Florida Nursing Home Lawyer Blog
Injuries resulting from falls are the reason for almost 40 percent of all preventable hospital visits by nursing home residents, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Too many of these falls go underreported. Even when they are reported, there is a false assumption that it’s simply a part of normal aging. It’s not. The risk of falls in nursing homes can and should be substantially minimized with proper policy and procedure, adequate staffing, the right equipment and appropriate supervision.
But the numbers tell us far too many nursing homes are failing when it comes to fall prevention.
Just recently, a Massachusetts nurse whom state health officials cited for failure to properly attend a nursing home patient who suffered a fatal fall agreed to surrender his license for three years (after which time he could re-apply for it). However, The Worcester Telegram reports the nurse failed to sign off on the resolution prior to the deadline, so now it’s unclear if he’s still holding his license. Part of the agreement was that he would concede that while working as a licensed practical nurse (LPN) at a nursing home, he did not properly assess a patient who had fallen and he also failed to document or report the fall. This admission would have been acknowledgment that his conduct was not aligned with standards set forth by the state board of nursing. Continue reading →