Category: Nursing Home Neglect

An often fatal superbug is increasingly being found in hospitals and nursing homes across the country. A formerly obscure drug-resistant bacteria, Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), has been found in health care facilities throughout the nation’s largest cities such as New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. The deadly family of bacteria was named for its ability to fight off carbapenem antibiotics which are normally a medical provider’s last line of defense against superbugs. Since 2008, thousands of hospital and nursing home patient deaths were purportedly caused by CRE. Earlier this year, a strain of the bacteria reportedly killed seven, including a 16-year-old, at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center.

The first known case of CRE was described in 2001. Since then, the superbug has allegedly shown up at hospitals and skilled nursing facilities in at least 41 states. At this time, the reported rate of death for patients who contract CRE is about 40 percent. Because CRE infection may affect a nursing home resident’s intestines, urinary tract, or cause pneumonia, many cases likely go undiagnosed. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Arjun Srinivasan said CRE is currently the most serious threat to hospital and skilled nursing facility patients across the country.

Unfortunately, CRE can allegedly remain in an individual’s system without any symptoms until the immune system of an infected person is compromised. According to Dr. Mary Hayden, Director of Clinical Microbiology at Rush University Medical Center, studies show that about three percent of hospital intensive care patients in Chicago carry CRE. In addition, the same studies show that up to 30 percent of long-term care facility residents in the area are infected. The bacteria can allegedly be transmitted to others by mere contact. Dr. Hayden stated CRE is especially dangerous for nursing home residents due the easy manner in which it is spread. She believes implementing a universal patient record system that tracks both CRE and facility changes might help keep the elderly and disabled in Illinois safer.

At this time, most long-term care facilities purportedly lack the capacity to properly identify, screen, and isolate residents who are infected with CRE. In addition, the Medicaid and Medicare federal systems do not report cases of CRE. A 2008 study regarding CRE infection rates in New York skilled nursing facilities allegedly found that many facilities do not keep abreast of most drug-resistant bacteria despite that the risk for infection is allegedly high for nursing home residents. According to physicians, heavy vigilance with regard to hand washing and other infection-control measures can help control dangerous CRE and other disease outbreaks.

Skilled nursing facility residents normally live in close proximity to one another. Because of this, communicable diseases are often spread easily in nursing homes. Although Illinois nursing home employees are required to take precautionary measures designed to control the spread of disease, many fail to do so. Unfortunately, such failures can have disastrous consequences for facility residents.

Appropriate sanitation is vital to the health of long-term care facility residents in Illinois and elsewhere. It is both unnecessary and negligent for skilled nursing facility staff to fail to adhere to recommended sanitation procedures. Additionally, all nursing homes in the State of Illinois must designate an infection prevention and control professional to create and implement policies that are designed to reduce and limit the spread of communicable diseases. If your relative died after he or she contracted a preventable disease due to nursing home caregiver negligence, you are advised to discuss the situation with a nursing home abuse and neglect attorney.
Continue reading “Illinois Nursing Home Residents at Risk for Contracting Deadly Drug-Resistant Superbug”

Bed rails often used as a safety measure in nursing homes across the country have recently come under scrutiny due to hundreds of reported deaths. According to data collected by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, more than 150 senior citizens and other long-term care facility residents died after becoming caught in side rails installed on their bed between 2003 and May 2012. In addition, about 36,000 nursing home residents were reportedly treated in hospitals for bed rail injuries during the same time period. According to officials at the nation’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the data collected from hospital and death records likely failed to represent the true number of such injuries because in many cases references to bed rails may not have been included on death certificates or in patient medical files.

In 1995, the FDA reportedly issued a safety warning regarding the dangers associated with the use of bedrails in nursing homes and other care facilities. The organization failed to require safety labeling of the products, however, and voluntary bed rail safety guidelines were not established until 2006. The guidelines include recommendations regarding maximum gap size, instruct care facilities on proper bed rail use, and outline which patient body parts are most at risk for becoming caught.

According to some experts, bed rail deaths are avoidable and additional safety warnings should be required on the products. Former FDA official Larry Kessler stated none of the bed rails in use in 1995 would have passed proposed safety standards. He also said mandatory design changes could have cost bed rail manufacturers and long-term care facilities hundreds of millions of dollars. Still, many senior citizens die every year as a result of becoming caught in a care facility bed rail. According to data compiled by the New York Times, approximately 550 people have died as a result of becoming trapped in a bed rail since 1995. 27 of those largely preventable deaths reportedly occurred in 2011.

FDA officials recently stated bed rail injuries and deaths are currently being studied and possible safety action will be considered in the near future. Still, implementing any recommended safety changes may be difficult. Although the agency is tasked with regulating medical products in the U.S., many beds affixed with so-called safety rails are sold as consumer products and consequently fall under the jurisdiction of the Consumer Product Safety Commission. This means FDA requirements and other guidelines do not apply. Officials from both federal entities are reportedly working together in an effort to close the regulatory gap.

