The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) issued a citation to Southpoint Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Chicago after a resident failed to receive the pain medications that had been ordered for him.
Background
The resident in this case, like many other nursing home residents, entered Southpoint Nursing & Rehab from a hospital. He suffered from a series of gunshot wounds that left him with a broken jaw. Because of the injury, he needed to receive tube feedings.
When the state surveyor came to the facility, it was found out the resident had been suffering from high levels of pain throughout his stay. He wasn’t receiving tube feedings regularly. He was also very rarely receiving the high dosage of Tylenol indicated in the order, and he never received any oxycodone because of the issue with the signature from the hospital.
Poor Record-Keeping Leads to Medication Errors
Typically, when residents are transferred to nursing homes from the hospital, there are medication orders that follow them. Part of the transfer orders for this resident was to get the tube feedings, receive a high dosage of Tylenol and oxycodone, when necessary. Ideally, these orders should have been transcribed into the medication administration records so the resident can receive them as intended.
Oxycodone, an opiate pain reliever, required the signature of the ordering physician before it can be administered by the nursing home staff members to the resident.
However, the paperwork from the hospital didn’t have this.
This omission should have been easily resolved — the nursing home could have reached out to the hospital to obtain the necessary signature or the attending physician at the nursing home could have signed off on the order issued by the hospital. Either one of these two possible solutions should have been implemented to make sure that the resident received the medication he needed, especially given the nature of his injuries.
Unnecessary Pain is a Form of Abuse
For residents that are moving from a hospital to a long-term care facility like a nursing home, continuity of care is very important. When the standard of care provided drops along the way, errors like the one, in this case, turn out to be fatal. The resident suffered from significantly high levels of pain throughout his three-week stay in the nursing home.
Any unnecessary pain can be considered a form of abuse, and this is exactly what this resident experienced. This is a medication error that could have been easily avoided had the proper protocols been observed properly.
Contact a Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Today
We see that nursing homes are built to fail due to the business model they follow. Unnecessary accidental injuries and wrongful deaths of nursing home residents are the inevitable results.
Check out our FREE report, Built to Fail to learn more.
Our experienced Chicago nursing home lawyers are ready to help you. We will help you understand the legal options available to you, determine if you have a case, and ensure that your rights and interests are protected throughout the process. Contact us to schedule a consultation.
Click here to file a nursing home complaint with the Illinois Department of Public Health.
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