By Nursing Home Law Center
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 new technology in the utilization of pressure relieving devices.
Special padding on wheelchairs, heel pads and pressure relieving mattresses are the most common types of pressure relieving devices used in nursing homes and hospitals. Like all medical devices however, to achieve maximum benefit from the new technology staff must receive proper training.
Occasionally, we see long delays between the implementation of the pressure relieving devices from the time that they were originally ordered by the doctor. Sometimes the delay is based on the fact that the facility may be inadequately stocked with the devices. Yet in other situations, facilities may claim that such devices are too expensive.
Unfortunately, given the alternative – having patients with advanced bed sores, the reality is that these devices are a bargain from both a cost savings standpoint in terms of bed sore treatment expenses as well as the physical and psychological toll bed sores take on patients.
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