In MN, elder abuse lawsuits die with the victim
Advocates say a legal loophole keeps families from seeking justice in the courts and shields elder care facilities from responsibility for abuse.
Author: Lauren Leamanczyk, Steven Eckert
Published: 11:43 PM CST February 23, 2018
The power of stories!
Families share stories of elder neglect with Minnesota lawmakers
By: Tim Blotz
http://www.fox9.com/news/families-share-stories-of-elder-neglect-with-minnesota-lawmakers
POSTED: FEB 21 2018 05:09PM CST
VIDEO POSTED: FEB 21 2018 05:43PM CST
UPDATED: FEB 21 2018 05:48PM CST
(KMSP) - After months of the state trying to clear the backlog of elder abuse complaints, families shared their stories with lawmakers on Wednesday.
Senator Karin Housely is the chair on the Committee on Aging and Long-term Care. Her bill will likely drop at the end of the week, but before it does, senators heard heartfelt pleas from families to take action.
One by one, they shared heartbreak and shed tears.
Worse than ‘doggy daycare?’ Minnesota families share shocking stories of elder abuse
By CHRISTOPHER MAGAN | cmagan@pioneerpress.com | Pioneer Press
PUBLISHED: February 21, 2018 at 3:32 pm | UPDATED: February 21, 2018 at 7:58 pm
Amid public outcry, Minnesota senior living complex Autumn Glen reverses huge hike in rents
By Chris Serres Star Tribune FEBRUARY 14, 2018 — 11:01PM
"I think they thought we were old and frail and unable to speak up. But we were very determined to shake people up about this — and we did," said 85-year-old Janet Dahlquist.
Angry residents at Autumn Glen Senior Living in Coon Rapids pushed back against steep rent increases of 15 to 30 percent, which had threatened to uproot them from their apartments.
After an outcry from elderly residents and state lawmakers, a large senior living complex in Coon Rapids has reversed plans to impose double-digit rent increases that could have uprooted dozens of longtime neighbors and splintered the community.
In a letter sent Tuesday, the operator of Autumn Glen Senior Living apologized for not communicating directly with residents about rent hikes of 15 to 30 percent that took effect in January. The operator said it would instead limit the rent increase to 4 percent and promised to provide a clear explanation for any future rent increases of 5 percent or more. “We hope these adjustments will make your apartment feel like home again as we work together in supporting your future needs here,” wrote Dan Dixon, president and chief executive of Guardian Angels Senior Services of Elk River, a nonprofit organization that manages the facility for a group of private investors.
Full Story at:
Minnesota senior community pushes back against 'astronomical' rent hikes
Lightly regulated facilities offer residents few protections.
By Chris Serres Star Tribune FEBRUARY 11, 2018 — 7:50AM
DAVID JOLES, STAR TRIBUNE
Janet Dahlquist expected to spend the rest of her life at Autumn Glen in Coon Rapids but is moving out after a steep rent hike.
The seniors who live at Autumn Glen apartments in Coon Rapids gather for Bible study each morning and bring flowers and pastries to residents too frail to attend.
But this placid scene turned angry last month, after the facility’s owner announced steep rent increases that are uprooting residents and rending longtime friendships.
Dozens of elderly residents, including many with disabilities and serious ailments, received notice late last year that their rent would increase by $300 to $500 a month, or 15 to 30 percent. Suddenly, apartments that many had called home were beyond their reach. Some moved out immediately. Others are busy packing for an exodus this spring.
The complete story: http://www.startribune.com/a-minnesota-senior-community-pushes-back-against-astronomical-rent-hikes/473697343/
Orono senior home cited in death of woman who fell and wasn't found for 10 hours, later died
Resident died a few weeks after being left on the floor of her room for 10 hours.
By Chris Serres Star Tribune JANUARY 27, 2018 — 4:04PM
An Orono senior home has been cited for neglect after a resident fell and was left on the floor of her room for nearly 10 hours, and later died.
A state Health Department investigation found that several employees at the Trails of Orono, an assisted-living facility, failed to respond to an activated bed alarm, and also failed to make regular checks on the resident on the night of her fall in August of last year.
The woman's health deteriorated after the fall and she died 26 days later, according to a state investigation report released Thursday.
For full story go to: http://www.startribune.com/minneapolis-senior-home-cited-in-death-of-woman-who-fell-and-wasn-t-found-for-10-hours-later-died/471290174/
State death report: Neglect led to Roseville nursing home resident's suffocation
The woman became trapped between her mattress and a grab bar. Home operators are appealing the finding.
By Paul Walsh Star Tribune JANUARY 16, 2018 — 10:08PM
Nursing home operators in Roseville are being blamed for the death of a resident whose head became trapped between the mattress and the bed’s grab bar.
U.S. easing of nursing home penalties could imperil Minnesota's crackdown on elder abuse
New directives call for rolling back federal penalties on nursing homes violating health and safety rules.
By Chris Serres Star Tribune JANUARY 7, 2018 — 7:57AM
The Trump administration is taking steps to roll back federal penalties on nursing homes violating health and safety rules, a policy shift that’s alarming state officials and advocates for the elderly who say it could undercut Minnesota’s emerging moves to crack down on violence and criminal abuse in senior homes.
Charges: Caretaker took nearly $100K from St. Paul senior
Barbara Joan Siercks, 68, of Paisley, Florida, is charged in Ramsey County with two counts of financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult.
