Articles Posted in nursing home negligence

Comedian and Actress Phyllis Diller recently passed away at the age of 95, following a decline in her health that was marked by a fall in which she injured her wrist and hip.

While there is no indication whatsoever that there was any negligence involved in her death, Delray Beach nursing home attorneys know that falls can be incredibly dangerous for the elderly.

In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that falls are the top cause of death from injury among people who are older than 65. What’s more, about 30 percent of suffer some type of serious injury from such incidents. These might include a deep cut, a hip fracture or a head trauma – any one of which can ultimately result in death.

We know that falls among the elderly are common whether they are in assisted care or not – more than double the rate of the general population. The latter has a fall in about 43 out of every 1,00 people. Compare that with those older than 75, and those figures increase to 115 falls for every 1,000 people.

The rate is even higher for nursing home residents. A 2004 study published by the UCLA Multicampus Program in Geriatrics and Gerontology indicating that there were about 1.5 falls per nursing home bed each year. The study found that when patients lived in an assisted living community center, falls were less likely to occur. Nursing homes, however, had a poor track record with regard to preventing falls. In fact, a nursing home fall in Delray Beach could be a clear sign of neglect – particularly if the facility is slow to obtain medical assistance for the patient. Sixty-five and older nursing home residents are four times more likely to die of injuries related to a fall than those who live elsewhere.

We do understand that nursing home residents are more likely to be more frail in the first place – and therefore more susceptible to serious injury from falls. However, the fact is that most falls in nursing homes are preventable, and yet they account for about 36 percent of all hospital emergency room visits from nursing home residents. It’s estimated that about 1,800 nursing home patients die each year as a result of fall-related injuries.

In some cases, it’s not even that the patient has fallen, but rather that they have been dropped. This is particularly common for individuals who are not independently mobile – or are at least somewhat limited in their mobility.

Nursing home staff members are supposed to determine a patient’s fall risk on a regular basis, and take appropriate action when necessary. Those residents who may have a history of falls should be protected using alarms on beds or chairs to let staffers know when the patient is trying to get up without help.

Some fall incidents related to neglect or negligence can be caused by the following:

–Facilities that fail to offer assistance or provide special bathing equipment, chairs, grips or stands;

–Facilities that fail to prevent certain obvious hazards, such as slippery floors, faulty wheelchairs, cluttered hallways or living spaces and poor lighting;

–Shoes that don’t fit correctly or failure to offer the proper walking aids;

–Failure to properly prepare to transfer someone into and out of bed or to the restroom or other activities;

–Stairways and walkways that aren’t properly maintained;

–Facilities that don’t properly train staff or don’t have enough staff to provide proper supervision;
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One form of nursing home negligence in Boynton Beach that you may not be aware of involves medication.

Our nursing home lawyers know that a lot of organizations don’t adequately staff their facilities. Or even when they do, those staffers may not be properly trained.

Either of these situations can lead to medication errors – over-medication, under-medication, wrong medications or skipped medications.

Any one of these can lead to potentially life-threatening consequences for the patient.

Another issue, however, is the intentional over-medication of some patients. That’s the problem being addressed now by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

The agency recently announced a partnership with federal and state agencies, nursing homes and advocacy groups to reduce the use of antipsychotic drugs for dementia patients. Their goal is a 15 percent reduction in a single year.

Antipsychotic drugs – and we’re talking here substances like clozapine, ziprasidone, aripiprazole, quetiapine and olanzapine – are approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration for use by patients who have specific mental health disorders such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.

What they are NOT approved for is dementia patients. In fact, a lot of these prescriptions have large warnings on the label that indicate they are dangerous when used by the elderly.

In fact, a study published in the British Medical Journal earlier this year indicated that of more than 75,000 nursing home patients in 45 state between 2001 and 2005, those given antipsychotics were twice as likely to die much sooner.

Plus, there really is no benefit for the patient. Their condition is never going to improve, and medication does not help them regain any mental function.

So what’s the point?

The fact of the matter is, nursing homes in Boynton Beach and across the country seek to tranquilize these dementia patients. Sedating them, the theory is, makes them less work. Controlling the behavior is the top concern – never mind that the drugs they use to do so accomplish absolutely no good and in fact could kill them.

A report published in 2011 by the federal Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (also known as OIG) found that nearly 15 percent of all nursing home residents with access to Medicare had claims for antipsychotic medications. Of those, nearly 90 percent were for off-label uses – such as dementia.

What’s more, not only are the physicians who work with these facilities prescribing these medications to patients that shouldn’t have them, they are over-prescribing them. In 2010, the OIG said, nearly 20 percent of nursing home patients were given daily doses of antipsychotic medication that went well above the levels recommended by the manufacturers.

In fact, almost 40 percent of patients who had been diagnosed with dementia or who had exhibited signs of dementia were being prescribed antipsychotic medications.

Part of what the partnership will aim to do is to make antipsychotic medication data available to the public on the government website Nursing Home Compare by next month.
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Scary news that could result in a spike of Broward County nursing home negligence cases: a gastrointestinal virus is fast becoming a rampant cause of illness in long-term care centers.

Our Broward nursing home negligence attorneys have been closely following research that was just concluded on the sapovirus, which is fast becoming a common source of sickness for elder adults.

According to MSNBC, the sapovirus is a cousin of the norovirus. This is the typically food-born sickness known to cause outbreaks on cruise ships or other areas where people are in close quarters, especially where there may be unsanitary conditions.

Its lightning-quick spread happens through surface or person-to-person contact and through food. It causes extreme diarrhea, stomach pain and vomiting.

Norovirus illnesses infect about 20 million people every year.

The sapovirus, though, was thought to be fairly less common – until now. Scientists in Minnesota and Oregon have just learned that not only are the instances of illness caused by this bug increasing, they are cropping up more and more in long-term care facilities and nursing homes.

The epidemiologists – or those who study infectious diseases – looked at some 2,100 outbreaks of gastrointestinal illnesses. What they found was more than 50 percent stemmed from the norovirus, while another 25 percent or so were the result of bacteria, parasites or some other bug.

However, in another approximately 145 cases that were previously undetermined, almost 25 percent were caused by the sapovirus. The scientists said the results demand additional research to further understand all of the potential consequences.

What we already know about the sapovirus is that it acts similarly to the norovirus, causing vomiting, fever and diarrhea. And, it seems to be spread the same way.

What’s startling is that nearly 70 percent of sapovirus outbreaks happened in nursing homes and senior care centers.

This is a virus that was first discovered on the other side of the globe in Sapporo, Japan. That was back in the late 70s, although at the time, it was believed to be very rare.

That’s changing, though, and it’s important for nursing home staff, residents and family members to know about it. While this virus is going to make the average, healthy adult quite miserable for a spell, it’s not likely to kill you.

But for the elderly, infirm or very young, it can be deadly. That’s because as you grow older, your immune system weakens. That could mean hospitalization at the very least, and death in the worst case scenario.

The good news is that this virus is preventable with proper sanitation measures. What’s concerning, though, is that many nursing homes across the country have been cited in recent years for unsanitary conditions.

Family members need to be vigilant in making sure that nursing homes are following up with at the very least the basic minimum standards of cleanliness – and perhaps going above and beyond.
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