Neglect led to resident's amputation
Knoxville News had an article about a nursing home resident who lost a leg due to the nursing home's neglect. Neglect of a resident at Hillcrest-West nursing home led to the amputation of her leg last month, according to state reports quoting a doctor who consulted on the case.
The state has censured Hillcrest nursing homes for providing substandard care three times in the past two years. Obviously the corporate managers ignored the problems and did nothing to correct them.
Now, as in the past, Hillcrest is in danger of losing federal funding if problems aren't corrected. Hillcrest-West has until May 25 to submit a detailed plan of correction, said Lee Millman, a spokeswoman for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. During a survey conducted April 28 through May 2, the state found violations of "resident protection, administration, records and reporting, and nursing services standards."
Details in the recent state report on Hillcrest-West state that the amputee's pressure wound was at the most severe level when first noted by staff Feb. 7. The leg was amputated above the knee April 22. Doctors said the bone likely was infected and the wound was "exquisitely (intensely) painful" when manipulated.
A podiatrist said the pressure wound was the "result of neglect ... the worst wound I have seen in 12 years," and the surgeon who removed the leg concurred, the report states. The same patient didn't get the amount of tube-fed nutrition and saline ordered by her doctor, with feedings skipped repeatedly, the report notes. Also, the family was not informed of the pressure wound and was shocked when they learned of the pending amputation, the state report said.
State inspections from 2006 and 2007 report Hillcrest-West patients found on the floor after apparently falling from beds or wheelchairs, failure to properly use restraints or alarms, patients who were unclean, and inadequate staffing.