Author: KARE
Published: 6:55 PM CST January 3, 2018
ST. PAUL, Minn. - A Florida woman faces felony charges after investigators say she stole nearly $100,000 from an elderly St. Paul woman. Barbara Joan Siercks, 68, of Paisley, Florida, is charged in Ramsey County with two counts of financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult.The criminal complaint states that between Sept. 2014 and March 2015, Siercks, a caretaker, took $97,150 from a 96-year-old woman.
Trump administration caves to nursing home trade group
Move to weaken regulation comes after Star Tribune series on elder abuse.
By Editorial Board Star Tribune DECEMBER 29, 2017 — 6:03PM
The shocking assaults on Minnesota nursing home and assisted-living residents documented in the Star Tribune’s recent “Left to Suffer” series inspired outrage across the state and vows from Gov. Mark Dayton and legislators to do better — much better.
To their credit, Minnesota legislators are calling for reforms and stronger oversight when they return to St. Paul in early February. But as they’re weighing these improvements, federal regulators are frustratingly taking steps in the opposite direction — a situation that should alarm anyone with aging family members or friends.
The Trump administration’s latest move to go easier on the nursing home industry as part of its regulatory rollbacks was detailed in a Dec. 24 New York Times story by Jordan Rau, a respected health care reporter. Unfortunately, it didn’t get the attention that it should have because its publication came in the midst of last-minute preparations for the holiday.
http://www.startribune.com/trump-administration-caves-to-nursing-home-trade-group/467205083/
New acting Minnesota health chief pledges tough action on elder abuse investigations
Days into new job, Dan Pollock pledges major reforms to Department of Health's policing of elder abuse.
By Chris Serres Star Tribune DECEMBER 21, 2017 — 9:56PM
Minnesota Health commissioner resigns in wake of agency's mishandling of elder abuse allegations
Move comes amid controversy over agency's handling of elder abuse cases.
By Chris Serres Star Tribune DECEMBER 19, 2017 — 9:06PM
State employees say elder-abuse reports tossed in trash due to backlog of cases
Chronic chaos, dysfunction recounted at state office investigating elder abuse.
By Chris Serres Star Tribune DECEMBER 17, 2017 — 7:50AM
Star Tribune November 12 - 16, 2017
5 Part Series 'Left to Suffer'
ABUSED, IGNORED ACROSS MINNESOTA
Story by Chris Serres•Photos by David Joles•Star Tribune•NOVEMBER 12, 2017
For weeks before her death, Jean Krause lay in her bed at a northern Minnesota senior home, staring mutely at the walls.
Even when her children arrived with flowers or her favorite dessert, she did not respond. Or she would suddenly sit bolt upright, asking if her door and windows were shut.
This summer, nearly a year after Krause died, the family finally solved the mystery of her strange behavior. Late one night in May 2016, Krause, who was 78 and suffered from dementia, was sexually assaulted in her bed by a male nurse’s aide who appeared to be changing her underwear.
Full story at: http://www.startribune.com/senior-home-residents-are-abused-and-ignored-across-minnesota/450623913/
PART 2
FAMILIES WAIT YEARS FOR ANSWERS
Story by Chris Serres•Photos by David Joles•Star Tribune•NOVEMBER 13, 2017
Clayton Braaten entered the rectory of St. Philip’s Catholic Church in Bemidji reciting the Lord’s Prayer.
He had come seeking help from a priest, hoping to control the rage that has boiled inside him since his late wife, Grayce, was molested three years ago by another resident at an assisted-living facility. The cleric urged him to forgive and not let the tragedy consume his life.
Full story at: http://www.startribune.com/when-senior-home-residents-are-victimized-families-wait-years-for-answers/450625343/
PART 3
WHEN ROOMMATES ARE THE ABUSERS
Story by Chris Serres•Photos by David Joles•Star Tribune•NOVEMBER 14, 2017
Minnesota is failing to investigate thousands of cases every year of what is now the most widespread form of physical abuse in senior care homes: resident-on-resident violence.
The state Department of Health has received more than 20,000 complaints in the past five years alleging aggressive behavior by residents, including head-butting, punching, shoving and sexual groping. Most of them were never investigated by the agency charged with protecting vulnerable seniors in licensed care facilities, state records show.
Last year alone, more than 4,000 complaints of resident-on-resident abuse went uninvestigated by the Health Department.
Full story at: http://www.startribune.com/surging-resident-on-resident-violence-rarely-investigated/450625693/
PART 4
SPEAK UP, AND RISK EVICTION
Story by Chris Serres•Photos by David Joles•Star Tribune•NOVEMBER 15, 2017
Estelle Schaust thought she was being helpful. On the veranda of her senior home in Champlin, she scooped up a large ashtray full of cigarette butts, placed them in a plastic bag, then knotted it around the doorknob of the manager’s office. She then taped the facility’s “No Smoking” policy to the bag.
Schaust, who is 84, suffers from a pulmonary condition so severe that a doctor ordered her to avoid smoke.
The next day, she said, she and her husband, Mathias, were summoned to the manager’s office and given a scolding. When the couple pointed out that the facility’s rules ban smoking, the administrator threatened to evict them for “misbehaving” and “stirring up trouble,” the couple told the Star Tribune.
Full story at: http://www.startribune.com/senior-home-residents-risk-eviction-when-they-speak-up/450626083/
PART 5
A MODEL TO PROTECT SENIORS
Story by Chris Serres•Photos by David Joles•Star Tribune•NOVEMBER 16, 2017
SAN DIEGO
The photographs showed an elderly woman with blood streaming down her face and bruises where she had been beaten with a baseball bat. Paul Greenwood stared at them, transfixed, as he stood outside the courtroom.