Bed rails are commonly used in Illinois nursing homes to keep seniors and others with limited mobility from falling out of bed. Unfortunately, many seniors, especially those who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, may become trapped between the device and their own mattress. Without proper supervision, frail and elderly loved ones may be severely injured or killed by bed rails that were installed to keep them safe. If your parent or other loved one was hurt or killed after becoming trapped in a skilled nursing facility bed rail, you should contact an experienced nursing home abuse and neglect attorney.
Continue reading “Bed Rail Deaths Come Under Scrutiny in Illinois and Nationwide”

One in five seniors and disabled individuals will reportedly suffer a fall injury within the first 30 days of entering a skilled nursing facility. Researchers from the University of Southern California reportedly found that nursing homes that employ a higher ratio of certified nursing assistants (CNAs) per resident had a lower fall rate. As part of a study, researchers evaluated data on about 230,000 Medicare and Medicaid patients who were admitted to almost 10,000 long-term care facilities throughout the nation in 2006. Approximately 21 percent of the new nursing home residents reportedly experienced at least one fall within the first month.

Researchers believe the lower number of new resident fall rates at some nursing homes was due to the higher number of CNAs available to assist them. According to study authors, CNAs often provide the most direct care to nursing home residents as they engage in activities that pose a high fall risk, such as using the restroom. Although long-term care facility falls reportedly pose a well-documented risk, researchers believe the recent study was the first to examine fall rates for newly admitted nursing home patients.

Researchers said it can be challenging to identify fall risks for newly admitted skilled nursing facility residents because so much is new and unfamiliar. In addition, many patients enter a care facility for assistance during rehabilitation from a previous injury. Managing fall risks for such patients is reportedly especially important in order to ensure that they may successfully return home without added delay.

According to the nation’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly 2,000 seniors die as a result of fall-related injuries sustained in a nursing home every year. In addition, many who survive a fall may suffer a hip fracture, head injury, or another permanent disability. In fact, about 20 percent of nursing home falls reportedly result in a serious injury. CDC data also states that approximately 20 percent of senior citizen fall deaths occur in nursing homes despite that only about five percent of seniors reside in a long-term care facility.

Although falls may be caused by underlying health problems, environmental and other hazards may also be the source of fall injuries in nursing homes. For example, poor lighting, wet floors, improperly fitted wheelchairs, and the wrong bed height can increase the likelihood of resident injury. Additionally, failure to monitor a nursing home resident after any changes in medication may also contribute to patient falls. According to the CDC, nursing home staff can prevent falls by ensuring the underlying medical conditions of residents are addressed, educating employees regarding fall prevention strategies, installing safety equipment like handrails throughout the facility, and remediating any other environmental factors that may affect a patient’s ability to move.

As this study demonstrates, nursing home residents risk serious injury and death when facilities fail to employ enough direct care staff. The Illinois Nursing Home Care Act required long-term care facilities throughout the state to increase staff numbers in an effort to meet the needs of all residents. Still, inadequate staffing levels are a common factor in nursing home abuse or neglect in Illinois. If you believe a loved one was injured or died as a result of nursing home abuse or neglect, you should discuss your concerns with a nursing home abuse and neglect lawyer as soon as possible.
Continue reading “Fall Risk in Illinois and Other Nursing Homes is Highest During the First Month of Residency”

Chicago nursing home lawyers at Abels & Annes understand the risks associated with fall accidents in nursing homes.

A fall accident always has the potential to be serious, even when the victim is a child or healthy adult. About 50 percent of those who die each year in fall accidents are killed by a traumatic brain injury. Broken bones and joints are also common.But when the victim is an elderly adult in a nursing home, injuries often result in a permanent reduction in quality of life, increased issues with mobility, emotional issues associated with the fear of falling, and premature death.

Chicago nursing home neglect attorneys know that many fall accidents can be prevented with proper staffing and equipment, by ensuring residents keep as active as possible, and by periodic review of medications for complications and side effects. The truth of the matter is that we put older loved ones in nursing homes because of the professional care available — and we do it in an effort to prevent just such an accident from occurring.

Unfortunately, reports continue to show that nursing home falls are an epidemic. Recently, the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society reported 1 in 5 newly admitted nursing home residents will suffer a fall accident during their stay.

The study from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles looked at 230,730 residents who entered nursing homes in 2006 for the first time. Nearly 50,000 suffered at least one nursing home fall accident during the reporting period.

“A fall can delay or permanently prevent the patient from returning to the community, said Natalie E. Leland, Ph. D., in a statement accompanying the study’s release. “Identifying risk of falling is essential for implementing fall prevention strategies and facilitating successful discharge back to the community.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports 20,000 older adults die in fall accidents each year — a number that has increased steadily for years. Another 2.2 million are seen in emergency rooms for fall-related injuries. Nationwide, one-third of adults over the age of 65 fall each year. That makes fall accidents the leading cause of accidental death among older adults.

Common Causes of Nursing Home Fall Accidents in Chicago

-Lack of Supervision -Lack of proper equipment, including poor bed-height -Missing or inadequate handrails/assist devices -Inactivity of patient -Side-effects/complications of medication -Poor footwear -Wet floors/obstacles -Poor hydration or nutrition
In some cases, fall accidents may go unreported or untreated, which can also lead to medical complications, including reduced function and quality of life. While it’s true those in nursing homes may be frailer and more prone to fall accidents, they deserve the professional care and supervision for which they are paying. And that alone is frequently enough to prevent an accident from occurring.
Continue reading “Negligent Supervision Increases risk for Nursing Home Falls in Chicago”