Justice for Residents Podcast

Earlier this month, on October 1st, 2019, the “Georgia Long-Term Care Background Check Program” went into effect. The law requires nursing home employees with “direct access” to residents pass a national background check. On this week’s episode, nursing home abuse attorneys Rob Schenk and Will Smith discuss the statute, what it means to resident safety, and how it improves upon already existing laws.

The National Center on Advancing Person-Centered Practices and Systems (NCAPPS) is a national technical assistance center funded by the Administration for Community Living and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. HSRI is serving as the Center’s administrator, coordinating and providing assistance to help states, tribes, and territories implement person-centered practices. In this week’s episode, nursing home abuse lawyers Rob Schenk and Will Smith welcome Alixe Bonardi, Bevin Croft, & Shawn Terrell to discuss NCAPPS’ mission and goals.

By definition, a fall is as any event that leads to an unplanned, unexpected contact with a supporting surface. Most studies indicate that falls are a multifactorial event resulting from multiple risk factors, including unsteady gait, cognitive impairments, medication, and others. Understanding this, Federal and state law are clear that nursing homes must take reasonable steps to prevent the risk of fall in each resident. In this week’s episode, and in honor of Fall Prevention Awareness Day, nursing home abuse lawyers Rob Schenk and Will Smith welcome guest Dr. Mindy Renfro of Touro University to discuss common interventions for the reduction of nursing home falls.

According to recent studies, an elderly person will be treated for injuries from a fall every 13 seconds. An elderly person will die from injuries sustained from a fall every 20 minutes. The statistics for seniors living in nursing homes is even higher. These numbers tell us that interventions to prevent falls are paramount in skilled nursing facilities. In this week’s episode, nursing home abuse lawyers Rob Schenk and Will Smith welcome guest Dr. Pat Quigley to discuss common interventions for the reduction of nursing home falls.

On this very, extra, super special episode of the Nursing Home Abuse Podcast, LaGuardia Community College students Zilla Tofte and Mariuxi Moran take over as hosts of the show. Zilla and Mariuxi ask us questions as part of a school project (in collaboration with the Gardiner-Shenker Fellowship) on nursing home abuse and fraud. Among other things, we talk about the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, journalist Edith Evans Asbury, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, and Qui Tem. Please be sure to check out Zilla and Mariuxi’s podcast on the project, The Endless Fight!!!

Under Federal and state laws, certain medical providers, including nurses and physicians, have a legal duty to report elder abuse to a specified state agency. Such statutes include abuse occurring in nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and persona care homes. In this week’s episode, nursing home abuse lawyers Rob Schenk and Will Smith welcome guest Nancy J. Brent, Esq. to discuss mandatory reporting in the skilled nursing setting.

Residents of nursing homes are almost 3 times more likely to fall than seniors living in the general community, and nearly 10 times more likely to incur catastrophic injury from a fall. This is why fall prevention is extremely important in long-term care. In this week’s episode, nursing home abuse lawyers Rob Schenk and Will Smith welcome guest Dr. Ngaire Kerse of the University of Auckland to discuss fall risk assessments in nursing homes and keeping residents safe from falls.

Dementia is a broad disorder that affects not just memory, but cognition and behavior. According to some recent studies, nearly 15% of the senior community over 70 live with dementia, with nearly half of those living in nursing homes. As such, skilled nursing facilities must be able to properly care for these vulnerable residents. In this week’s episode, nursing home abuse lawyers Rob Schenk and Will Smith welcome guest Professor Rhonda Nay @RhondaMNay of La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia to talk about caring for nursing home residents living with dementia.  

Did you know that there is a Georgia organization made up of law enforcement and non-profits that is educating the community on elder abuse? Meet the North Georgia Elder Abuse Task Force, serving Georgia’s seniors through education and outreach. In this week’s episode, nursing home abuse lawyers Rob Schenk and Will Smith welcome guest Joe Gavalis from NGEATF to talk about the goals and accomplishments of the organization.

Aspiration pneumonia is one of the more common infectious diseases in nursing homes and is a significant cause of mortality and morbidity among residents. In this week’s episode, nursing home abuse lawyers Rob Schenk and Will Smith welcome guest Dr. Susan Langmore of Boston University to discuss aspiration pneumonia in nursing homes, including common prevention methods and treatment.