“This was a cold, calculated act of brutality,” the deputy district attorney said. “Once the judge sees these photos, he’ll understand why we’re absolutely not accepting any deals.”
In many states, a violent assault like this one would vanish in a bureaucratic haze. In Minnesota, thousands of allegations of abuse in senior care homes, including beatings and sexual assaults, go uninvestigated each year, records show.
Full story at: http://www.startribune.com/in-san-diego-a-model-to-protect-seniors-from-abuse/450626583/
2016 and Early 2017 Headlines of Wrongful Death and Abuse Reported In Senior Living Facilities Throughout Minnesota
The following are some of the state wide media and professional publication coverage on reported abuse. Most cases don’t get in the papers because they go unreported or not investigated by the Department of Health. These google search results reflect the ‘tip of the iceberg’ in the thousands of gross maltreatment in senior living, home care and long-term care facilities through out the State of Minnesota. Please note that there are likely many other media reported abuses that this google search has missed.
2017 Media Reports of Abuse - July - January
Health Department: Roseville Facility Neglected Resident in Apparent Suffocation Death
http://kstp.com/medical/health-department-roseville-facility-neglected-resident-in-apparent-suffocation-death/4637945/?cat=12196
October 18, 2017 06:09 PM
A Roseville assisted living facility neglected a resident who died after becoming wedged between a bed and a physical therapy pole, a state Department of Health investigation has determined.
Minnesota caregiver pleads guilty to sexually assaulting woman with Alzheimer's
Facility still faces allegations that it hid incident from family members.
JULY 27, 2017 — David E. DeLong, 60, of Pine River, leaves the Crow Wing County District Court after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting a 78-year-old woman with Alzheimer’s disease.
Inappropriate Social Media Posts by Nursing Home Workers,
Detailed ...https://www.propublica.org/.../inappropriate-social-media-posts-by-nursing-home-wo...
Jun 23, 2017 - Related story: Nursing Home Workers Share Explicit Photos of Residents on Snapchat .... State: MN .... The facility did not report the abuse in a timely manner because the administrator told inspectors "there was no concrete ...
One woman's fight to expose quality-of-care investigations in Minnesota
http://www.startribune.com/local/427690133.html
JUNE 11, 2017 — From her home in Plymouth, Sheila Van Pelt types on a laptop with two scraps of paper taped below the keypad. One says, “Who are the heavy hitters?” The other: “What public purpose does it serve?”
Morrison County Record | Vulnerable adult abuse reports on the rise ...
mcrecord.com/2017/.../vulnerable-adult-abuse-reports-on-the-rise-in-morrison-count...
Jun 4, 2017 - Minnesota statute defines physical abuse as the “use of physical force ... It was discovered after the elderly care facility the vulnerable adult was ...
MDH: Client Died Because Brooklyn Park Facility Administered Wrong Medication
May 31, 2017 - A Brooklyn Park assisted living facility allegedly neglected a patient who was given another’s medication and died 16 days later, according to a Minnesota Department of Health investigation.
Ride from hell, why answers are hard to find
http://www.fox9.com/news/investigators/ride-from-hell-why-answers-are-hard-to-find
By: Jeff Baillon
POSTED: MAY 02 2017 06:19PM CDT
VIDEO POSTED: MAY 02 2017 09:49PM CDT
UPDATED: MAY 03 2017 11:28AM CDT
(KMSP) - Mary Wittman was just a few months shy of 100 years old and despite the onset of dementia, she still showed a sparkle of wit at the sight of the logo on her daughter’s iPhone, while her daughter took some video of her. "Somebody took a bite out of the apple though," Mary joked.
That was before that awful day.
http://www.fox9.com/news/investigators/ride-from-hell-why-answers-are-hard-to-find
Nursing home negligent in death of resident who fell into hot laundry water, state rules
April 28, 2017
A Minnesota nursing home has been found negligent in the death of a resident who entered the facility's laundry room and fell into a basin of 155-degree laundry wastewater, according to a report released Wednesday.
CNN investigation: Sexual assaults in nursing homes a 'widespread ...
www.mcknights.com › News
Feb 23, 2017 - Sexual assaults of nursing home residents by facility employees are ... cases of sexual abuse have been reported in facilities housing the elderly,” the ... a former aide at a Minnesota nursing home who was sentenced to eight ...
Neglect led to 2 deaths a few months apart at Waconia nursing home ...
www.startribune.com/state-neglect-led-to-2-deaths...nursing-home.../409521275/
Jan 4, 2017 - The findings released by the Minnesota Health Department ... the Good Samaritan Society nursing home in Waconia, in one death and the …
Thousands Of Elder Abuse Reports In Minnesota ... - WCCO - CBS Local
minnesota.cbslocal.com/2017/04/25/elder-abuse-neglect-reports/
Apr 25, 2017 - MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — WCCO has learned that thousands of allegations of elderly abuse and neglect at Minnesota nursing homes are ...
‘This Is Serious Neglect’: Woman Installs Secret Camera In Father’s Nursing Home
By Jennifer Mayerle
minnesota.cbslocal.com/2017/04/05/nursing-home-neglect-accusations/
8
April 5, 2017 10:42 PM - MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — A Twin Cities woman is accusing the nursing home that’s caring for her dad, a World War II veteran, of depriving him of basic necessities.
