Articles Posted in Nursing Home Abuse

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One of the biggest problems among patients who live in nursing homes is the development of bed sores or pressure ulcers. The medical profession identifies these as decubitus ulcers. These ulcers commonly occur on the feet, backs and buttocks of ill or elderly patients who spend many hours lying in bed.

Family members can help identify problems at nursing homes by noting the position of the patient they are visiting. Is the patient always in the same position? If so, this could result in a bed sore. If the patient is diabetic or has a skin wound of some type, the danger of a bed sore is even greater. Patients should be rotated in bed every two hours at a minimum. Massage can also increase blood flow and help reduce the danger of a bed sore.

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More than 40 million American women are the primary caregivers for a sick person, very often their husbands. According to a recent New York Times article, when a caregiving wife runs into a friend, acquaintance or even a relative, the most frequently asked question is, ”How is he doing?” The Times reports that people often forget to ask about the wife, who may be struggling to juggle a job and child care as well as patient care.

She faces disruptions in her work and social life, sleep habits, exercise routine, household management and financial situation. She may also be stuck with cleaning up bathroom accidents, servicing medical equipment and fulfilling challenging dietary requirements.

And as one expert put it, for some wives, caregiving is ”a roller coaster ride from hell,” with each day bringing new challenges, demands and adjustments. Diana B. Denholm, a psychotherapist, wrote about the life of a caregiver in her book, ”The Caregiving Wife’s Handbook,’‘ recently published by Hunter House.

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A jury has awarded an 84-year-old woman resident of a nursing home $6.5 million following a fall from her bed.
The resident, V.C., was a known fall risk because she had suffered a stroke. She had been living at Stanleytown Healthcare Center. Her personal care plan called for her to use bed and chair alarms.
V.C. rolled out of bed when she attempted to go to the bathroom. She fell, breaking her left shoulder and hip.

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As the U.S. population ages, increasing numbers of people are taking care of elderly relatives. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has released a new study that reports that, in the past three months, 39.8 million Americans have provided unpaid care to someone over 65 because of a condition related to aging.

A story on the recent report was published in the New York Times.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, about 78 million American children were born between 1945 and 1964 in the years following World War II. Now those children are heading into their golden years, starting retirement and facing some of the illnesses usually associated with old age. Many of their caregivers will be their sons and daughters.

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The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported that the average American now lives to 77 years of age. That number has been on the rise for the last several decades.

As Americans live longer, there has been an increase in the number of nursing homes opening in the U.S. Nursing homes offer a safer place for the elderly or infirm to live. These alternative living quarters are for older Americans who are unable to care for themselves.

But as more older Americans move into nursing homes, we also see rising numbers of abuse and neglect cases in these facilities.

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As we age, our health problems multiply, leaving many Americans on numerous medications whether to treat high blood pressure, thyroid problems, high cholesterol, diabetes, Alzheimers disease, etc. And while many of these medications are necessary to prevent serious health problems, they also come with potentially life-threatening side effects. An estimated third of patients over 65 have suffered a serious adverse side effect from their prescription medications.
A recent article in The New York Times highlighted some of the problems with the growing overmedication of the elderly. Recent studies have found that elderly patients are more at risk for adverse drug reactions not only because they are generally on such a large number of medications, but also because some medications can have a different effect on elderly patients. For example, hypnotic sedatives, such as Ativan, that are used to treat anxiety can cause confusion and severe sedation in elderly patients. Likewise, sedating antihistamines can also cause confusion, blurred vision, or drowsiness.
The American Geriatrics Society addressed this issue by publishing new guidelines that identify which medications are most likely to have adverse effects on elderly patients. Again, given that almost half of patients over 65 years-old take five or more medications on a daily basis, these guidelines will be extremely helpful to geriatric doctors. The intent of these new guidelines are not only to help prevent negative medication side effects, but also to decrease the overall cost of medication.

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Doctors and nurses have a responsibility to advocate for their patients and to exercise due diligence in making sure their patients’ needs are being met. That responsibility increases when the patients cannot speak on their own behalf, e.g. when the patient is a child, in a coma, or perhaps a stroke victim. This issue of nurse and doctor responsibility was at the center of a recent Kentucky nursing home abuse lawsuit involving an elderly resident’s injury at a Louisville nursing home.

