Charles Pietrowski’s mother, Mary, fell and broke her hip at Sunrise Care Center in Milwaukee in January 2010. The nursing home did not report the incident to the Wisconsin health department, as required by law, and the state did not investigate the injury for more than seven months, the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism found. The state later determined that Pietrowski fell due to negligence.

Wisconsin nursing homes fail to report deaths, injuries

Attorneys for families of residents say that facilities’ failure to report serious injuries or deaths related to abuse or neglect is not uncommon. Far more often, they say, the state health department only learns about a case of alleged neglect or abuse after a family member files a complaint. Advocates for health care providers stress that incidents of neglect and abuse are extremely rare, and can come to regulators’ attention in a variety of ways.

Journalist Dick Wheeler chosen for Distinguished WisconsinWatch.orgdog Award

Dick Wheeler, the late founder of the Wheeler Report, has been named the 2012 recipient of the Distinguished WisconsinWatch.orgdog Award in recognition of his four decades of tirelessly opening Wisconsin state government to public scrutiny.

The award is part of the second annual WisconsinWatch.orgdog Awards reception and dinner, presented jointly on Wednesday, April 25, by the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council and the Madison Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.