Wendy Rudek became so concerned a few weeks ago, she installed a camera in her father’s room at a senior living center in Forest Lake. What she saw disturbed her. Rudek, who is a nurse herself, calls it neglect.
Thousands of reports of nursing home abuse in Minnesota are not ...
www.rightinginjustice.com/.../thousands-of-reports-of-nursing-home-abuse-in-minnes...
Feb 27, 2017 - Minnesota Health Department officials have received such a massive influx of complaints about nursing homes in the state in recent years that ...
Sick, dying and raped in America's nursing homes - CNN.com
www.cnn.com/interactive/2017/02/health/nursing-home-sex-abuse-investigation/
In other instances, nursing home employees and administrators are hamstrung in .... The Minnesota Department of Health told CNN it is barred by state law from ... She requested all reports of sexual abuse from the facility where Kpingbah ...
Minnesota health regulators can't keep up with abuse reports
Flooded hot line has families of vulnerable adults waiting months for investigations.
By Chris Serres Star Tribune
http://www.startribune.com/minnesota-health-regulators-can-t-keep-up-with-abuse-reports/414169273
FEBRUARY 18, 2017 - Nearly two years after launching a statewide abuse reporting hot line, Minnesota regulators are overwhelmed by a deluge of new reports alleging abuse and neglect of vulnerable adults in nursing homes, hospitals and other state-licensed facilities.
Thousands of MN nursing home complaints go uninvestigated
www.twincities.com/.../mn-nursing-home-complaints-go-uninvestigated-legislature/
Feb 17, 2017 - The numbers of nursing home and home care complaints the MN Health ... nearly 2,000 complaints of emotional or physical abuse by staff and ...
Neglect found in nursing home resident's death | Duluth News Tribune
www.duluthnewstribune.com/.../4210002-neglect-found-nursing-home-residents-deat...
Feb 1, 2017 - A small nursing home in Buhl has been cited for neglect in the case of a resident who fell on a concrete sidewalk just outside the facility and ...
Nursing Home Abuse News » Minnesota - Elderly Abuse
https://www.elderly-abuse.com/wordpress/category/states/minnesota/
Nursing home abuse headlines from the Minnesota nursing home abuse news ... she sued a local senior home over the sudden death of her 89-year-old father.
State finds negligence led to deaths at nursing home |
sunpatriot.com/2017/01/04/state-finds-negligence-led-to-deaths-at-nursing-home/
Jan 4, 2017 - The Minnesota Department of Health has determined that negligence led to the deaths of two residents at a nursing home in Waconia. Through …
2016 Media Coverage of Abuse Reports & Earlier Major Coverage
98-year-old woman dead after walking out of nursing home in ... - KVLY
www.valleynewslive.com/home/.../98-year-old-woman-dies-of-exposure-365538951...
Jan 16, 2016 - (KTTC) A 98-year-old woman living at a senior home in Minnesota died after wandering outside in the freezing cold in the middle of the night.
Ramsey County sued by nursing home patient's family – Twin Cities
www.twincities.com/2016/02/.../ramsey-county-sued-by-nursing-home-patients-famil...
Feb 1, 2016 - ... of a Ramsey County-owned Maplewood nursing home who died after ... federal court in Minnesota against the Ramsey County Care Center, ...
Minnesota assisted-living facility sued in resident's 2013 ...
www.grandforksherald.com/.../3939245-minnesota-assisted-living-facility-sued-reside...
Feb 3, 2016 - A West Duluth assisted-living facility failed to protect a 74-year-old, dementia- stricken client who died after wandering away from the residence ...
Civil rights claim asserted in nursing home death – Minnesota Lawyer
minnlawyer.com › Minnesota Legal News › Legal News
Feb 4, 2016 - One Sunday almost three years ago, Theresa Rotter, an 88-year-old resident at the Ramsey County Care Center, was served a lunch of baked ..
Minnesota Nursing Home Resident's Burn Leads to Death and ...
www.nursinghomelawfirm.org/minnesota-nursing-home-residents-burn-leads-death-n...
The Minnesota Department of Health has released its findings on the death of 91- year- old nursing home resident Mary C. Harris: the conclusions should send a ...
Mahnomen nursing home's narcotic overdose kills resident - MN ...
www.mn-nursinghomeabuse.com/.../mahnomen-nursing-homes-narcotic-overdose-kil...
Apr 6, 2016 - The resident died less than two hours later. ... A second nurse at the nursing home verified that what was drawn up in the syringe matched the …
KARE 11 Investigates: Nursing home complaints kept secret | KARE11 ...
www.kare11.com/news/investigations/kare...nursing-home-complaints.../442690148
Her case is one of thousands of reports of possible abuse and neglect at Minnesota nursing homes that aren't investigated by the state's Department of Health.
Police Identify Man Who Died After Sun Exposure At Nursing Home ...
health.wusf.usf.edu/.../police-identify-man-who-died-after-sun-exposure-nursing-ho...
May 2, 2016 - Police Identify Man Who Died After Sun Exposure At Nursing Home ... A 65-year- old man, who died Saturday from cardiac failure, was staying ... So after much agonizing, his family checked him into a Minnesota nursing home.
Nursing home cited for neglect in patient's death | Minnesota 93
www.minnesota93.com/2016/05/12/nursing-home-cited-for-neglect-in-patients-death/
May 12, 2016 - A Minnesota nursing home has been cited for neglect in the death of a ... says the patient developed blood clots in the brain and died of a ...
Transcription error leads to resident death, citation for MN nursing home
www.mcknights.com › News
May 12, 2016 - This incident marked the second time is just over a month that a Minnesota nursing home has been cited for a resident's death following a ...
