The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources is launching a program that will mandate background checks for workers in the long-term health care field. The mandate will cover workers who are employed in nursing homes and other long-term…

Falls can be more serious for seniors and the elderly than they are for younger people. In fact, in too many cases they are fatal. The problem of falls in nursing homes, where over 1.4 million people who are 65…

It’s hard to believe anyone, who studied and trained to safeguard the health and well-being of patients, would overmedicate West Virginia nursing home residents on purpose. Unfortunately, the practice is not as uncommon as many Charleston residents think. One-third of…

West Virginia health care facilities sometimes employ too few staff members to attend to the needs of patients. Repositioning hospital or nursing home residents to prevent bedsores might be a low priority task on a busy day. Bedsores, also known…

It’s sad to say, but older people are targets for mistreatment. The elderly can be easy to threaten, ignore, manipulate and abuse emotionally, physically or even sexually. Who stands up for people who cannot or will not complain or defend…