Nursing Homes Rarely Penalized For Oversedating Patients

Editor's note: Several years ago this Shark periodically visited a relative at the Warren Barr Nursing Home in Chicago and noticed the "zombie like" demeanor of many of the residents.  In particular was an elderly married couple who sat together at meals and never spoke.  In the period prior to the "health department" inspection I noticed that all of the residents walked with a spring in their steps and the married couple were speaking to each other. Your ProbateShark can only surmise that prior and after the inspection, the residents were sedated to make them more easily "malleable" and less problematic to the staff.   Lucius Verenus, Schoolmaster, ProbateSharks.com

Nursing Homes Rarely Penalized For Oversedating Patients

December 09, 2014 3:34 AM ET

Ina Jaffe

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Robert Benincasa

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NPR's analysis of government data found that harsh penalties are almost never used when nursing home residents get unnecessary drugs of any kind. Owen Franken/Corbis hide caption

itoggle caption Owen Franken/Corbis

NPR's analysis of government data found that harsh penalties are almost never used when nursing home residents get unnecessary drugs of any kind.

Owen Franken/Corbis

Antipsychotic drugs have helped many people with serious mental illnesses like schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. But for older people with Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia, they can be deadly. The Food and Drug Administration has given these drugs a black box warning, saying they can increase the risk of heart failure, infections and death. Yet almost 300,000 nursing home residents still get them.

“There are many near misses, whether it's hospitals or nursing homes, where medication might be given that's not needed and doesn't cause permanent harm. We view that as a learning opportunity.

- Dr. Patrick Conway, chief medical officer, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

So in 2012, the federal government started a campaign to get nursing homes to reduce their use of these drugs. But an NPR analysis of government data shows that the government rarely penalizes nursing homes when they don't get with the program.
Take Texas for example. More than a quarter of nursing home residents there still get antipsychotic drugs. Since the beginning of the federal initiative, the nationwide average has dropped below 20 percent. That puts Texas in last place compared with other states and the District of Columbia.
So Texas is playing catch-up. The state recently conducted a series of trainings to teach nursing home employees that there are alternatives to giving residents powerful drugs. Nursing home activities director Roxanne Stengel attended a session in Houston. She's been in the business for a long time. So it was not a surprise to her that Texas was in last place.
Check NPR's interactive database below to see the history of antipsychotic drug usage at nursing homes in your area and how they compare to national and state averages.