YOUR COMMENTS

There is a lot of blame to go around however I do know that more cuts are coming. Hospitals have sent residents back to NH to die within a few hours so they won't have the stats on their books -this is common practice. Medicare pays for treatment but not prevention - you have to have a STage III bedsore to get a special bed for someone who is high risk and it has to be on a certain part of the body. SOme NH do a great job and some don't. It's up to the individual NH and against increasing regulations and decreased money. The proposed health care program will NOT help the elderly in NH. Through the end of life discussions, that must be documented by the way, low cost treatment options are encouraged. Now we have seen the increased use of antidepressants and it is specifically addressed in the MDS and in DPH surveys. More on-site Quality Assurance needs to be in place but no one wants to pay for it.
- Anne-Marie Perry, North Woodstock

It is a very sad day for this family and no one should be treated like this. The reality is that people entering nursing homes are sicker. Sometimes from years of not following the best care recommendations of many medical providers. I have worked in long-term care for fifteen years and plan on continuing in this area. I work with many caring people who do their best to care for a very frail population. We find it difficult at times because of the disconnect between resident abilities and family expectations. Many facilites strive for quality care which involves many aspects of medical and psychosocial initiatives. These facilities seek constructive feedback. We welcome family involvement but too often do not see the commitment. We hear the complaints but are not given the opportunity to address them as they come through surveys that are annonymous. I do not excuse the facility or feel that they acted in good practice with regards to the current situation. The actions described do not demonstate the level of quality that is expected of all long-term care facilities in NH. Having said that all facilities are not the same and should not be generally judge as previous comments stated. We do not dismiss that caring by family is the best for any love one; however sometimes this is not capable and there are alot of good people who do care for the elderly with the best intentions. We have seen many come from home debilitated, dehydrated and with significant wounds but we do not judge. We just work to get them better and enjoy the quality of life they deserve. I challenge every family member who has a love one in a long-term facility to get involved..volunteer and directly bring their concerns forward in a constructive manner. Work together with the care providers to assure the best opportunity for care. Nursing homes are not a place to die but a place to enjoy life.
- Private, Manchester NH

This is unacceptable, to think that this wonderful man cared for his family his whole life and then to have to leave this world in such a way as this. I can not imagine what he must have went through. What has happened to respect our elders?? He was only in this facility for a short time, I can imagine what it would have been like if it had been long term. Were are the doucumented dressing changes?? What about his intake and output?? This man was my dads father it truly hurt to see my dad so sad when he passed away and then to have to hear this news after he was already gone. How and when are you supposed to try and heal??
- Kim, Pembroke

Nursing homes are a disgrace to the elderly. I watched my grandmother die in one right in Nashua. The staff were rude to her and would often shower her in water that was too hot and would leave red marks on her face. They never took her out of her room and by the time she was brought to the hospital it was because she had gotten the flu and choked on her own vomit, leading to pneumonia...all this in a matter of a day and without notifying my father, her power of attorney. My father had just visited her the day before and had they contacted him when she first got sick she would have been ok. These places are awful and I will do whatever it takes to make sure my parents are not sent to one of these horrible places when the time comes. Nursing homes in America are hell.
- Tara, Nashua

