Arkansas

• 3 years with Discovery Rule. (Arkansas Code, Title 16 (Practice, Procedure, and Courts) Subtitle 5 (Civil Procedure Generally), Chapter 56 (Limitations of Actions), Subchapter 1 (General Provisions - §16-56-105 – Actions with limitation of three years)
• Medical malpractice – 2 years from date of malpractice.  If discovery of foreign object occurs after 2 years, plaintiff has 1 additional year to bring claim.  Minors under age nine have until age eleven.  (Arkansas Code, Title 16 (Practice, Procedure, and Courts), Subtitle 7 (Particular Proceedings and Remedies), Chapter 114 (Malpractice Actions), Subchapter 2 (Actions for Medical Injury) - §16-114-203 – Statute of Limitations)

• None. Arkansas Constitution, Article 5 (Legislative Department, Section 32 (Workmen’s Compensation Laws – Actions for personal injuries))

• 3 years. (Arkansas Code, Title 16 (Practice, Procedure, and Courts) Subtitle 5 (Civil Procedure Generally), Chapter 62 (Survival and Abatement of Actions) §16-62-102 – Wrongful death actions – Survival)

• None. Arkansas Constitution, Article 5 (Legislative Department, Section 32 (Workmen’s Compensation Laws – Actions for personal injuries)

• Arkansas Department of Health
• Department of Aging and Adult Services
• Arkansas Office of Long Term Care
• Regulations
• Arkansas Adult Protective Services

• Office of Long Term Care – Regulations (Nursing Home Licensure, Nursing Home Minimum Staffing)
• Rules and Regulations for Nursing Homes

• Nursing Home Workers Charged In Connection To Withholding Oxygen To Resident

Two nursing home workers in Arkansas are facing criminal charges, manslaughter and elder neglect, following the 2007 death of a resident. The charges stem from failing to plug an oxygen line into the wall spigot for an oxygen-dependent patient. By the time the workers came back to check-in on the patient her hands were blue and cold.

Upon learning of the resident's condition, the workers told the nursing director, but failed to alert the resident's family or physician that her condition was related to a lack of oxygen. Authorities believe that withholding the circumstances surrounding the lack of oxygen to the resident's physician contributed to resident's death....

• Who Regulates Nursing Homes?

In most states, nursing homes are regulated by a combination of state (Department of Health) and federal authorities (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services [CMS]). Each agency has its own regulations that control all aspects of the nursing home including: resident care, staffing, policies and procedures and medical equipment.

Because nursing homes are responsible for complying with state and federal regulations, agents from either agency conduct inspections of the facility to assure compliance with the regulations. These inspections are called 'surveys' and are generally done unannounced at least one time per year. Surveys may be conducted more frequently at facilities with a history of prior violations or in response to a complaint regarding resident care....

• What's In A Name? Are Large Nursing Home Chains Intentionally Attempting To Deceive The Public When It Comes To Corporate Ownership?

One of the things I do each morning is to look through my google reader account to see the new updates regarding nursing home news and information. Today, I glanced through the news stories to find another unfortunate report regarding the alleged abuse of a patient at an Ohio nursing home. You can read about this report of nursing abuse here.

As I read the article, where abuse was alleged to have occurred at Heartland Lansing Nursing Home, I realized how deceptive the names of nursing homes can be to the general public. In the case of Heartland, it is part of the nursing home behemoth, HCR Manor Care.

Yet by looking at the name alone most people, including most of the residents at the facility, likely have no idea that Heartland Lansing Nursing Home is actually owned by ManorCare. Further confusing the matter is that ManorCare operates nursing homes around the country under the Heartland, ManorCare and Alden Courts surnames....

• Big Verdicts Against Nursing Homes

Nursing home owners take note: no longer can providing poor care to elderly nursing home residents be part of 'doing business.'  Take a look at some recent jury verdicts involving nursing home abuse and neglect.  Imagine the owner of a nursing home writing these types of checks....

• Golden Living Sells All Its Arkansas Nursing Homes 

Effective July 1, Golden Living is out of the nursing home business in Arkansas.  The 14 nursing homes and independent living facilities have been sold to Capital Senior Care Ventures, a subsidiary of health-care behemoth Capital Funding Group.

The sale marks a growing trend in the nursing home business of bringing mega-companies to manage and operate individual nursing homes.  Frequently, the parent companies have no experience providing healthcare to seniors.