Posted By: Dog (8:31am 11-20-2008)

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IT IS about money! They DO short staff! Look I have no problem with profit but, care should come first!

Posted By: Ann Maine (2:46pm 11-19-2008)

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The nursing home industry is second only to the Atomic Energy Commission in the number of rules and regulations required to run a facility. Adequate staffing is mandated by law. When a scheduled staff person fails to show, efforts to recruit replacement worker is initiated. While awaiting a replacement, or when one is not available, those who did show up to work get heavy assignments. This was a no-win situation. The basics get done but of necessity, some care has to be put on hold. To the visitor, family member, or observer it appears the facility is trying to make money by doing short-staffing. Nothing is further from the truth.

Posted By: Ann Maine (2:34pm 11-19-2008)

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Demented residents present a significant challenge to any nursing home. Often the family who placed them there has already experienced the “wanderlust” which could lead to disaster. The family after a scare or two of losing mother or father feels compelled to find a suitably safe environment. Consider what it must be like to have twenty individuals who need constant supervision. These people are not children and are not childlike, so to compare nursing home protection to that of a child’s daycare program is not appropriate. A demented individual can be combative one minute and docile another. Being demented does not mean the person isn’t capable of figuring out how to escape and often watches the safeguards in order to figure out how to get away…away from constant supervision, or away to a remembered home or job site.

Posted By: amazon queen (12:35am 11-19-2008)

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I agree it should not have happened. My father is in a nursing home (in the Northern segment of WV) and the people who work there run themselves to death! They never have enought staff, just to assist patients to the restroom, let alone to run them down as they exit the door. I realize there is a lot of overhead, but somebody certainly is making money in this business!

Posted By: jes (9:34am 11-19-2008)

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Remember this story in the news. It shouldn't have happened. Hopefully the nursing home facility was investigates and fined by the appropriate legal authorities. From personal experience I can tell you that most nursing homes are understaffed and the people currently working in them are overworked. When you overwork people aspects of their job fall through the cracks like diligent care, attention to detail and a myriad of other small things that all add up to making sure your loved one receives decent health care. Fault lies in the higher levels of nursing home administrators. One nursing home in western Kanawha County ran a good majority of their nurses off and bring in Per Diem nurses. How can you function effectively if you are rotating temp nurses in and out on a daily basis? Sure your cost is down with benefits and other things, but your business hurts from this practice.

Posted By: Dog (8:45am 11-19-2008)

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The family put the man there to protect him and there is NO excuse for his death. The facility is responsible for him just as a child care service would have been for child. This was an adult with a child like mind and they should NEVER have let this happen. The family is entitled to complain and others should be very careful where they leave their loved ones!
I cared for my family at home, but some folks simply can not do that. Do not critisize what you know nothing about.

Posted By: 2 crazy (9:09pm 11-18-2008)

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Isn't it funny how people don't know anything about a "loved one" they placed in a facility. Never visit or care what happens to them when alive. Then when death occurs, and a financial gain is envisioned, all of a sudden they care for that person. Yes this was a tragedy, but the biggest tragedy is that this man never knew the love of his "family", he only knew the love of the staff that provided care for him. He was given support and attention by the staff, and when it was an important day in his life, where was the family. I can tell you where they weren't. It's all about the money now, and never about this wonderful man that lost his life and the lonely life he lead because his family wasn't there for him. Judge not unless you know what you are judging!!

Posted By: wormdogdaddy (2:10pm 11-18-2008)

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IF PEOPLE WOULD TAKE CARE OF THEIR OWN (IT IS NOT EASY) THEN THESE THINGS WOULD NOT HAPPEN. I KNOW WHAT HAPPENED WAS WRONG, BUT WHY SHOULD ANYONE GAIN FINANCIALLY FOR A PERSON THAT HAS BASICLY BEEN CAST-OFF. I AM NOT TRYING TO BE MEAN, JUST REALISTIC.

Posted By: knapp (11:59am 11-18-2008)

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To the person who is putting Heartland down. Well, to me and several others would consider you keeping your loved one there would be considered neglect. Because you knew of the situations that were going on and your loved one stayed there. If you were so unhappy with the facility, then you should have took the steps to remove them and place them in another facility. I for one work in an excellant facility and let me be the first to say that we do take great pride in our residents and their care. Maybe your family should have done your homework and looked into others. My prayers go out to the family for their loss. But don't do things out of spite or to teach lessons.

Posted By: get*real (9:54am 11-18-2008)

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If you ever have to place a loved one in a nursing home.....get to know the cna's who will be taking care of them. Talk to them and treat them like people and not like someone who is only there to be at your beck and call....and remember that it is a nursing home and not a hotel with full service. It is a hard and heart breaking decision for any one to have to make by placing their loved one in a nursing home. Been there and done that myself!!! We all want are loved ones taken care of as if we were the ones taking care of them but get real people...not gonna happen. We do try but we all fail in some manner. I do know that those who are like me are the hardest hit when something goes wrong . We're always thinking if only...even when there was nothing we could have done. People are only human after all!!!

