Happy Fourth Of July From The Nursing Homes Abuse Blog
Happy 4th of July! As with all holidays, it's important to remember friends and relatives who may be unable to join in the fun due to illness or immobility. Take a few moments out of your day and visit--- or at least call-- your family in a nursing home or assisted living facility. ...
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How Do I Begin The Search For Care Options?
I've been focusing some recent Nursing Homes Abuse Blog entries regarding using various web resources for the selection of a nursing home or assisted living facility. We've spent a fair amount of time discussing the resources available via: states' Department of Health, court websites and medicare, but there are many privately run sites that provide a terrific source of information-- and even candid reviews of facilities. Below is an entry provided to me by the good folks at OurParents, an online resource that can help navigate families though the tricky world of securing proper living arrangements for the elderly. Caring...
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Longer Hours For Nurses Usually Translates To Poor Patient Care
A recent study conducted by researchers at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in conjunction with the University of Maryland School of Nursing confirms what many people have long suspected-- tired nurses are more likely to make mistakes when it comes to patient care. In researching this conclusion, 633 hospital nurses were evaluated in North Carolina and Illinois. Though 12-hour shifts may be popular amongst nurses and hospitals alike, the longer shifts resulted in an increased death rate for patients related to pneumonia and acute myocardial infarctions (heart attacks). What makes this study different from similar studies in the past is...
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Medical Facilities Are Not Doing Enough To Prevent Pressure Ulcers On Patients' Heels
Surprisingly, heel pressure sores are poised to overtake the buttocks as the most common area of the body where pressure sores develop. While the underlying causes of heel-related pressure sores remain similar to their peers: mmobility Friction Shear Unrelieved pressure These factors combined with the physical structure of the foot make the heel area particularly susceptible to developing pressure sores in both the acute care (hospitalization) and long-term setting (nursing homes). As many as 1 in 3 patients in acute or long-term care setting may develop some type of pressure sore on their heel during their admission. While heel pressure...
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Is Your Nursing Home Making you Sick? Long-term Care Facilities Provide An Ideal Environment For Communicable Diseases
Overcrowding is a common problem and complaint at many nursing home facilities. These facilities house large numbers of elderly residents, often in close proximity to each other, creating the ideal environment for dangerous outbreaks of communicable diseases. Communicable diseases are diseases that spread from person to person (contagious, infectious). These diseases are caused by germs (fungi, viruses, bacteria, and parasites). Disease Prevention Communicable diseases are spread by organisms that live in the soil, water, and air. They can be spread by: Touching Breathing Eating Drinking Kissing Sexual contact Insect bites Animals Our bodies have numerous microorganisms that live both in and on our bodies...
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Bed Sore Prevention May Require Nursing Homes To Obtain Pressure Relieving Devices For Their Patients
Today marks the 6th entry in the collaborative series I am doing with David Terry regarding the Six Common Causes of Bed Sore & What Caregivers Can Do To Improve Care. For this final entry David addresses the use of pressure relieving devices to combat the development of bed sores. As a lawyer who sees a significant number of cases where nursing home or hospital patients have developed bed sores (also referred to as: pressure sores, pressure ulcers or decubitus ulcers) during a short or long-term admission, I feel as though the most progress has been made with respect to...
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Dehydration & The Development Of Bed Sores In Nursing Home And Hospital Patients
In the first part of my collaborative series with attorney David Terry, I will address the relation of dehydration with the development of bed sores (or pressure sores, pressure ulcer or decubitus ulcers-- whatever you prefer to call them). Simply put: dehydration occurs when a person does not receive enough liquids though eating, drinking or through mechanical intervention such as intravenous fluids or a feeding tube to maintain their optimal physical functioning. When the body is deprived to fluid intake, imbalances in the bodies chemistry occur and there is a reduction of blood volume. Alterations in blood chemistry and reduction...
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Insight On The State Of Nursing Homes From The Director Of Michigan Disability Rights Coalition
The most recent portion of my attempt to get insights on the state of nursing homes comes from Norm DeLisle, the Executive Director of Michigan Disability Rights Coalition. Norm has an extensive background advocating for seniors in Michigan. Thanks Norm! Who are you and what type of work do you do? My name is Norm DeLisle, and I am the Executive Director of Michigan Disability Rights Coalition. MDRC is a training and policy impact organization. We have collaborated with senior advocates for nearly a decade in advancing nursing home and long term care reform in Michigan. What are some positive...
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Insight On The Nursing Home Industry From A Registered Nurse
This is the first in a series of interviews I have done with professionals in the medical, legal and caregiving communities related to the current state of nursing homes in the United States. I am always in favor of getting different perspectives from professionals as to their perceptions and suggestions. I hope you find these interviews as informative as I do. Who are you and what type of work do you do? Angela Morrow, RN, BSN, CHPN. I'm a registered nurse with a specialty in hospice and palliative care. I care for patients and their loved ones at the end...
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$5 Million In Punitive Damages Awarded To Widow In Bed Sore Case Against Nursing Home & Hospital
A Philadelphia jury awarded $5 million in punitive damages to the widow of a man who died from bed sores he developed during a hospitalization and then worsened during a subsequent nursing home admission. The case, believed to be the first of its kind in terms of awarding punitive damages against a nursing home in Philadelphia courts, was allocated: $1.5 million against Jeanes Hospital and $3.5 million against Hillcrest Convalescent Home. According to widow's lawyer, Steven R. Maher, Jeans Hospital failed to diagnose the man's urinary tract infection that contributed to the development of bed sores (also referred to...
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