Hopkins Nursing Home Cited for Neglect in Patient's Death | KSTP.com
kstp.com/news/hopkins-nursing-home-patient-death-golden-living/4135344/
May 12, 2016 - A Minnesota nursing home has been cited for neglect in the death of a patient given the wrong medication. Details of a state Department of ...
Death of patient at Hopkins nursing home linked to medication error ...
www.startribune.com/death-of-patient-at-hopkins-nursing-home...to.../379071691/
May 11, 2016 - Death of patient at Hopkins nursing home linked to medication error. It's the latest in a spate of safety violations at Golden Living facilities. For the second time in just over a month, a Minnesota nursing home has been cited for neglect in the case of a patient who died after a medical transcription error.
Transcript Error Lead to Nursing Home Resident's Death
www.pksd.com › Blog
May 23, 2016 - A Minnesota nursing home resident died after a transcription error left her without her blood-thinning medication for nine days.
Neglect occurred in Detroit Lakes group home death, state report says ...
https://www.mprnews.org/story/.../detroit-lakes-vulnerable-adult-death-neglect-found
May 25, 2016 - Neglect occurred in Detroit Lakes group home death, state report says ... according to a Minnesota Department of Human Services Office of ... had known about the vulnerable adult's medical problems and that nursing staff ...
Transcription Errors Leads to Nursing Home Death - The Bell Law Firm
www.belllaw.com › Blog
Jun 1, 2016 - The death of a Minnesota nursing home resident in October 2015 was found to have been caused by a transcription error.
Social media abuse of nursing home residents often goes unchecked ...
https://www.mprnews.org/.../npr-social-media-abuse-nursing-home-residents-uncheck...
Jul 14, 2016 - She remains eligible to work in any nursing home in the state. ... But the pathway to report elder abuse isn't straightforward, particularly for ...
MN Department of Health: Staff at a Cannon Falls nursing home to ...
www.wkow.com/.../mn-department-of-health-staff-at-a-cannon-falls-nursing-home-to-bl...
Sep 15, 2016 - State regulators blame Gardens at Cannon Falls nursing home--in the case of a woman who died after choking on a sandwich last November.
State Regulators Say Cannon Falls Nursing Home Inadequately ...
www.kaaltv.com/news/margarita-schuler-cannon...nursing-home...died/4264450/
Sep 15, 2016 - CANNON FALLS, MN (AP) - Minnesota regulators say a Cannon Falls nursing home failed to adequately supervise a resident who died after …
Cannon Falls nursing home is blamed in resident's choking death
Elderly resident who was on a liquid diet choked on a sandwich.
www.startribune.com/state-blames-cannon-falls-nursing-home-after.../393439031/
SEPTEMBER 15, 2016 —The Minnesota Department of Health, in findings released Wednesday, said the Gardens at Cannon Falls “did not have an adequate system to ensure cognitively impaired residents on [liquid] diets were adequately supervised.”
Tiny burn ends up killing Iron Range nursing home resident; facility ...
www.startribune.com/tiny-burn-ends-up-killing...nursing-home.../396665151/
Oct 11, 2016 - A tiny burn on a nursing home resident's foot, inflicted when she touched a heat ... In the public portions of its findings released Friday, the Minnesota ... in Chisholm for the woman's death, determining that the home “failed to ...
INVESTIGATION: Minnesota Failing to Investigate Nursing Home ...
kstp.com/news/investigation-minnesota-department-of...nursing-homes.../4314063/
Dec 7, 2016 - RELATED: Filing a Complaint with the Minnesota Adult Abuse Reporting Center. “It doesn't feel good ... Minnesota Nursing Home Report Card.
Dec 7, 2016 - RELATED: Filing a Complaint with the Minnesota Adult Abuse Reporting Center. “It doesn't feel good ... Minnesota Nursing Home Report Card.
Elderly man found dead after wandering from senior apt. | KARE11.com
www.kare11.com/news/local/elderly-man-found-dead-after...senior.../373461558
Elderly man found dead after wandering from senior apt. | KARE11.com
www.kare11.com/news/local/elderly-man-found-dead-after...senior.../373461558
Dec 19, 2016 - An elderly man is dead after wandering away from his assisted living apartment ... afternoon the facility released a statement on the death of Thomas LeCloux. ... was found dead near a shopping area in Oak Park Heights, MN.
Hidden "granny cams" spread in popularity as weapon for catching elder abuse
Sisters are on a mission to help families install them.
By Chris Serres Star Tribune, MARCH 14, 2016 — 12:17PM
Political and National News of Interest
Serious nursing home often not reported to police, federal investigators find
Ina Jaffe · NPR · Aug 28, 2017
More than one-quarter of serious cases of nursing home abuse are not reported to the police, according to an alert released Monday morning by the Office of Inspector General in the Department of Health and Human Services.
Serious nursing home abuse often not reported to police, federal investigators find
Trump Moves to Impede Consumer Lawsuits Against Nursing Homes
AUG. 18, 2017
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is pushing to scrap a rule that would have made it easier for nursing home residents to sue nursing homes for injuries caused by substandard care, abuse or neglect, bringing its campaign to relax federal regulations to the delicate business of care for older Americans.
Governor wants review of elder abuse secrecy issue
Lauren Leamanczyk, KARE 8:05 AM. CDT August 18, 2017
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Governor Mark Dayton is calling on the legislature to review a law critics say keeps families of vulnerable adults from getting the full story about cases of abuse and neglect.
