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Yesterday's seminar, titled "Nursing Homes: A Failed Experiment," told of "America's dirty secret": abuse in nursing homes. Connor's appearance was sponsored by the advocacy group Kentuckians for Nursing Home Reform.
Connor said he classified nursing homes as "a failed experiment" because the current system puts the economics of the provider ahead of the life, health and safety of the residents.
"In other words, they put profit over people; they put revenue over residents," he said.
To increase profit, Connor said, staffing is cut. And some nursing homes are run by businessmen who have never been doctors or nurses and don't have any expertise in the medical field. They are, however, exceptionally good at making money.
At Beverly Health and Rehabilitation of Frankfort, the nursing home where Loren Richards, 84, died on March 2, 2002, the CEO had no medical background, Connor said.
Richards' daughter and Connor's client, Wanda Delaplane, sued the home, alleging that nurses had ignored her father's repeated calls for help with abdominal pain. Richards, who had an impacted bowel, later died of a heart attack and a blood clot in his left lung. The suit also alleged that the home was understaffed because of companywide cost-cutting.
Delaplane, who introduced Connor, said afterward that it's important for people to be educated about this issue -- to know what to do if they are confronted with a problem and know where to file a complaint. It's also good to know where to find support.
Connor urged the crowd to pay attention to signs such as pressure ulcers, infections, urine and feces-stained bed linen and foul odors. Also, the hollow eyes and parched tongues of loved ones display the lack of time devoted to them.
Connor said nursing home problems are pervasive throughout the country.
"Corral your congressmen and senators and make them understand the breadth of the problem," he said.
Bernie Vonderheide, president of Kentuckians for Nursing Home Reform, said his group was working to change state law so criminal background checks and random drug tests are required for all nursing home employees. Most important, he said, they are fighting to ensure there is a minimum staffing standard.
After Connor opened up the floor for questions, Al McGregor, chief executive officer of Rose Manor Health Care, noted that a recent Herald-Leader story indicated that Kentucky nursing homes were among those with the fewest problems in the country.
According to the article, Kentucky cited about one in four nursing homes for serious deficiencies that caused "actual harm" or "immediate jeopardy" in each year of former Gov. Paul Patton's second term, which ended in 2003. But that rate, which roughly matched the national average, fell to one in 10 nursing homes under Fletcher.
The story quoted advocates for nursing home residents as saying the decrease in citations was more likely caused by lax inspections than improvements at nursing homes.
McGregor also told Connor the nursing home industry is the second-most-controlled industry in the United States behind nuclear power plants.
Connor told him to keep in mind that priorities change with each administration. If fewer deficiencies are cited, "then you have to drill down and ask yourself, well, how aggressively are we inspecting these nursing homes?"
Afterward, McGregor said he didn't think Connor's criticism was justified.
"It says in the Bible anytime you look for flaws you can find it," he said.
To see more of the Lexington Herald-Leader, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.kentucky.com. Copyright (c) 2007, The Lexington Herald-Leader, Ky. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
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