Ohio Nursing Home Abuse Caught on Camera

June 12, 2013 | Crandall & Pera Law
Ohio Nursing Home Abuse Caught on Camera Patient abuse and neglect caught on surveillance cameras will shut down a Zanesville, Ohio nursing home as part of a statewide initiative to better the industry. Investigators installed cameras at Autumn Health Care without the knowledge of the staff and administration, but with the permission of the residents or their guardians, to record what state Attorney General Mike DeWine described as "absolutely shocking and disturbing" treatment of residents. Video showed Autumn Health Care staff members putting a stroke victim's food tray on his disabled side so he was unable to eat and not responding to another patient's breathing apparatus falling out during treatment, just two examples of the facility's many deficiencies. Autumn Health Care has been listed as a "special-focus facility" by the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for 53 months. The Ohio Department of Health has now cited its intent to revoke the facility's state operating license and may revoke the nursing home's eligibility to receive Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement. "We're considering a variety of legal options, both criminally and civilly, including Medicare fraud, falsification, patient abuse and theft," said DeWine during a news conference outside the facility last week. While this was the first time cameras had been used in such an Ohio nursing home investigation, it will not be the last. Read the full details here: Cameras spot lousy patient care Elderly people are at great risk for abuse because of their inability to communicate what happens to them when alone with the staff. This article exemplifies our worst fears about nursing homes. Unfortunately, if you suspect a loved one is being neglected or abused in a nursing home, all too often your fears are justified. If you or someone you love has been injured due to nursing home abuse or negligence, call the professionals at Crandall & Pera Law for a free case evaluation.