New Medicare and Medicaid guidelines will soon put pressure on nursing homes and other long-term care facilities to provide better wound-care for their residents. Under the revised pressure ulcer regulations (F-314), facilities will be unable to receive reimbursement from Medicare or Medicaid if the agencies deem the pressure ulcer to be avoidable.

According to McKnight’s Long Term Care News, up to 28% of all residents in long-term care facilities suffer from pressure ulcer’s. The cost for treatment of pressure ulcers is estimated to be more than $1.3 billion.

Under the current system, nursing homes and long-term care facilities may submit charges for pressure ulcer care to Medicare and Medicaid. Essentially, there is no economic incentive to provide preventative pressure ulcer care for most facilities. The new guidelines will put pressure on nursing home owners and administrators to readdress the way they provide care, or they their bottom lines will suffer.

Most facilities wound management guidelines are not adequate. ‘Most of the standards are below what is necessary to decrease the incidence of wounds and manage current wounds,” according to wound care expert, Margaret Bryant, PT.

The first step in providing better wound care is for facilities to provide better training for their staff. ‘Preventing and managing pressure ulcers takes a very aggressive approach–one that requires facility wide buy-in and multi-disciplinary involvement,’ says Heather Hettrick, PT, PhD, a director at American Medical Technologies Inc.

Even the most basic pressure ulcer prevention techniques are ignored or done improperly. In order to prevent pressure sores on heels, off-loading boots are the best choice. However, the boots must be properly sized and adjusted in order to successfully keep the heel in the air as the boots are intended. Improperly used boots are ineffective.

Are bed sores on the heels common?

Bed Sores Continue To Plague Nursing Home & Hospital Patients In All Demographics

Today I met with a family who’s mother recently died from sepsis after a month stay at a Chicago-area hospital. The family hesitantly confided in me that their mother had a gaping hole on her buttocks at the time of her death. While the family obviously was not responsible for their mother’s care when she was in the hospital; they had a sense of responsibility because there is a stigma about bedsores.

Once you see how gruesome an advanced stage bedsore can be, you will never forget it. Decubitus ulcers, commonly known as bed sores, may start in a small area and look similar to a bruise. If left untreated or gone unnoticed, the bed sores may rapidly develop into literally deep holes in the body. Bedsores are generally categorized I, II, III and IV. A stage IV bedsore may involve dead skin, a putrid smell, and a tunneling which often times results in internal organs becoming visible.

Stages of pressure sores

Lawyer Resources for Bed Sores

What is the cause behind these pressure sores?

Where do these sores develop in nursing home and hospital patients?

Other factors contributing to the development of decubitus ulcers

Further complications related to open pressure sores

Early detection is important to the treatment of pressure ulcers

Hold the facility responsible for the negligent care of your loved one

Be aware of the dangers. Bed sores can be fatal.

Lawyers Who Take Bed Sore Cases Seriously

Wounds Take A Toll On Nursing Home’s Bottom Line

Bedsores. Completely Preventable? Absolutely.

Stages of pressure sores