CINCINNATI — Local nursing homes have been cited for administering antipsychotic drugs to patients who don't need them. One man said it happened to his mother at a senior rehab center in Springfield Township.
Moises Torres's mother, who has Alzheimer's and dementia, lived in Burlington House Healthcare Center for just eight days. When Torres went to visit his mom, he said she was high on drugs and very sleepy.
"She couldn't talk, she was drooling on herself, she couldn't get up and go to the toilet," Torres said.
Torres said his mother was given haloperidol, an antipsychotic drug used to treat conditions such as schizophrenia.
When we took concerns about this use of antipsychotics to experts, we found Torres's experience was not an isolated incident.
According to ombudsman Linda Kerdolff, one in four residents in southwest Ohio nursing homes is prescribed antipsychotics. Nationwide, one in five nursing home residents is prescribed an antipsychotic, which is ten times the rate of the general population.
"It doesn't make a lot of sense," Kerdolff said. "Maybe about 2% of people in the general population would have a diagnosis that would require an antipsychotic drug."
So why are antipsychotics being prescribed so often?
"Some would say that makes it easier on the nursing home, easier on the staff,” Kerdolff said. "Residents sleeping, sitting, and staring aren't ringing their call bells or requiring aid and assistance."
She said the drugs make residents very tired and lethargic.
"It's that zombie look that they get in their eye," Kerdolff said.
Torres said that was the case with his mom. He asked the staff why they prescribed it.
"They come in and they say, 'This is what the doctor ordered.' 'What doctor?' 'The doctor we have here.' But that's not my mother's attending doctor," Torres said.
Torres pulled his mother out of the facility and brought her to live with him. But many others don't have that option.
“Up to 60% of residents do not get regular visitors. That means they really don't have a family member who's coming in and checking on them on a regular basis," Kerdolff said.
What Kerdolff believes needs to happen to find a solution and hold nursing homes accountable.
"Raising awareness is key — educating the public, educating residents that they always have a right to know what medications they're taking and why," Kerdolff said.
We obtained copies of three citations from facilities in the Cincinnati area that received citations from the state for administering antipsychotics. One of those citations was at Burlington House last month.
WCPO reached out to Burlington House about the citation for administering antipsychotics. They said someone from their team would get back to us. We are still waiting for their response.
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