Political and National News of Interest
Nursing Homes Routinely Mask Low Staff Levels
By Jordan Rau, July 7, 2018 New York Times
ITHACA, N.Y. — Most nursing homes had fewer nurses and caretaking staff than they had reported to the government for years, according to new federal data, bolstering the long-held suspicions of many families that staffing levels were often inadequate.
The records for the first time reveal frequent and significant fluctuations in day-to-day staffing, with particularly large shortfalls on weekends. On the worst staffed days at an average facility, the new data show, on-duty personnel cared for nearly twice as many residents as they did when the staffing roster was fullest.
The data, analyzed by Kaiser Health News, come from daily payroll records Medicare only recently began gathering and publishing from more than 14,000 nursing homes, as required by the Affordable Care Act of 2010. Medicare previously had been rating each facility’s staffing levels based on the homes’ own unverified reports, making it possible to game the system.
Full story at: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/07/health/nursing-homes-staffing-medicare.html
U.S. Pays Billions for ‘Assisted Living,’ but What Does It Get?
By ROBERT PEARFEB. 3, 2018, New York Times
WASHINGTON — Federal investigators say they have found huge gaps in the regulation of assisted living facilities, a shortfall that they say has potentially jeopardized the care of hundreds of thousands of people served by the booming industry.
The federal government lacks even basic information about the quality of assisted living services provided to low-income people on Medicaid, the Government Accountability Office, a nonpartisan investigative arm of Congress, says in a report to be issued on Sunday.
Billions of dollars in government spending is flowing to the industry even as it operates under a patchwork of vague standards and limited supervision by federal and state authorities. States reported spending more than $10 billion a year in federal and state funds for assisted living services for more than 330,000 Medicaid beneficiaries, an average of more than $30,000 a person, the Government Accountability Office found in a survey of states.
Full Story at: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/03/us/politics/assisted-living-gaps.html
Klobuchar: Rollback On Protections For Seniors ‘Makes Me Concerned’
January 7, 2018 at 11:15 pm
Filed Under:Amy Klobuchar, Local TV
Obstruction Of Justice Claims Plague Trump
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Sen. Amy Klobuchar says the current administration is rolling back protections for seniors living in nursing homes.
In November, the Star Tribune reported 97 percent of allegations of neglect, physical abuse, unexplained serious injury and theft in Minnesota senior facilities were never investigated.
After that, the Minnesota Democrat asked the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to prevent elder abuse.
Now she says the current administration is taking a step in the wrong direction by rolling back protections for the elderly.
“It really makes me concerned,” Klobuchar said. “It’s one thing to be pragmatic about it, it is another when you have a back log of complaints, an increase in incidents, a doubling of our senior population by 2050, you should be doing more enforcement and not less.”
Klobuchar said she believes Minnesota state officials are taking action, but the federal government should be doing more.
http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2018/01/07/klobuchar-senior-protections/
Families of elder abuse victims speak out, wield new power at the State Capitol
By Chris Serres Star Tribune DECEMBER 2, 2017 (Front page)
Elder Voice members visited the Capitol on Friday to meet with Gov. Dayton’s administration about abuse in senior care homes.
They are members of a group that no one would want to join. But they are growing in numbers and political influence.
They are the daughters, sons, spouses and other relatives of vulnerable adults who have been physically or emotionally abused at senior care facilities across Minnesota.
In recent weeks this coalition, known as Elder Voice Family Advocates, has emerged from obscurity to play a central role in early efforts by the administration of Gov. Mark Dayton to reform Minnesota’s troubled system for responding to violent crimes and other forms of abuse in senior homes.
Gov. Dayton calls for new elder-abuse work group
He'll appoint AARP officials to lead reform efforts ahead of 2018 Legislature.
By Chris Serres Star Tribune NOVEMBER 30, 2017 — 8:58PM
…The work group will engage other consumer-oriented organizations, including Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid, the Alzheimer’s Association of Minnesota, the Minnesota Elder Justice Center and the grass-roots Elder Voice Family Advocates.
Klobuchar presses for tougher action against abuse in senior homes, citing Star Tribune series
Chris Serres, Star Tribune, November 30, 2017
The federal agency that regulates nursing homes must take more aggressive steps to prevent and respond to violent crimes and other forms of abuse in senior care facilities, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar said Tuesday. In her letter to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, she cited a five-day, Star Tribune special report.
Serious nursing home often not reported to police, federal investigators find
Ina Jaffe · NPR · Aug 28, 2017
More than one-quarter of serious cases of nursing home abuse are not reported to the police, according to an alert released Monday morning by the Office of Inspector General in the Department of Health and Human Services.
Serious nursing home abuse often not reported to police, federal investigators find
Trump Moves to Impede Consumer Lawsuits Against Nursing Homes
AUG. 18, 2017
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is pushing to scrap a rule that would have made it easier for nursing home residents to sue nursing homes for injuries caused by substandard care, abuse or neglect, bringing its campaign to relax federal regulations to the delicate business of care for older Americans.
Deaths, financial abuse uncovered in local records
Nora G. Hertel St. Cloud Times | USA TODAY NETWORK
ST. CLOUD — Six deaths in Central Minnesota health facilities were tied to neglect claims substantiated by the state Department of Health in the past three years.
Advocacy group Elder Voice Family Advocates has pulled three years of state records to show how pervasive elder abuse is in different regions, including 150 investigations in Central Minnesota into numerous financial and other abuse allegations and several incidents resulting in death.