The patient was an elderly resident who was in the Kentucky nursing home after a stroke left him with decreased mobility. As part of his care and treatment, doctors had instituted a policy that required the Treyton Oak Towers nursing staff to use a lift and two staff members to transfer the resident in and out of his wheelchair. Typically, care plans like this are put into place to help reduce the risk of falls and injuries.

However, in this nursing home abuse case the nursing staff chose not to follow the transferring plan. Instead, just one staff member attempted to move the resident from his wheelchair to his bed. The staff member of course dropped the resident, fracturing both of his legs. Yet rather than telling someone, the staff member simply put the resident back into his bed as if the fall had never happened. And since the resident’s stroke left him unable to tell anyone else about the fall, his fractures also went undiagnosed. It was not until the resident was transferred to a hospital that his fractures were diagnosed and treated. The resident died just two months after the fall.

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As part of an effort to reform Illinois nursing homes, government agencies are attempting to increase their oversight of potential nursing home violations. When the Department of Public Health went to investigate potential nursing home policy violation at an Illinois facility, the Illinois nursing home facility accused the health agency of failing to follow the proper investigation procedures in UDI #10, LLC v. Department of Public Health, No. 1-10-3476 (February 1, 2012).

The nursing home investigation arose after a nursing home patient, herein called R1 to protect his/her identity, died as a result of a choking incident at Pekin Manor. This was the second time R1 had experienced a choking incident in the course of one day. When R1 became unresponsive his wife called a staff member for help. The staff member called the paramedics, but did not perform CPR while waiting for their arrival. R1 was transported to the hospital by the paramedics and ended up dying later that day.

The nursing home facility was operated by UDI #10, LLC (UDI) and had specific policies and procedures in place regarding a similar situation. The policy dictated that a UDI staff member was to stay with R1 and that a staff member was to accompany the paramedics to R1’s room. In addition, the staff member should have performed CPR while awaiting the paramedics’ arrival; the only reason CPR should not have been done was if R1 had a valid do-not-resuscitate (DNR) order in his chart. And while R1 and his wife had signed a DNR order, it was invalid because it was not signed by a doctor.

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As we enter the short, cold days of winter, we remember the advice our parents gave us as we’d leave the house to brave the cold: bundle up, put on a hat, and zip up your jacket. As we ourselves grow older and become parents, it is important we ensure that our own parents and grandparents receive the best possible care. And while nursing home facilities are created to help facilitate this care, the reality is that not all nursing homes are doing so.

This is why in July 2010, Illinois enacted increased regulations to its Illinois Nursing Home Safety Act (SB3226) (Public Act 96-1372). While Illinois’s Nursing Home Care Act was first signed into law in 1979, the 2010 amendments were aimed at increasing the quality of care and regulations for nursing home facilities.

The changes came after a series of articles in The Chicago Tribune highlighted the gross nursing home abuses going on in Illinois’ nursing home facilities. Because of overcrowding and understaffing problems, many Illinois nursing home residents were housed with potentially dangerous residents. Many nursing homes were accepting residents with criminal records or mental health diagnoses and housing them alongside geriatric residents without providing adequate security measures. As a result, an increased number of nursing home residents were getting abused, not by the staff, but by fellow nursing home residents.

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When a civil lawsuit is settled, both parties can agree on whether or not to disclose various aspects of the lawsuit and subsequent settlement. For example, it is common for high profile cases to include a stipulation that neither party will disclose the specifics of the settlement, leaving the public to guess at the amount and terms of the settlement. However, a recent Illinois nursing home malpractice settlement included more unusual terms: neither party would disclose the names of the other party.

The Cook County nursing home lawsuit arose after an 86 year-old woman developed multiple pressure sores all over her body. Pressure sores are a common problem in many nursing homes and can develop when the nursing home resident is not turned or repositioned often enough. In this particular case, the decedent, who we will call Jane Doe, developed sepsis from the multiple pressure sores around her body and ended up dying ten months later.

Ms. Doe’s family brought a nursing home malpractice lawsuit against the unnamed nursing home facility in which they alleged that the nursing home was negligent in that it had failed to develop an appropriate skin care plan to prevent the breakdown of Ms. Doe’s skin. In addition, the complaint alleged that the nursing home had failed to reposition Ms. Doe in a timely manner and did not keep her developing wounds clean.

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