Posted By: get*real (9:43am 11-18-2008)

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continuation: The worst part about this job is that the cna knows that if there were more help then the residents would get better care.I would love to have more one on one time with my residents...time to just talk to them about anything that they wanted to. Time to read to those who can't and time to just listen to more than juat their need at that time. Yes I'm a cna and I take my job to heart. I love my job and I love those who God has intrusted me to care for. Each and every one of the residents I take care of I adopt. They become my mother,father,aunt,uncle,sister,brother,daughter,son,grandmother,and grandfather. They are my FAMILY. I do this type of work because I love caring for and helping those who need people like me. The money stinks, the hours are so-so, but the working conditions are horrible. So before you want to blame someone be sure you have all the facts about who is at fault when tradgedy happens.

Posted By: get*real (9:29am 11-18-2008)

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continuation of last comment: Working as a cna is not as easy as some people think it is. Having to wash,dress,feed,transport,etc...at times 12/15 or more people is HARD. Washing includes: washing/rinsing/drying the person and brushing/drying the hair. And brushing teeth, clipping nails,and shaving if needed. Feeding is just not putting a plate and utinsels in front of a body...you have to cut up the food,add condements,open drinks and straws, and if the person canoot feed self then you have to feed them. Then you have to wash their face and hands and then gather all foods up and dispose of. Then after all residents are fed and cleaned then you dress each and every one of them according to the weather. Then you transport them to whatever activity/thereapy they are scheduled for. you then check them every two hours to check for incontinence episodes. Now want to here more? It does not end there......this is a 24/7 day job.

Posted By: ruth (9:17am 11-18-2008)

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My sympathy goes out to this family. It is a difficult situation to place a parent into a nursing facility. This facility does have a reputation of lack of care for residents due to poor staffing. I know nursing homes are considered big business, but they need to do a better job taking care of patients needs and staffing adequately. I hope every long term care facility in the state learns a lesson from this suit and does a better job taking care of patients and staffing adequately. One person cannot keep track of, nor meet the needs of ten or more patients. That is usually the story at these facilities. Let's all pray for this family, and be more vocal in demanding better care for our elderly citizens.

Posted By: get*real (9:14am 11-18-2008)

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This is truely a tradgedy! My sincere condolences to the family. Not to make lite of this awful time to the family of the deceased but to inform those who do not know about nursing homes and their plight to staff them. They do not hire just anyone with a pulse...as like any job there is training for the caregivers....CNA. Not all those who train are right for the position and usually do not stick around. There are quite a few that do stick and are excellent at their job. The biggest problem with nursing homes is that they do not pay their workers decent wages even though if it were not for the CNA'S there would be no nursing home. The cna is the hardest working individual in the home but the lowest paid and least respected. What happened to that man was not the cna's fault but whoever was the manager/lpn/rn was. It is their job to see that the residents and workers are in place. Most all nursing homes are understaff due to reasons mentioned above.

Posted By: Kitty (6:39am 11-18-2008)

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It doesn't surprise me that Heartland is being sued! This nursing home is one of the worst in the valley! I had a grandparent there for almost 2 yrs. and it was constantly a nightmare. She required around the clock care and didn't get it. If it hadn't been for our family coming in at different times of the day, she would have just lain in feces, etc. Disgusting! We pulled the call light one time to see how long it would take for someone to come. We clocked them at over an hour to respond! If you have someone you love and care for, do not put them in Heartland. Heartland is a horrible!

Posted By: gmhoover (6:27am 11-18-2008)

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I am very sorry for this family's loss, but I don't think that this article provides enough information to determine if the nursing home is at fault. After all, nursing homes are not prisons and if the gentleman required around the clock care; I am certain that it was available.

Posted By: Way2Old (6:18am 11-18-2008)

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Sad. My heart goes out to the family. My dad died in a nursing home 4 years ago. Placing him there was one of the most emotional moments of my life (I'm an only child). The decision was one of making the best of a bad situation. I pray that this case will somehow make nursing homes safer for their residents.

Posted By: tamraann (5:31am 11-18-2008)

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The family should sue! There is absolutely no excuse for this happening in what is supposed to be a "secure" environment. These nursing homes basically hire anyone with a "pulse" and the families who agonize over placing their loved ones in such a place, often have no choice due to work and family obligations. Thank God my father, who is only 3 yrs. younger than that man, is still in excellent condition and I will keep as long as "humanly" possible if and when confronted with the difficult question.