MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee nursing home has settled a lawsuit that accused the center of medicating residents to make them easier to manage.
In a Monday statement, Spring Gate Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center said the $500,000 settlement is not an admission of liability.
The Commercial Appeal reports the recently unsealed lawsuit says the nursing home prescribed a woman heavy doses of anti-psychotic and anti-anxiety drugs in 2013 without cause, leading her condition to deteriorate. The lawsuit says nursing staff told her nephew she was prescribed the drugs "to keep her in bed." The complaint says this practice wasn't limited to that resident.
The U.S. Attorney's Office says the Memphis nursing home has entered into an agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to prevent similar conduct in the future.
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Information from: The Commercial Appeal, http://www.commercialappeal.com