Some hospitals and nursing homes are asking patients to sign arbitration clauses prior to admission

Even though strictly voluntary, trial lawyers are predictably outraged.

Comments

Justin
We saw an article like this within the last week on KevinMD. If the arbitration/mediation is better for the nursing homes and hospitals, why don’t they make it mandatory instead of optional?
Anonymous
All people who might end up in one or have family in them should decline to sign them. They’re not asking for them because it’s going to INCREASE the level of care.
It’s sad to see Kevin hop on the nursing home protection bandwagon.
Happyman
There are certain recurrent themes in dealing with families of nursing home residents:
1- “i insist that my grandfather’s NOT demented” even though he only knows his name and likes to disrobe in the dining room and play with his feces.
2- “they told us in the hospital that my aunt’d get better with INTENSIVE THERAPY” even though she’s had a massive brain hemorrhage and is vegetative
3- “my father is really quite calm, and should NEVER be given psych meds- he just needs to be watched more closely” as he is screaming gibberish, physically assaulting staff and trying to yank out his PEG tube.
For those who think nursing homes don’t need protection from unrealistic ideals, i hope you never need one. It’s hard and even occasionally demeaning and risky to take care of these folks (not to mention it’s like the lowest paying job in america).
Remember, you always have a choice – stick grandma in a nursing home, or care for her yourself – then you can watch her go nutso at home, without the benefit of a little prn haldol.
Anonymous
Come now happy this is america, where we shuttle off are parents (grandparent’s) into homes and then are shocked and appalled at the results. The sad fact is there is always a trial attorney ready to take advantage of our failure as a society.
Anonymous
Yeah, it’s “society’s” fault that your grandfather, who you could not physically control around the small children in your house, so you paid $5000 a month to have a nursing home watch, died of neglect covered with bedsores.
Society should be held responsible. Certainly not the nursing home, eh?
Some of you would lie down with the devil himself.
Anonymous
” It’s hard and even occasionally demeaning and risky to take care of these folks (not to mention it’s like the lowest paying job in america).”
And yet nursing homes are ridiculously profitable. I’m sure they can’t spare a buck to increase that pay.
Anonymous
I love the comments about nursing homes from people who don’t know the system. Most nursing homes (the villas excepted) are not “riduculously profitable”. Especially the ones populated with medicaid patients. Giving the example of spending 5K per month a nursing home is the minority. Most patients in homes have long ago spent down and medicaid is picking up the tab not families. Does that justify poor treatment…no. But this idea that nursing homes are racking in the dough is an utter fallacy. The last question is if your grandpa was being mistreated by the nursing home…then where were you when this was happening? Typical american “blame somebody else” after the fact instead of advocating for your loved one at the time.
Happyman
Another point – is it necessarily neglect if someone has or develops bedsores or ulcers?
Perhaps nursing homes should screen out diabetics and those that are immobile – that’d cut down the image of being neglectful dramatically, as even optimal care doesn’t guarantee freedom from bedsores – e.g. remember Christopher Reeve, who died with infected bedsores? did he have substandard care?)
Anonymous
“But this idea that nursing homes are racking in the dough is an utter fallacy.”
Seriously, take a look at most of their balance sheets. They are available at Yahoo Finance.
Anonymous
“Seriously, take a look at most of their balance sheets. They are available at Yahoo Finance.”
This is your idea of knowledge? Searching an internet engine and cherry-picking a few of the villa nursing home company’s? Over the years I have taken care of hundreds of hospitalized patient’s from nursing homes. Has there been at times problems with care…yes and I am not excusing poor care. However, I can’t tell you the countless numbers of people who have been shuttled off to these facilities and totally forgotten about by their families. If they had simnply taken an active role in there loved ones care instead of forgetting about them many abuses would have never have happened. Additionally as happy pointed out, you can have the very BEST care and still have bed sores, etc. It is the problem with total immobility. But I wouldn’t expect someone who is using yahoo finance as his expertise on the subject to have any clue what I am tlaking about.
Anonymous
That’s a nice rant, but how does it disprove my statement that nursing homes are pretty profitable enterprises? And why wouldn’t one go to Yahoo Finance to examine their balance sheets, since that’s one of the best ways to look at a bunch of them easily?
I’m not questioning that families abandon their elderly. It happens all the time. But I’m not sure what that has to do with the company who is receiving payment to care for these companies failing to do their jobs.
Tom Leith
> but how does it disprove my
> statement that nursing homes
> are pretty profitable
> enterprises?
Your statement is based on a very narrow sample: publicly traded nursing home facilities. This isn’t close to being representative of the industry as a whole. That’s how.
t
Anonymous
It sounds like you are admitting to abusive behavior unless there is a family member standing guard every minute.
Thats a sad admission when you think you are justified in how you treat people based on who is watching you.
Bottom of the barrel!
Anonymous
anon 07:28: As tom pointed out what is on yahoo finance is not close to what is the majority of nursing homes. But keep on using yahoo finance for your expertise. When is the last time YOU set foot in a nursing home?
Anon 03:29: Please do read for comprehension. I never excused bad nursing home behavior. I pointed out two things: One, if “loved ones” had played an active role in the family member’s care (ie. bothered to come by more than once a year), that much of the real abuse would have never happened. Two, what is termed “abuse” is in reality the very real difficulty of managing persons with severe and chronic immobility. But since you have no understanding of the subject, you really don’t even know what is the “bottom of the barrel”.
Anonymous
“Your statement is based on a very narrow sample: publicly traded nursing home facilities. This isn’t close to being representative of the industry as a whole. That’s how.”
Well, since private ones don’t report their income, that’s about all we can go on, isn’t it? Do you have proof the other way?
As for when I set foot in a nursing home, several times. I have clients who own them. And they do very well.

Some hospitals and nursing homes are asking patients to sign arbitration clauses prior to admission

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