, to about 71 million.

Research has mostly focused on older adults who have been mistreated by their family and caregivers in the community or by staff members in nursing homes, said Dr. Mark Lachs, who is the other author of the report and a professor of medicine at Cornell’s medical college.