I am also outraged by neglect of this elderly man - a man who could not take care of himself or advocate for himself. I am sure that he beleived in his earlier years that someone would care for him properly - how could everyone let him down!
The elderly are nothing but old children and they need just as much if not more attantion and advocacy from their families!
It is the families responsibility to make sure their loved one is getting the care they need - put complaints in writing, go to the directors of the facility or even call corporate! Be in their face at all times - show up different times a day - but keep a sharp eye out - in a facility or in home care. I know it is not easy!
Excuses of short staffed and rotating of staff members or lack of documentation in facilities are NO EXCUSE! They are getting paid to do a job - and if the jobs are not getting done than it is the facilities responsibility to rectify the situation - period!
If this man were under a doctor's care, nurses were changing bandages, baths were being performed SOMEONE would have noticed the skin gowing over his wounds - which took quite some time to grow! UNACCEPTABLE! The big question here is WHY was this allowed to happen and so many people did not notice!
The nursing home my mother in law is in is also not perfect, non of them are, but I am constantly asking questions, following up if she sees a doctor, insists she see a doctor if necessary, questions medications, behavior changes, diet questions, bathing. I do her laundry and a family can tell alot about a person if THEY do the laundry! I not only advocate for her - but for everyone I see that needs it! I am not afraid to speak up and I show up different times of they day so see what is going on!
These facilities most definatley need to be held accountable for the care of their patients, along with the hospitals and the families! We all trust and believe our loved ones will be taken care of in these professional institutions - but ultimately - it is our responsibility to see that it happends! Much more advocacy needs to be done for the elderly as they are neglected and forgotten about in this busy society we live in. One can not assume, one can be more active, one can know the facts and one can advocate. Research, call your state Congressmen and Elderservice Department to see what is happening and what you can do to help with this problem, the growning problem and what you can do to help!
- Cindy, Hopkinton, MA

This story is sad- however I am hestitant pass judgement without more facts. I just returned home from work at a nursing home and I am proud to say the residents I cared for where treated with love and respect. This is a tragic incident and my prayers go out to the family. Yes, nursing facilties are not always staffed great however- it has been that way for the 20 years I have been a nurse and it has not stopped me from providing loving ,adequate care for my residents. I leave work exhausted and sore but others benefit from my discomfort so that makes it worth it to me. After all I am being paid to be there.
Most families are torn apart by placing there loved one in a nursing home but some place them there and never visit or return calls yet whenthey do visit they have multiple complaints about the care- some warranted - many are not. Please do not give nursing homes a bad reputation because of this incident. The number of abuse cases are slim in comparison to the thousands of people cared for in nursing homes daily in this state.
- private, Manchester

I have read all the comments, and I understand the budget cuts and understaffing because of that. But I DO NOT agree with them just allowing it to continue. This needs to stop, a change needs to be made here. I think a earlier comment I read about 1 nurse assigned to a limited number of patients (that legally needs to be determined) is a good start to a solution.
We all know that passing on is a part of life, but it still is NOT easy to deal with. And then to hear that your grandfather, a world war II hero, was neglected in the ending of his time with us. Just puts more pain on my heart and makes me cry once again.
- Private, Manchester

I am the oldest son of the Great Man that Has just Died. The Day Before He Died He Was At The Hospital sitting up and talking to me For two hours. The next day at the nursing home, He was not
in good condition. Spasums, Over medicated is my asumption. I told the nurse, she said it was the medications.
At the hospital he was my Dad in good spirits , At the nursing home he was a vegtable.
- Louis A Fabbo jr, Bow

Sounds to me like the staff at Southern New Hampshire Medical Center wants to make themselves look good. I mean let's put this into reality. They report what they believe is abuse and or neglect from a facility yet send that patient back to that facility? Hmm, sounds like the UL is only reporting the information that makes the accused look guilty, looking for outrage in public reaction.
- jcc, nashua

It is so easy to sit back and point blame on this one or that one, and it's all from one article in the paper. Everything we read must be true because the news paper wrote it. (We all know the paper wouldn't print anything that wasn't 100% true!)
Look, I have worked in the healthcare field for over twenty years and I have seen a lot of stuff that would turn the average mans stomache. A patients condition can change in an instant as well as his/her physical appearence. Lets not forget that bandages and Catheter bands have limited expantion, otherwise they wouldn't work. Had this patients bandages and or catheter band been too tight they would have acted as tourniquets and he would have lost his leg if left unattended for any length of time. So lets not jump to conclusions based on a newspaper article. If this patient was not being taken care of, he wouldn't have been sent to the hospital in the first place.
- Greg, Keene

I really feel for this family. I have seen horrific nursing home "care" first hand. There is no excuse. This is the problem with for-profit nursing and health care. Staffing and supplies are never enough. (Even with good caring staff that tries to provide quality care.) The patient always gets the short end of the stick.
- FM, Manchester, NH

Maybe we should stop warehousing the elderly in these giant waiting rooms for death! That's all a nursing home really is, a place for you to spend the last few months and years of your life until you pass away.