Follow this link to the full story
Push to reform Minnesota's flawed system for protecting seniors falls short at Capitol
Push to reform Minnesota's flawed system for protecting seniors falls short at Capitol
Elder care, taxes on list of items left undone Housley touts new protections, admits shortfalls
By Chris Serres Star Tribune
MAY 22, 2018 — 5:40AM
In a blow to Gov. Mark Dayton and families of elder abuse victims, the 2018 Legislature adjourned without adopting a series of broad-based reforms to Minnesota’s flawed system for protecting vulnerable seniors from maltreatment.
Weeks of intense negotiation involving the Dayton administration, Republican legislators and a coalition of senior organizations over a bipartisan deal collapsed over the weekend, leaving few new protections for the estimated 85,000 Minnesotans who live in senior care facilities across the state.
All the major reforms sought by Dayton, including a licensing framework for the state’s fast-growing assisted-living industry and protections against arbitrary evictions, failed to survive the legislative gantlet and stiff opposition from the nursing home industry. Instead, legislators adopted several modest provisions that delay reform and, in some cases, actually weaken senior protections, elder advocates said. These provisions were included in the Legislature’s budget bill, which Dayton has pledged to veto.
“This was a train wreck,” said Kristine Sundberg, president of Elder Voice Family Advocates, a coalition of relatives of abuse victims.
“The measures [in the budget bill] are so weak and watered down — that they may actually have moved the state backwards.”
For full story: http://www.startribune.com/push-to-reform-minnesota-s-flawed-system-for-protecting-seniors-falls-short-at-capitol/483278081/
Elder Abuse Advocates Plead For Legislators To Act
SAINT PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) — Family members and advocates are pleading lawmakers to take action against elder abuse in Minnesota.
After months of research, members of Elder Voice Family Advocates delivered a white boxes full of detailed reports Monday morning to state senators in St. Paul.
The group has been working to put together a list of the elder abuse investigations sparked by complaints to the state.
They claim nearly 1,800 complaints over the past three years were recorded and posted on the state’s website — that’s only a fraction of the more than 24,000 complaints received in 2017 alone.
For complete story go to: http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2018/04/09/elder-abuse-legislators-lawmakers/
Minnesota families of abuse victims intensify push for elder care reforms
A grass roots group of volunteer advocates is fighting the perception that elder abuse is rare.
By Chris Serres Star Tribune APRIL 9, 2018 — 5:15PM
Kay Bromelkamp,left and Anne Sterner, both of Elder Voice Family Advocates delivered reports of elder abuse to Senator Tony Lourey (DFL) District 11 at his office. Lourey is supporting the women’s efforts to address the issue.] Families of elder abuse victims will descend on the State Capitol on Monday, April 9th. Frustrated by legislative inaction on certain key proposals, they will be delivering hundreds of pages of maltreatment reports to lawmakers.
For the full story go to: http://www.startribune.com/minnesota-families-of-abuse-victims-intensify-push-for-elder-care-reforms/479169053/
State faults Eagan assisted living facility after resident found dead
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By S. M. CHAVEY | schavey@pioneerpress.com | Pioneer Press
April 3, 2018 at 7:48 pm
Debbie Singer walked up to her mother’s apartment at an Eagan senior living community to find multiple packages and two newspapers outside the door. Her mother’s bed and bathroom looked as if they hadn’t been used in days. Medication for the past two days had not been taken, and her mother was wearing the same clothing she’d been in two days earlier.
June Alice Thompson, 92, was dead, and most likely had been for two days.
The complete story is at: https://www.twincities.com/2018/04/03/state-faults-eagan-assisted-living-facility-after-resident-found-dead/
Scathing Legislative Auditor Report Out
The Legislative Auditor found the Office of Health Facilities Complaints significantly lacking in its case management system, investigations and overall quality controls. For the summary and full report go to: https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/ped/2018/ohfc.htm
Stopping abuse in elder homes will take 'dramatic' reforms, Minnesota task force says
By Chris Serres Star Tribune JANUARY 29, 2018 — 6:15PM
The state work group, led by families of elder abuse victims and senior advocates, was appointed by Gov. Mark Dayton in November after the publication of a five-part Star Tribune published series documenting the state's failure to investigate hundreds of beatings, sexual assaults and robberies in senior homes across the state.
DAVID JOLES, STAR TRIBUNE
Kristine Sundberg, president of Elder Voice Family Advocates, called for broad-based reforms to the state’s system for handling elder abuse complaints at a Senate committee heairng last week.
Minnesota’s system of preventing violence in senior homes is badly broken and can only be fixed with stronger state oversight and tougher penalties against facilities and perpetrators of abuse, a state work group concluded Monday after weeks of work.
Their report, released late Monday, calls for “immediate and dramatic” reforms in Minnesota’s regulation of senior care facilities.
The state work group, led by families of elder abuse victims and senior advocates, was appointed by Gov. Mark Dayton in November after the publication of a five-part Star Tribune published series documenting the state’s failure to investigate hundreds of beatings, sexual assaults and robberies in senior homes across the state.
