Pressure Sores

April 13, 2019

Inspection Reveals Pervasive Neglect at Veteran Affairs Nursing Homes

The Department of Veteran Affairs released its first report on the status of its nursing homes this month and the results show widespread neglect and abuse at the government-run facilities, perhaps even worse than the well-documented problems seen in its private-care counterpart. The federal government is responsible for caring for the country’s 40,000 veterans and, according to its own report, is doing a poor job. The report analyzed 99 VA nursing homes across the country and reported the findings of surprise inspections conducted by outside contractors. The VA spokesperson said that releasing the report in its entirety is part of a new push by the agency for transparency and accountability.

The findings of the report are daunting. Eleven of the 99 nursing homes were so unsafe that veteran safety was in “immediate jeopardy.” More than half of the nursing homes (52) were deficient enough to cause “actual harm” to their veteran residents. “That is really bad. It’s really bad,” Richard Mollot, executive director of the Long Term Care Community Coalition, a nursing home advocacy nonprofit told USA Today.

April 10, 2019

How to Fix Oversight Problem at New York Nursing Homes

by Gallivan & Gallivan

New York’s Department of Health appears unable to adequately monitor the nursing homes across the state and hold poor performers accountable. Elder care advocates say the state agency must reform to protect senior citizens from poor care and nursing home abuse. Thankfully, legislators in Albany appear to finally be listening.

According to The Buffalo News, Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples Stokes is co-sponsoring a bill regulating the number of nurses at each assisted care facility in the state. The appropriately named Safe Staffing for Quality Care Act would mandate that each nursing home have RNs (registered nurses) and that practical nurses and CNAs (certified nursing assistants) spend a minimum of 291 minutes with each resident. According to federal data, nursing staff levels are the largest indicator of whether a nursing home is providing quality care to its residents. Unfortunately, the same federal data shows that most nursing homes are grossly deficient when it comes to staffing. According to a study released in January 2019, only 7.5 percent of nursing homes across the state currently satisfy the requirements laid out in the Safe Staffing for Quality Care Act.

April 8, 2019

Continued Outrage at Neglect and Abuse in New York Nursing Home

by Gallivan & Gallivan

Outrage continues to grow at the poor quality of care being delivered at a New York nursing home. According to an investigation by News10NBC, Sodus Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Sodus, New York is still violating numerous state regulations about the treatment of its senior citizens. The local news agency began investigating Sodus Rehab several years ago and, unfortunately, it does not appear that the quality of care has improved over time. According to the New York Department of Health, the nursing home received 90 citations for health and safety violations in just the last four years. In New York, the average number of violations per nursing home is approximately 30.

After undercover investigations by News10NBC last year showed unsafe and unsanitary conditions, Sodus Rehab says they “cleaned house” and brought in new administrators. Unfortunately, the new staffers do not appear to have fixed any of the nursing home’s problems. In one particularly egregious example cited by the news, Bill Tanner, a nursing home resident with leukemia, dementia and “other health issues,” developed bedsores that one doctor described as “some of the worst” he had ever seen. Bedsores, also called pressure ulcers or pressure injuries, could have been easily prevented in Tanner, according to the doctors. Perhaps even more horrifically, the bedsores were only noticed because a former neighbor visiting Tanner noticed a foul smell in the room. According to the neighbor, she asked for a registered nurse and a licensed practical nurse to attend to the elderly man. Sodus Rehab staff said that neither was on-duty at the time.

March 28, 2019

A Better Approach Pressure Sores

by Gallivan & Gallivan

An expert on pressure injuries, also called bedsores or pressure injuries, recommends nursing homes adopt a more individualized approach to preventing and treating the painful and sometimes deadly sores. In an opinion-editorial in McKnight’s Long-Term Care News, Jean Wendland Porter, Regional Director of Therapy Operations at Diversified Health Partners, discusses problems commonly associated with pressure ulcers and alternative approaches that will be more effective at reducing bedsores. In one example, Porter notes the common medical advice to “move a patient around every two hours” fails to take a patient’s ability to move by themselves or any aggravating factors that could make the patient more likely to develop a bedsore, such as a higher BMI or a weakened immune system. According to Porter, the “two hours” rule is not based in science at all and originates in World War II where it was deemed the most efficient method for delivering care to bedridden soldiers.

Instead of following arbitrary, “one-size-fits-all” medical recommendations, Porter likens pressure ulcer prevention measures to selecting a mattress – tailored to the patient’s comfort and healthcare plan. Porter says the best practice involves a “pressure-mapping” solution which displays any pressure points on the patient’s body. With those results, a healthcare plan is developed which includes pressure-relieving devices on areas of the body at high risk for pressure ulcers. This customized plan for each nursing home resident will need to be continually revised as mobility and healthcare needs change.

March 24, 2019

New Data Shows Low Staffing Levels at Nursing Homes

by Gallivan & Gallivan

Recent data published by Nursing Home 411 shows America’s nursing homes continue to struggle with low levels of nursing staff. Adequate staffing is one of the most important factors in providing quality care to nursing home residents. Unfortunately, the nursing home industry has a widespread problem in staffing their facilities with a sufficient number of nurses and medical personnel. The data analyzed by the nonprofit group included all nursing homes receiving Medicare in 2018. The highlights published by Nursing Home 411 include:

Nursing homes spend an average of just 3.5 staff hours with each resident, per day. According to the nursing home advocacy group, the federal government states a minimum of 4.1 hours is required for the average resident.

