When we place a loved one in a nursing home or other long-term care facility, we expect that the individual will be cared for professionally and competently. Unfortunately, this does not always happen, and patients’ safety may be threatened, or they may be neglected, mistreated or even abused. Problems with nursing homes occur all too often in Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Department of Health recently announced the r...

Elder Abuse in Pennsylvania Seniors are often frail, vulnerable, suffering from dementia, and may not be able to defend themselves, so it’s not surprising that they can easily become victims of elder abuse. Elder abuse occurs when someone harms, neglects or exploits an older or care-dependent person. Unfortunately, crimes against the elderly are increasing in Pennsylvania. Caseworkers handled nearly 32,000 calls abou...

A report released in February revealed that in an average week, more than 179,000 nursing home residents in the United States receive antipsychotic medication, even though they have no diagnoses that would justify the use of those medicines. Most of those people have Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia, according to the report from Human Rights Watch. And the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has never appro...

It has been estimated that Pennsylvania has 2.2 million residents age 65 and older, which places the state fourth among all the states for percentage of people in that demographic sector. By 2030, citizens age 60 and older are projected to make up 29 percent of the Keystone State's population and equal approximately four million people. More than 400,000 of those Pennsylvanians will be age 85 and over. Many of these Baby...

Our grandparents and parents are getting older. We're getting older. The CDC has reported an all-time high in U.S. life expectancy based on 2012 data – an average of 78.8 years. The life expectancy for females was 81.2 years, while the life expectancy for men was 76.4 years. That number is likely to keep rising due to advances in medical technologies and growing awareness about healthy lifestyles. But what happens when...