South Carolina Nursing Home Blog : South Carolina Nursing Home Lawyer & Attorney : Poliakoff & Associates Law Firm : Elderly Care, Senior Care

SignonSandiego had an article about another California nursing home being hit with the most severe citation – and the maximum fine of $100,000 – in connection with a patient who died from a preventable fall.   I wish more States including apathetic South Carolina would investigate, enforce, and fine nursing home incidents like California.

The patient, who was not identified, was recovering from hip surgery at Aviara Healthcare Center on Regal Road in Encinitas.  He was admitted to the facility in April for physical therapy and was a known risk for falls.  He fell twice there within 24 hours between May 9 and 10.  After the first fall, the Aviara staff put an alarm on the patient's gown. Despite the alarm sounding, no staff member responded when the patient got out of bed and walked into the hallway.   This probably took several minutes but no employee came in to check on him or assist him. alarms are only as good as the people responding to them.

 The wall in that area lacked a handrail, so when the man began stumbling, he grabbed a large mechanical device used to lift residents out of bed.   He fell and pulled the equipment down to the floor with him, and his head hit the metal frame of the lift, according to a report by the California Department of Public Health. The patient was hospitalized and died from the blunt-force trauma.

Seven Aviara employees said the lift was supposed to be kept in a shower room and not the hallway. Even after the man's death, a state health investigator found the lift still stored in the same hallway location.

Aviara also was fined $16,000 because it failed to closely monitor a patient who wandered away from the facility three times within nine hours last month.
 

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The St. Clair Record had an article about the recent lawsuit filed for a resident who died after the nursing home allowed the elderly woman to fall multiple times causing her death.  Dora Haskins-Bond lived at Eldercare Inc., doing business as Calvin Johnson Care Center, from December 2004 until July 31.   During her stay at the center, Haskins-Bond fell on July 7, sustaining fractures to her left femur and right knees.   Because Haskins-Bond had previously fallen several times while staying at Calvin Johnson, the home should have known of her susceptibility to falls and fractures and done something to prevent the falls.

The center and its owners failed to provide adequate resources and monitoring for Haskins-Bond to prevent her from falling.  Because of her fall, Haskins-Bond incurred substantial medical costs, endured substantial pain and suffering in her body and mind and suffered disability, disfigurement and an aggravation to her pre-existing health conditions.

In addition to Calvin Johnson, Eldercare's administrative manager, Steven Wolf, and Prudence Wolf, who had an ownership interest in the company, are included as defendants in the suit.

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Article about lawsuit over husband's fall at nursing home by David Yates, writer for The Southeast Texas Record. 

The nursing home staff found him in a pool of his own blood two years ago.  Clifford Ozen has suffered from seizures and decreased mobility sinc ethat fall.  The Senior Rehabilitation and Skilled Nursing Center in Port Arthur allowed Mr. Ozen to fall from his bed.  His wife, Sharon Ozen, filed suit against the healthcare provider July 9 in Jefferson County District Court.

On July 28, 2006, Sharon Ozen visited her husband at the 199-bed rehabilitation facility.   After leaving the center, Sharon received a call and was advised that her husband was being rushed to the hospital.   "According to Mr. Ozen's chart, an aide called a nurse because he was found on the floor with his head lying against the frame of the bedside table," the lawsuit said. "Defendant's staff observed blood on the floor in a puddle, as well as a contusion and laceration to the top of Mr. Ozen's head."

Since the fall, Clifford Ozen has suffered from seizures and has been bedridden. Upon his admission to the nursing home in January 2006, Clifford was diagnosed with dementia, confusion, wandering and an unsteady gait.   All risk factors for falling.  Nursing home was on notice that he could fall but did nothing to try to prevent him from injuring himself even though his wife consented to the use of restraints and safety devicesto protect him.

"The only safety precautions being utilized for Mr. Ozen were side rails on his bed and geriatric chair," the suit says. "These precautions were used only intermittently. Further, during his stay, he was unable to ambulate himself and had an impaired safety awareness."

Sharon alleges she informed the nursing home staff of her concerns, but the healthcare provider negligently failed to assess her husband's risk for falling.  The nursing home also allegedly "failed to adequately protect him from falling in light of his confusion, agitation and impaired safety awareness."

Senior Rehabilitation and Skilled Nursing Center is owned by Victoria, Texas-based Regency Nursing & Rehabilitation Centers, Inc.

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The News & Observer of Raleigh has an interseting article about the "new philosophy" of limiting or preventing nursing home residents from being in a wheelchair as long as the resident wants.

The article argues that older people's health, mobility and self-image can suffer from too much time in wheelchairs. More than 24,000 North Carolina nursing home residents - about two-thirds of the total population - use wheelchairs as their main means of getting around.   

Ways to limit unnecessary wheelchair use are part of a movement that gives priority to the well-being of residents and their caregivers, above the functions of the nursing home or convenience of the staff.

The Midwest-based group called GROW - Get Residents Out of Wheelchairs - has taken up the cause on a national level. The nonprofit urges nursing homes to help residents use regular chairs, couches, recliners when sitting "is considered the norm and socially accepted." That includes for meals, TV watching, socializing with family and friends, and resting when tired.

Advocates acknowledge that wheelchairs have their uses for certain residents at certain times.
Advocates and academics say the downsides to spending too much time in a wheelchair are varied, but specific. They include a greater chance of pressure sores, significant discomfort and physical strain from operating chairs.

In addition, people in wheelchairs can be perceived as less able and are even spoken to differently in what becomes a self-perpetuating cycle of helplessness. Perhaps most importantly, loss of mobility can begin within a few days if someone starts using a wheelchair instead of walking.

Solutions are readily available in concept, but harder in reality. The GROW Coalition wants a requirement that nursing homes carry out a resident assessment before placing anyone in a wheelchair. In addition, lowered staffing ratios would let a center's caregiver take more time with slow-moving residents.

Easier access to meals and other services should mean that more North Carolina nursing-home residents will be able to stay healthy and mobile.

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