A Senior Moment: The Executive Branch Solution to the Problem of Binding Arbitration Agreements in Nursing Home Admission Contracts
![handle is hein.journals/camplr31 and id is 165 raw text is: Campbell Law Review
Volume 31 Symposium 2009 Number 2
A Senior Moment: The Executive Branch Solution to
the Problem of Binding Arbitration Agreements
in Nursing Home Admission Contracts
LISA TRIPP*
INTRODUCTION
On July 19, 1998, Margaretha Sauer died at the Mena Medical
Center following a five and one-half year stay at Rich Mountain [Nurs-
ing and Rehabilitation Center]. She was 93 years old. Mrs. Sauer's
discharge summary revealed that the cause of her death was severe
electrolyte abnormalities, with contributing factors of Alzheimer's
type, dementia[,] and protein calorie malnutrition.
Mrs. Sauer's physical condition at time of death was gleaned from
nursing notes. She had lost fifteen pounds in the last month and was
in need of a feeding tube. There were signs of bedsores on her body,
stemming from lying in urine and excrement. She suffered from con-
tractures from Alzheimer's Disease, which involved contraction of her
limbs into her sockets. She also had a urinary infection and had been
experiencing a foul vaginal discharge
... There was evidence presented that she was found at times with
dried feces under her fingernails from scratching herself while lying in
her own excrement. At other times, she was not gotten up out of her
bed as she should have been. Often times, Mrs. Sauer's food tray was
found in her room, untouched because there was no staff member at
the nursing home available to feed her. She was not provided with
* Assistant Professor of Law, John Marshall Law School, Atlanta, Georgia. The
Author would like to thank Sara Brenner and Helen de Haven for their thoughtful
suggestions about this Article. The Author would also like to thank all the professors
who gave so generously their time in critiquing this Article at the 2007 Health Law
Scholars Workshop, sponsored by St. Louis University's Center for Health Law Studies
and the American Society of Law, Medicine and Ethics. The Author would also like to
thank Cara Rockhill for her diligent research assistance.](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/camplr31&div=11&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
What Is HeinOnline?
Contact us for annual subscription options:
Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?
profiles profiles most