Gone are the ideas of "Quality of Life". How is laying in a bed 24 hours a day, unresponsive due to a stoke or heart attack, with a urine bag hanging and someone changing your diaper every day? People put their loved ones in here because they "want them to be around" and even though they are unconcious "they can still hear us" etc. I know I would rather be dead than in a nursing home and I will make sure I am before someone tries to put me in one. Both of my parents, who are in good health and in middle age, have made it clear to me that they don't want to be in a nursing home, and I will honor their request and let them pass with dignity.

If I can't go outside, walk around, be active, and conribute to society, I am a drain on every one else. Just let me go, please. We all wonder why medicare is going bankrupt, it's because of long term care costs, dialysis treatments and the associated $600 ambulance transport bill twice a day three times a week.

All this because people won't let go. All because these things can get them a year or two more.

Time for a wake-up call folks.....time to let people die with dignity and respect instead of putting them in the waiting room. Nursing homes, and American Society in general when it comes to death and dying, make me sick.
- Fred, Manchester, NH

I believe Jill from Penacook hit the nail right on the head. It amazes me too that people seem to be overlooking that the hospital admitted this man twice and discharged him twice back to the Elms. So the doctors at Southern New Hampshire notified the AG's Office about their suspicions that the man had been neglected and sent him back to the nursing home? Southern New Hampshire had a legal and ethical obligation to keep the patient if they believed there was an issue of patient neglect. The Union Leader fails to mention or investigate this in their story, choosing to smear the reputation of a large corporation as usual because that’s what they believe sells newspapers. Not to worry though, eventually the UL will go the way of the Boston Globe.
- Renee, Manchester

I feel bad for the family of the 87 year old man. My heart goes out to them. I think from the sound of it things could have been better, going through dementia and having alzheimers is awful to see someone slipping away like that.


I had my dad in nursing homes off and on from 2001 thru 2008. Thank God it was only for short term rehab. People are left forgotten, relatives would only come out once a week, some were not lucky to have loved ones left. Thankfully my dad had his mind throughout, he died last year.

The staff was caring and loving and it was hard knowing that my dad was slipping away. He was fiesty at times and he had just turned 87 himself and wanted to go somewhere else. Sadly there was no where else to go, I quit my job once years ago to help him, I couldn't this time, and he wouldn't have wanted me to.

There needs to be a recognition in this country that we need to take care of our growing elderly population, modern medicine is letting us live longer though albeit it may not be better or with as much quality or dignity. We need to start moving away from assigning dollars and cents to taking care of our infirmed.

We also need to move from the mentality of just dumping people in nursing homes and being forgotten. Even if it means going a few times a week, take some time away from your trips to golf course or going out and riding your motorcycles up and down Elm and So. Willow Street, open your hearts and eyes and see whats going on.

The first episode my dad had I was there every day sometimes twice a day after he had his stroke and I quit my job. The last time last year I tried and go every single day. I feel guilty I should have went more because I think he and I knew he was dying. But I tried and was getting tired physically and emotionally.

I know the nursing homes can only hire so many people, medicare, medicaid, and private insurance will only pay so much, maybe theres a way they can get people in the community to help even more. We are all in this together and who knows eventually anyone of us could end up in one.
- Jack Alex, Manchester

I am so sorry for what happened to this man. It really makes me angry. To live a long full life and die like this, it's disgraceful (Melanie, my condolences). Please do not lump all facilities together though, some do quite well. My Nana is in Mount Carmel in Manchester and at 95 recieves very good care by an excellent staff. I feel better being away right now, knowing that she is safe (at 92 could no longer remain on her own), and nurses are seeing to it that she eat right, and stay healthy. (I miss you Nana and will see you this fall; I told you it was only a yr)
- Brian, Manchester