For the full story go to: http://m.startribune.com/stopping-abuse-in-elder-homes-will-take-dramatic-reforms-minnesota-task-force-says/471692244/
Click on this link for the full 58 page report
Elder Voice Family Advocates Front Page Feature in the Star Tribune
The Sunday, December 3, the Star Tribune has a story about Elder Voice Family Advocates. The reporter states "Elder Voice was chosen to help lead the work group — a remarkable feat for a volunteer-driven organization that still funds its activities by passing a hat at meetings. To see the entire story go to: http://www.startribune.com/families-of-elder-abuse-victims-speak-out-wield-new-power-at-the-state-capitol/461549583/
Elder Voice Family Advocates Appointed to Governor's Work Group of Only 5 Elder Advocacy Organizations
Governor Dayton has created a work group of only 5 elder advocacy groups to "provide guidance on steps the state should take to improve the health and safety of Minnesota seniors who are cared for in nursing homes and assisted living facilities." AARP will Chair the work group with Elder Voice Family Advocates, Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid, Alzheimer's Association of Minnesota and Elder Justice Center as members. The recommendations need to be completed by January 26, 2018 to allow time to prepare legislation for the Legislative Session which starts February 20, 2018.
Public Policy News
Legislative auditor: Minnesota failing to protect vulnerable adults in senior facilities
Long-awaited findings are likely to fuel calls for reform to the state's troubled system for investigating abuse.
By Chris Serres Star Tribune MARCH 6, 2018 — 11:39PM
STAR TRIBUNE FILE
Paulette Bakeberg, 70, was physically assaulted at an assisted-living facility in Delano, and is among hundreds of elderly residents of senior homes who are victims of criminal abuse each year.
The state agency responsible for protecting vulnerable Minnesotans in senior care facilities has failed to meet its responsibilities and suffers from a “dysfunctional office culture,” the Legislative Auditor’s Office has found.
In a scathing report issued early Tuesday, the Office of the Minnesota Legislative Auditor said it found deep and chronic failures in the way the state Health Department’s Office of Health Facility Complaints (OHFC) investigates allegations of abuse and communicates with the public.
For the entire story go to: http://www.startribune.com/legislative-auditor-is-set-to-release-report-on-abuse-in-minnesota-senior-homes/475967963/
Legislative auditor report to highlight broad failures in state response to elder abuse
Legislative probe uncovered widespread issues that require "immediate action."
By Chris Serres Star Tribune FEBRUARY 17, 2018 — 5:00PM
DAVID JOLES
The idea for a legislative auditor’s review of the Office of Health Facility Complaints came out of some grass-roots efforts by a group of abuse victims and their family members, seated at a State Capitol office.
The state agency charged with preventing abuse in senior care homes is plagued by severe dysfunction, chronic delays and a chaotic work environment that has hindered timely and effective investigations, according to a forthcoming report by Minnesota’s legislative auditor.
... the story continues:
At a meeting with Dibble, a group of relatives of abuse victims known as Elder Voice Family Advocates expressed frustration with the OHFC’s mishandling of their complaints. They told Dibble their complaints often went ignored and that, even when the state did investigate, the details of investigations were kept secret from the victims and their relatives.
Kay Bromelkamp, one of the advocates present, recounted how it took nearly four months for the state to verify that her mother was verbally and emotionally abused even though much of the abuse was captured by a hidden camera placed in her mother’s room. By the time the state released its report, Bromelkamp’s mother had already died at the assisted-living facility where she had been abused.
“I still wonder if that report had come out sooner … whether my mom would have gotten better and would still be alive today,” said Bromelkamp, who lives in Minneapolis. “These delays have a real human impact.”
For the full story go to:
Stopping abuse in elder homes will take 'dramatic' reforms, Minnesota task force says
By Chris Serres Star Tribune JANUARY 29, 2018 — 6:15PM
The state work group, led by families of elder abuse victims and senior advocates, was appointed by Gov. Mark Dayton in November after the publication of a five-part Star Tribune published series documenting the state's failure to investigate hundreds of beatings, sexual assaults and robberies in senior homes across the state...
Complaints soar
Kristine Sundberg, president of Elder Voice Family Advocates, one of the five consumer groups that wrote the report, stressed the urgency of acting at a Senate committee hearing last week. “Quite literally, our loved ones are being seriously harmed daily and some are dying a premature and painful death,” Sundberg said. “It needs to stop and that’s our passion.”
Governor wants review of elder abuse secrecy issue
Lauren Leamanczyk, KARE 8:05 AM. CDT August 18, 2017
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Governor Mark Dayton is calling on the legislature to review a law critics say keeps families of vulnerable adults from getting the full story about cases of abuse and neglect.
Advocates of Quality Care for the Vulnerable Adults.
Elder Voice Family Advocates (EVFA) is a coalition of family members and others who educate and advocate for improved quality life and care for loved ones and the vulnerable, whether due to age or disability. Many of our loved ones receive services in a long-term care setting.
Members of EVFA are committed to giving voice to their loved ones and to ensuring that their stores are used to improve care and to prevent harm to other vulnerable adults. EVFA also strives to crete a safe space for families to empower them and others to be effective agents of changes a collective voice on key issues. on behalf of their loved ones.
Star Tribune 5 Part Series Causing Outrage Over Elder Abuse.
The Star Tribune 5 part series titled 'Left to Suffer' has created an avalanche of outrage by the Governor, legislators and other advocacy groups. Many of our members have worked closely with this author, helping him understand our concerns and our stories of abuse, maltreatment, humiliation, etc. This major newspaper coverage is significantly improving our chances of getting regulatory and legislative reform.
We will be continuing to meet with key legislators and the Governor's office to help develop legislative bills to be introduced in the 2018 Legislative session.
Go to the 'News' section of this website for the Star Tribune news articles. Also, here is the Almanac TPT interview of the reporter of this series, Chris Serres: http://video.tpt.org/video/3006848973/