Common Medications Used By The Elderly Must Be Properly Monitored To Keep Patients Safe
I highly suggest taking a look at the New York Time's recent "Well" column, Four Drugs Cause Most Hospitalizations in Older Adults, as a real wake up call for medical facilities--- such as nursing homes--- to do a better job monitoring the effectiveness in their patients. The article has some interesting / concerning information concerning commonly prescribed medications that account for a staggering number of hospitalizations in the elderly every year. An amazing 66% of emergency hospitalizations in the elderly are related to adverse reactions such as accidental overdoses of: Warfarin / Coumadin- a blood thinner Insulin injections- to control...
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Nursing Home Patient Dies After Receiving 'Toxic' Medication Overdose
Poor communication appears to be to blame for the death of a woman at a Minnesota nursing home who was administered a dose of medication ten times higher than prescribed by her doctor. According to news reports concerning this incident, a transcription error is likely to blame for the patient receiving 80-milliequivalent doses of potassium over an eight day period while she was a patient at Bethany Home of Alexandria. A state investigation determined that the improper potassium dose was to blame for her cardiac arrest. Making this tragedy even more concerning is the fact that the exceedingly high...
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Nurse Admits To Over-medicating Nursing Home Patients
With a criminal trial set to begin, a former nurse has pleaded guilty to criminal neglect charges as opposed to letting a jury decide her fate. The nurse identified as Marty Himebaugh and her supervisor Penny Whitlock faced multiple criminal counts for their roles in a series of suspicious patients deaths at Woodstock Care Center (Illinois). Authorities quickly ascended on the nursing home after they received reports of six suspect deaths of patients at the facility from an overdose of the painkiller, morphine. Though there was insufficient evidence to establish the patients died from morphine intoxication (overdose), the investigation did...
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'Significant Medication Errors' Discovered In Nursing Home Following Investigation Related To Patient Injury & Death
Following a medication-error related death and other medication-related problems that resulted in patient injuries, Minnesota Department of Heath investigators concluded that Fair Oaks Lodge in Wadena, MN was guilty of neglect and other federally mandated nursing home standards. The 'major medication errors' occurred within 16 days of one another. According to the State's investigative report: A medication aide mistakenly gave an Alzheimer's patient drugs for her central nervous system, the heart and anti-psychotic medication all of which resulted in an immediate drop of her blood pressure. Despite being rushed to the emergency room, the elderly woman died three days later....
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Insulin Overdose Kills Nursing Home Resident
A nursing home resident in England died after receiving 5 times the normal dosage by a nurse at the nursing home where she resided. The woman who had Parkinson's was unable to communicate her physical needs or her insulin dosage to the nursing home employees. An insulin overdose results in low blood sugar levels, or hypoglycemia. Symptoms of hypoglycemia include: Anxiety Confusion Extreme hunger Fatigue Irritability Sweating or clammy skin Trembling hands If sugar levels continue to fall during an insulin overdose, serious medical complications and even death. Low blood sugar is defined as less than 70 mg/dL. Hypoglycemia is...
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