Perhaps everyone should step back and take a look at the big picture and question the answers that are not known. When was this man admitted to the Elms? Was the condition already present on admission and being treated and how? The facility has apparently sent him out to a hospital for treatment before so no one ever noticed? What was his abilities to perhaps pull on the catheter or even cause the tightening? If care was so bad at the facility why did the hospital send him back? There is alot of speculation here as to what has or has not occurred yet makes a great story.
- Jill, Penacook

Private in Milford, I am so very sorry that this has happened to you and your family.
- Maria, Manchester, NH

Having worked in a Long Term Care a number of years ago, I know a liitle bit of what it would take to get in this condition.
Just on what little information on the gentleman's condition given in the article he indeed was suffering from not just neglect but under educated staff.
If someone's catheter produces 0 output for 24 hours, it derserves to be investigated as to why.
Bandages are a prescribed treatment course by a doctor. No way should they have ever reached the stage of being "healed over".
Yes the damage inccurred by this poor man lies directly in the hands of the staff at the facility from the top down!
Where are the dressing changes documented?" Where are his intake and output documented?
The family should be outragede!
- Dan, Francestown

Before beating up the Administrator or the current Dirctor of Nursing maybe someone should step back and ask how long either of these people have been employed at the ELMS. Neither have been there very long.

With complaints filed previously with the State Bureau of Health where was the corporate oversite. More importantly where was the bureau of Health.

As far as staffing it is hard to maintain staff when the State cuts payments. At this time the so called budget neutral factor to the nursing homes in this state is running at this time about 24%. That means on the modest payment the state decides to pay that payment is further reduced by 24%.

Finally, where is the family, is this another case of Dad has a placement so he is no longer my problem. The Nursing Home should not be a dumping ground.

Rob
- Robert, Manchester

How interesting to read such an article about your very own family member, yes this is my grandfather being spoken of....We just had a private service remembering him on Wednesday, thinking the cremation process was taking longer than expected, all to find out today.... that it was intercepted by the Milford PD, yet they say they spoke with the children in regards to this....and yet my parents too just found out today! NOT IMPRESSED!
- Private, Milford NH

Melanie- I think your efforts would go much farther advocating for appropriate staffing levels in residential homes and nursing homes. Push for laws that make it illegal for there the be over a certain staffing ratio of nurses and aides to patients and you will see the care in these places improve exponentially and the people that got into this career because they love it so much and want to make a difference will actually begin to make a difference.

Not only will the patients be better cared for but the staff will be happier and you will see the WHOLE atmosphere change to a positive one.

Right now, budget cuts have places cutting staff and putting patients and their medical staff at risk.

Sadly, this is going to be blamed on the nurses and LNAs when in fact this is more about the administration not only letting it get this bad, but continuing to let it deteriorate to such a level!
- Josie, Laconia, NH

Everyone deserves an opportunity to die with dignity and it appears that this gentleman missed his. I don't recall a huge outcry when the DHHS budget was reduced as a part of the recent budget debacle and reduced funding equates to less oversight. I also find it hard to believe that the patient was returned to the same nursing home that had shown that it was unable to provide even basic care for him.
- Dave, Dover

The very sad part of this article is that it occurs at MANY nursing homes around NH and the even sadder part is that regardless of their findings, this nursing home will not be closed. They will continue to run and just have a new name and a new director of nurses. My question is where is the state and why do they continue to look the other way?
- tracy, manchester

As a prior member of the State Committee on Aging, we unfortunately heard of these cases every so often (be it in nursing homes or in private home). Please remember, not all homes should be painted with this brush. Here in Carroll County the county nursing home, Mountain View, has an outstanding record for providing care to their residents. As poor as the physical building may be, that is overcome by the great care given. Our staff has commendations from family and residents attesting to their ability to deal with problems. To my knowledge, neither of the SunBridge facilities nor the Meriman House at the Memorial Hospital have had anything similar to what has been reported. I would look at the management of that facility.

