Miami Injury Lawyer Blog
Golden Glades Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, a Miami Gardens nursing home, will close its 60-bed children’s unit after years of harsh criticism. The facility stands at the center of a bitter dispute over Florida’s system of care for extremely sick and disabled children. In recent years, it has been linked to the deaths of two young, severely disabled children in as many years, and a $300,000 federal fine as a result of one of those deaths.
Last year Golden Glades Nursing & Rehabilitation Center housed thirty children, although it currently only houses nineteen children. The nursing home is one of six licensed in Florida to care for children. Since June, it has sought to streamline the transfer of children back into their private homes. The facility donated a special bed with protective netting to one family, to protect their son from falling out of bed or injuring himself, as he suffers from frequent spasms and movements. It is also raising private funds to build a wheelchair ramp. Social workers and administrators at the facility have been collaborating with Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration (ACHA) to give parents and other caregivers who had children at the facility transfer options as the facility prepares to close its doors. Parents of fifteen of the children currently living at the facility have chosen to transfer their children to other residential pediatric care facilities.
The U.S. Department of Justice has accused the state of cutting funds too deeply that go to in-home care for frail children. Parent are often left with “no choice but to institutionalize their loved ones.” Gwen Wurm, the head of the medical foster care program for Jackson Health Systems denounced the Golden Glades Nursing and Rehabilitation Center’s approach since it has decided to close the facility. She stated that “[t]hey should have . . . met with every parent and every family to come up with an array of services that made it possible to allow more of those children to be in a home.” Dr. Durell Peaden Jr. agreed and further stated that Florida needs to “redesign” its system of care for these children.
Under fire, Miami-Dade nursing home closing its pediatric unit, www.miamiherald.com January 31, 2013
Sending your child away to a nursing home can be a traumatic decision that affects everyone in your family. You are putting your fragile child’s life into the hands of another. You expect your loved one will get all of the care and attention they need. Unfortunately, many nursing homes are either inadequately staffed or operating with unqualified staff. If your loved one has died as a result of nursing home negligence or abuse, call the child injury attorneys at the Friedland | Carmona immediately at (305) 661-2008. Jonathan R. Friedland and Michael J. Carmona are expert nursing home abuse attorneys who also specialize in wrongful death cases. The Friedland | Carmona is dedicated to helping you and your loved one recover the compensation you deserve!
The Miami personal injury attorneys at the Friedland | Carmona handle all types of negligence cases throughout the state of Florida, including Boca Raton, Homestead, North Miami, South Miami, Miami Beach, Coral Gables, Pembroke Pines, Hialeah, Kendall, Aventura, Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach. The Friedland | Carmona handles all types of personal injury cases, including wrongful death, defective products, medical malpractice, slip and falls and construction site injuries. Call the Miami personal injury attorneys at (305) 661-2008 for your free consultation. Call today and let our family take care of your family!