The media is reporting the following: Authorities Wednesday began removing the remains of more than 30 people from a flooded nursing home in a suburban parish. The discovery at St. Rita's Nursing Home in lower St. Bernard Parish came as 25,000 body bags arrived at the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals. (Full story) On Thursday, the official death toll from Hurricane Katrina stood at 294, but that number is expected to rise dramatically. Mortuary teams with refrigerated … [Read more...] about Why Did This Happen?
PPAT Information On Katrina Relief Efforts
I received an e-mail with the following information from PPAT: Private Provider and Family Assistance: 1.) Mr. Chris Tilly, Executive Director of CARSA (Community and Residential Services Association) in Louisiana shared that several thousand providers have evacuated New Orleans, and a number of their group and community homes were destroyed by the hurricane. Housing is the most immediate need, it is estimated that it will take 6-8 months to rebuild or relocate these individuals … [Read more...] about PPAT Information On Katrina Relief Efforts
This Is Horrifying
New Orleans Doctors Plead for Help Sep 01 4:29 PM US/Eastern By MARILYNN MARCHIONE AP Medical Writer news://newsclip.ap.org/TXJK10309011912@news.ap.org Doctors at two desperately crippled hospitals in New Orleans called The Associated Press Thursday morning pleading for rescue, saying they were nearly out of food and power and had been forced to move patients to higher floors to escape looters. "We have been trying to call the mayor's office, we have been trying to call … [Read more...] about This Is Horrifying
Joint Investigations of Abuse & Neglect in Nursing Homes
On March 22, 2005, DADS issued Provider Letter #05-13--Joint Investigation of Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Allegations. This letter notifes nursing homes that DADS will notify local law enforcement of abuse and neglect allegations of the nature that statutorily requires DADS to investigate within 24 hours:A resident('s):health or safety is in imminent danger, orhas recently died because of alleged abuse or neglect or other complaint. orhas been hospitalized or treated in E.R. because of … [Read more...] about Joint Investigations of Abuse & Neglect in Nursing Homes
You’d Think They’d Have Better Things to Do: The FBI and HIPAA
Brett Mendel, Senior Analyst at Byte and Switch Insider is reporting that the FBI is apparently investigating security breaches regarding data security and HIPAA:"It is happening with HIPAA," says Mark Diamond, president and CEO of data storage consulting firm Contoural Inc. "If you do not maintain security of data, you will be investigated by the FBI."Say what?You bet. While the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) monitors compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and … [Read more...] about You’d Think They’d Have Better Things to Do: The FBI and HIPAA
Written Statements for Incident Reports
Lately, several people have asked me about the advisability of having employees write statements to accompany reports of incidents sent to DADS. It is my position that having your employees write such statements is neither advisable or required.Thus, the next question is--how do you conduct your investigation if you don't have your employees write statements? My answer is that your investigator actually investigates. That means interrogating employees who are witnesses to an incident or who may … [Read more...] about Written Statements for Incident Reports