Dorothy Solomon, Albany
- Dorothy Solomon, Albany

Judging by the evidence that has been reported so far it is difficult to reach any other conclusion other than abuse and neglect. Every thing being reported indicates these are not things that can go unnoticed during the routine care of patients in a nursing home setting. Part of the care of nursing home patients is hygiene which would include bathing which would have required the removal of ace bandages, even for a sponge bath. For skin to have grown over the bandages they would have to have been there for quite sometime and would certainly have been noticed. A blocked catheter should have been noticed quickly as urine bag need to be changed daily. Changing bed sheets and rotating a bed ridden patient’s position is also required to prevent bedsores from forming. It’s so sad to see elderly treated this way; they are human beings with feelings. It’s equally sad that people can so easily forget that the elderly are someone’s dad, brother or husband and are deserving of dignity and respect.
- Rob, Manchester

Unfortunately because Sunbridge and other nursing facilities are usually understaffed and each nurse and aid has 12-15 patients per. With the ecomony the way it is and the high cost of nursing home care you would think they would keep adequate staff numbers and maybe, just maybe the elderly will get the care they so deserve before others pass away like this. Very sad.
- Marion Guay, Raymond NH

Sadly, I cannot say that I am overly shocked at this article. I sit here with tears running down my face as I remember the lack of care that my own grandmother received at a Sun Bridge facility before the family insisted she be moved, and wonder why this company is allowed to remain in business.

As a law student/future attorney, I previously had decided that I would be practicing only in the family law/criminal law areas, however I am seriously tossing around the idea of specializing in elder law because it makes me absolutely SICK to see the way the elderly are treated in these facilities and, all too often, by members of their own families.

It sickens me to know that if you asked the majority of people that work in a facility like this why they got into that career, that they will tell you that they wanted to help people. This is how you help? By ignoring, abusing, humiliating, and ultimately KILLING residents? I honestly and truly hope that any care provider involved with this man, as well as the administration of The Elms and Sun Bridge are held fully liable and are prosecuted to the fullest extent that the law allows.

This whole this just disgusts me.
- Melanie, Manchester, NH

How long was the man a resident? Who were the staff that called the police and why didn't they see the man's condition before he was found in such horrible shape?

The biggest problem with how the elderly and infirm are treated in our country is that too often families are too willing, for whatever reason, to put their parents care is someone else's hands. What they forget, whether the facility is a nursing home, assisted living facility or hospital, the care given is only as good as the care overseen by family. Additionally, with budget concerns, nursing homes are one of those places who don't necessarily hire the "cream of the crop" putting people at even more risk.

To the "staff" that permitted this to happen to this man, I hope they are able to sleep at night because I sure wouldn't be able to.
- Elle, Manchester

It's unfortunate that most times, treatment has to be this bad for anyone to notice. I worked at a nursing home for a few years and the LNA's were extremely rude to their residents. They'd make fun of them (to their faces, in front of everyone), yell at them, deny them help requested with mean and rude tones of voice. I personally reported someone for yelling at a woman (for asking a question) and was told, "You have to understand, these nurses work with so many residents everyday and sometimes they just get frustrated". Doesn't anyone think these residents get frustrated being there, unable to take care of themselves? These people in these places should be ashamed. It's horrific.
- Jennie, Mannchester NH

Sad to say there's no news here. Treatment of the elderly in our country is a disgrace and has been for a long time.

"The skin had grown over the bandages on his leg," said Douglas. "I've never seen anything like this."

In addition to the sores, Douglas said, the man's catheter was blocked with blood, his genitals were extremely swollen, and he had cuts and abrasions elsewhere on his body.

This reads like something out of Dachau or Aushwitz. SunBridge Healthcare Corp should be brought to justice. I'll take Dr Kevorkian over the Elms any day!
- Don, Manchester