Nursing homes spend only 0.5 registered nurse staff hours with each resident, per day. A registered nurse is typically more capable and better educated compared to certified nursing assistants. Another federal study cited by Nursing Home 411 recommended increasing registered nurse hours by 10 to 50 percent each day to satisfactorily meet each nursing home resident’s healthcare needs.

March 21, 2019

“Worst Bedsore Ever Seen from Nursing Home” Kills Upstate Man

by Gallivan & Gallivan

After what one upstate nursing home doctor called the “worst bedsore ever seen” killed a once-healthy resident, the elderly man’s son is demanding accountability from the negligent nursing home. Four months after entering Safire Rehabilitation of Northtowns, the 82-year-old Frank L. Williams passed away from an entirely preventable bedsore, also called a pressure ulcer. According to The Buffalo News, Williams’ hospital records list cardiac arrest caused by sepsis, a deadly infection resulting from his bedsores, as the cause of death. According to the New York Department of Health, the number of residents developing bedsores at Safire Rehabilitation is almost double the state average. In the last few years, the number of bedsores has increased at the nursing home.

Speaking to The Buffalo News, Williams son describes his father’s experience at Safire Rehabilitation as a nightmare from the beginning. After suffering a stroke, Williams was released by the local hospital to Safire Rehabilitation. The nursing home apparently accepted the elderly man without having space to treat him, which caused him to spend his first three days in long-term care instead of the rehabilitation unit. Williams son describes the nursing home as windowless and reeking of urine. The nursing staff ignored his father’s pleas to move him around, necessary to prevent a bedsore from developing. After spending three months at Safire Rehabilitation, Williams doctors told his son there was a “little pressure sore” and refused to let the son see the wound.

February 16, 2019

CMS Starts Fining Nursing Home Staff for Failing to Report Elder Abuse

by Gallivan & Gallivan

CMS is preparing to fine nursing home staff and volunteers for refusing to report elder abuse, the agency announced. While the federal agency has been able to fine nursing homes for failing to report abuse, a recent government report showed that crimes against the elderly are still commonplace in nursing homes across the country. The report chided CMS, or the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, for failing to protect America’s senior citizens and recommended aggressive action.

A federal law enacted in 2011 gives CMS the authority to fine individual staff and volunteers at nursing homes across the country, according to Modern Healthcare. The government agency said it will begin seeking civil monetary penalties (or CMPs) of up to $200,000 for staff and volunteers who fail to “report reasonable suspicion of crimes.” The proposed regulation would also protect “whistleblowers” by withdrawing all federal funds from any nursing homes who retaliate against them.

February 8, 2019

New York Lawmakers Move to Establish Minimum Staff Requirements at Nursing Homes

by Gallivan & Gallivan

In response to the increase in for-profit nursing homes and recent data on nursing staff levels across the state, New York lawmakers plan to introduce a bill establishing minimum levels of nursing staff at long-term care facilities across the state. According to state legislators, under-staffing remains a serious problem at New York nursing homes and directly contributes to a lower quality of care for their elderly residents. Originally drafted two years ago, Republicans in the state legislature blocked the measure. However, with Democrats set to control all branches of government next year, the Safe Staffing for Quality Care Act will likely become law.

The proposed legislation will establish a minimum ratio of nursing staff to patients, which will vary by the level of care required for the patient. For patients undergoing active rehabilitation at a nursing home, there cannot be less than one nurse or nursing assistant for each patient. Further, the bill would require a nurse to spend an average of 291 minutes with each patient every day. According to The Buffalo News, this would be a significant change for most nursing homes. According to the newspaper’s analysis, only 8 percent of New York nursing homes currently satisfy these requirements.

January 15, 2019

New York Jury Awards $1.2 Million for Nursing Home Abuse, Bedsores

by Gallivan & Gallivan

A jury in upstate New York awarded a victim of nursing home abuse $1.2 million for its wanton neglect of an elderly resident. The jury found that 72-year-old Shirley Burrows was horrifically neglected by Newfane Rehab & Health Care Center, a long-term care facility in Niagara County. According to The Buffalo News, Burrow’s damages include $775,000 for pain and suffering and $475,000 for violating state public health laws meant to protect nursing home residents. Lawyers for the profit-making nursing home said that insurance will fully cover the settlement.

The mistreatment of Burrows began in May 2015 when she was discharged from the hospital with several “superficial” bedsores. Bedsores, also called pressure injuries or pressure ulcers in the medical community, develop when a person is pressed against a surface for an extended period of time. Due to decreased mobility and a higher rate of hospitalizations, the elderly are highly susceptible to bedsores. When bedsores are minor, they can heal quickly. However, minor bedsores can quickly turn into deep and painful sores when left untreated. Bedsores, especially serious ones, are usually preventable.

January 1, 2019

Over a Decade Later, New York City’s Nursing Homes Still “Age-Old Horror” For Many

by Gallivan & Gallivan

Over a decade after a scathing article in the New York Post about the low-quality of care provided in many New York City nursing homes, the problem continues unabated at many nursing facilities. In 2006, the New York Department of Health fined 48 nursing homes in the five boroughs – including eight with violations so severe that nursing home residents were in “immediate jeopardy.” These nursing homes included:

United Odd Fellow and Rebekah Home. According to the Department of Health, a resident choked to death because the facility lacked adequate staffing. An inspection report from that year concluded that more than half of the staff at United Odd Fellow and Rebekah Home did not know how to perform the Heimlich maneuver.
Split Rock Rehab and Health Care. During 2006, this Bronx nursing home allowed a resident to die from lack of oxygen.