Pico Rivera, California

Welcome to the Law Offices of Ben Yeroushalmi’s nursing home and assisted living elder abuse and neglect website for the City of Pico Rivera. Mr. Yeroushalmi is an expert in long-term care facility elder abuse litigation and represents clients from all over the California region. He and his team of experts and associate attorneys are known for their vigorous and successful litigation in elder abuse and neglect matters.

The City of Pico Rivera is part of the southeastern side of Los Angeles County. According to the 2010 United States Census, the population of Pico Rivera was 62, 942. It is home to a newly renovated senior center that provides high-tech computers and a modern dance room to the city’s older adult residents. The city also has 4 nursing homes and 30 assisted living facilities nearby.

Osteoporosis (OP) is a bone disease that causes low bone mineral density (BMD) and loss of bone strength, increasing the risk of osteoporotic fracture. Osteoporotic fracture has been known to result in significant morbidity and mortality. Health care costs due to osteoporotic fractures were estimated at $13.76 billion in 1995.

Approximately 85% of nursing home residents (NHRs) suffer from OP. In the month after NHRs experience a fracture, the chance of hospitalization increases 15 times to those who do not experience a fracture. Additionally, rate of hospitalization is increased from months 3 through 12 post-fracture. Unfortunately, not many studies have been done to explore effective pharmacologic management of NHRs with OP. Dependency, impaired mobility, impaired or loss of usual protective body reactions, and a high fall rate are prevalent among the NHRs, making them at increased risk of fracture. Past studies examining the treatment of OP in NHRs have been limited to vitamin D, calcium, and alendronate. Despite high prevalence rates of OP and fracture among NHRs, the use of OP pharmacologic therapies have been sporadic.

The significant use of healthcare resources and decline in health experienced after fracture call for an improved understanding of OP prevalence, treatment and fracture risk among NHRs in order to find better interventions to provide care to this vulnerable population.

A recent study examined the assessment of pharmacologic therapies and risk of fracture in NHRs with OP and juxtaposed clinical characteristics of treated versus untreated NHRs with OP. The study showed that NHRs with a hip fracture were 31 times more likely to be hospitalized than the control residents. Drug selection for the management of OP in older NHRs was often difficult due to the high incidence of comorbid conditions, polypharmacy, and other risk factors that affect bone metabolism and physiology. For NHRs at risk for future fracture (and thus, likely to receive some kind of therapy), at least 6 comorbidities, wheelchair use, cognitive impairment, depression, and swallowing difficulties increased their risk of inadequate treatment. Therefore, patient-related and agent-related variables need to be taken into consideration when selecting a preferable agent to administer along with calcium and vitamin D. Within the NH, it is crucial to administer medications safely and correctly when choosing a therapy.

Residents who were not treated were more dependent on NH staff for activities of daily living, had more serious cognitive impairment and more commonly had a prognosis of less than 6 months to live. These individuals often received parenteral feedings and injectable medications. They also had more dental problems and end stage renal disease.

If you or a loved one has experienced elder abuse or neglect in a nursing home or assisted living facility, contact us immediately.