Of all the different types of injuries that nursing home patients may be susceptible to, falls remain one of the more difficult types of incidents to entirely prevent. By law, each patient in a nursing home needs to be assessed and re-assessed to determine what safeguards are appropriate to keep the patient safe. In the […]
Many patients in nursing homes have do-not-resuscitate (DNR) orders on file to keep staff aware of their end of life wishes. While such decisions are indeed quite personal and should be respected by the facility, my guess is that these DNR orders were intended to encompass situations where a patient was theoretically suffering from an […]
When it comes to caring for disabled nursing home patients, a momentary diversion by staff member can has disastrous consequences for the patient. Many disabled patients are considered to by ‘full assist’ patients meaning that staff are to continuously look after them while they are under their care. Where ever the patient goes, the staff […]
An alarming amount of nursing home patients are medicated with antipsychotic drugs, yet most do not have any type of psychosis. One nursing home in Massachusetts, Farren Care Center, has 71% of their patients on these drugs and they are far from being alone. The question is why are nursing homes using these drugs and […]
A nasty secret in the nursing home industry remains that a significant number of facilities have little or no liability insurance to cover situations where a patient (or visitor) suffers an injury due to neglect or abuse. Of course, no one ever goes into a nursing home with the expectation that they may be injured […]
In a bold display of laziness, two nurses at a Minnesota Nursing Home have been terminated from their positions after an investigation at Cook Nursing Home revealed that the nurses were lying about administering blood sugar tests to seven residents at the facility. The imaginary blood sugar levels were then used to arbitrarily administer insulin […]
Moving a patient from one device to another– or typically referred to as a ‘transfer’– is one of the most essential services a nursing home provides to immobile patients, yet it is also one of the most common sources of patient injury. Transfers are deemed to be such an important part of patient care, that […]
Violence in a nursing home setting can take place at any time– at any facility. While there certainly are procedures that facilities can put into place to reduce the number of these incidents, each episode needs to be closely examined to determine the specifics behind the incident and to prevent the eruption of similar problems […]
Articles: Oklahoma Whitaker v. Hill Nursing Home, Inc. (210 P.3d 877) CASE: Whitaker v. Hill Nursing Home, Inc. (210 P.3d 877) PARTIES: Plaintiff (Appellee) – Christine Whitaker, Personal Representative for the Estate of James Richard (Deceased) Defendant (Appellant) – Hill Nursing Home, Inc. COURT: Court of Appeals of Oklahoma (2009) PROCEDURAL HISTORY: Whitaker, granddaughter of James Richard (deceased), brought […]
Number of nursing homes in Illinois: 789 Patients living in Illinois nursing homes: 75,218 Occupancy rates of Illinois nursing homes: 78.6% Average number of deficiencies at each Illinois nursing home: 9.3 Percent of Illinois nursing homes with serious deficiencies for actual harm to patient: 42.7% Most common deficiencies at Illinois nursing homes: Accident Environment, Professional […]
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