Nursing home law blogs serve aging population
With an aging population, nursing homes are serving an increasingly important function in American society. According to BOOMj.com – 80 million adult retirees, as “baby boomers” (people born between 1942 and 1953) and “Generation Jones” (people born from 1954-1965) will gradually exit the workforce in the coming years.
As this shift begins to take hold, more people will be caring for aging relatives, and will inevitably be looking for answers. Blogs like the Nursing Home Law Blog and the South Carolina Nursing Home Blog will be a key source for information.
“The blog keeps you connected to the community,” says Brian Murphy, a New Jersey-based attorney with Stark & Stark who updates the Nursing Home Law Blog. “The quality of nursing homes is a growing concern in this country. In years to come, I anticipate it will be receiving more and more attention. The blog is an excellent way to keep thoughts and ideas flowing on the subject.”
Murphy got involved with nursing home law after working as a defense attorney for insurance companies. Though he “didn’t know the first thing about nursing home litigation,” when presented with the opportunity to defend plaintiffs, he jumped on it.
“I quickly found nursing home litigation to be, by far, the most interesting and challenging area of the law in which I had ever practiced,” he says. “It is extremely gratifying to punish owners of nursing homes who simply refuse to provide adequate care to our elderly.”
Though nursing home law differs from state to state, Murphy explains, there are federal regulations outlined in the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA) that set certain care standards for homes nationwide. Murphy’s blog focuses on nursing home law in New Jersey, but he says the content can be of use to out of state attorneys focusing on similar issues.
“Although in state courts, judges most often look to the cases within their own state, out-of-state case law can be persuasive,” he says. “I often rely on cases I have found from other states in support of motions I am arguing. If the case is on point, it can be very helpful in effectively making an argument.”
Like Murphy, Ray Mullman writes for a nursing home law blog – The South Carolina Nursing Home Law Blog – that focuses mainly on one state. Mullman, an attorney at Poliakoff & Associates, uses the blog to simultaneously provide examples for the public about nursing home life and to network with other attorneys involved in nursing home litigation.
As he sees it, the masses need direction; many people sending a loved one to a nursing home are not even aware that they have a say in the home choice.
“Typically, the loved one has had a sudden decline [and] is placed in the hospital, and then the social worker at the hospital chooses the nursing home and tells the family that is where they are transferring their loved one. The family doesn’t look into the nursing home because they don’t know they have the right to decide, and they trust the hospital social worker,” Mullman says. “One major element that they overlook is choice of doctor, refusing the arbitration clause and reviewing past complaints or litigation involving that nursing home.”
Murphy agrees, and offers tips for family members looking towards nursing home for a loved one. Research the home, he says, both on- and offline.
“Check out the nursing home’s website. See what they say about their facility. Then go to the Department of Health and Human Services website and see what they have to say about the home,” he says. “Next, I strongly advise the family go to the home and take a tour. While they are there they should also speak with the staff and even engage residents to get a feel for the care being provided.”
What is clear is that these blogs are accomplishing their goals. People use them as a reference – nearly 1,200 visitors have seen Mullman’s blog since it launched in April, and almost 3,200 visited Murphy’s since February.
Though such blogs serve as mini-libraries of nursing home law, they also provide updates on crimes and abuses within nursing homes, highlighting the complexity of an industry that, at first glance, seems fairly straightforward.
When asked whether he thinks this approach creates broader awareness of such complexity, Mullman sees a mixed bag.
“Yes and no,” he says. “You hear about rapes and physical assaults, but never about understaffing and how and why that causes pressure ulcers, injuries of unknown origin or preventable falls. [And] you rarely hear about the massive profits that the corporate owners of the facility are making by cutting the staffing and dietary budgets.”
Not yet, anyway. Give some time to bloggers like Mullman and Murphy (and the inevitable clones who will surely begin blogging as retirement numbers increase over the next decade), and nursing home accountability will have a well defined home in the blogosphere.