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James M. Roswold is licensed in Missouri Only. Heather A. Lottmann is licensed in Kansas and Missouri. Victor B. Finkelstein is licensed in Kansas and Missouri.
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Nursing Home Negligence
Mentally ill in nursing homes, do they endanger Missouri’s elderly?
According to the Nursing Home Reform Act of 1987, no one is supposed to be admitted to a nursing home unless they have a disability that requires extra care or supervision. However, too often, nursing homes are used to shelter the mentally ill when no other option can be found.
Because of state budget cuts, more and more of the mentally ill are being placed in nursing homes that previously only cared for the elderly or severely disabled. Nationally, the number of mentally ill nursing home patients has risen by 22% since 2002. In Missouri, it has increased by 76%
Although only 1.9% of American s live in Missouri, Missouri has 3.5% of mentally ill nursing home residents. State officials estimate that there are 2,500 patients residing in nursing homes primarily because they are mentally ill. Missouri is ranked eighth in the United States for the number of mental patients housed in nursing homes.
The problem is funding. The state does not have an adequate budget for the care of the mentally ill. After the latest round of budget cuts on December 1, 2009, outpatient mental health centers began turning away uninsured patients regardless of how severely they needed care. If Missouri could provide matching funding, the federal government would help house and care for these patients.
Most patients with mental illnesses are not violent or dangerous. However, a recent investigation in Illinois mentally ill patients with histories of sexual abuse or with felony convictions living in nursing homes, often without adequate staffing or supervision.
In Chicago, a 61-year-old nursing home resident was raped by a 47-year-old schizophrenic man with a “history of inappropriate behavior toward females.” The man was supposed to be receiving shots of the drug Depo-Provera, a form of chemical castration used on male sex offenders, but the nursing home had no record that these shots were given.
A similar incident occurred in another Chicago nursing home. A female resident was hospitalized for over a month in a catatonic state with bruises, a swollen black eye, a broken nose and human bite marks. The woman had been raped by a schizophrenic 48-year-old male resident.
Overall, there were 48 reports of criminal sexual assault and 28 allegations of criminal sexual abuse at 30 Chicago nursing homes between July 2007 and the end of 2009. Most of the homes were understaffed.
Recent cut backs in funding to Missouri nursing homes means that many of Missouri’s nursing homes are also understaffed. Placing mentally ill patients in nursing homes that lack adequate staffing and supervision certainly places our elderly in danger.
If someone you love has been a victim of abuse while a resident in a Kansas City nursing home, call the Kansas City Accident Injury Attorneys at 1-888-348-2616. Our elderly have a right to safe living conditions and adequate care. If this right has been violated, they are entitled to accountability and restitution. Contact us today and let us help.
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1102 Grand Blvd., Ste 1901
Kansas City, MO 64106
Phone: 816-471-5111
Toll Free: 888-348-2616
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1102 Grand Blvd., Ste 1901
Kansas City, MO 64106
Phone: 816-471-5111
Toll Free: 888-348-2616
Get Directions
Kansas City Accident Injury Attorneys*
11900 College Boulevard, Suite 300
Overland Park, KS 66210
*By Appointment Only: Heather A. Lottmann & Victor B. Finkelstein
11900 College Boulevard, Suite 300
Overland Park, KS 66210
*By Appointment Only: Heather A. Lottmann & Victor B. Finkelstein
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Kansas City Accident Injury Attorneys
1102 Grand Blvd., Ste 1901
Kansas City, MO 64106
Phone: 816-471-5111
Toll Free: 888-348-2616
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