IDPH has cited and fined Lutheran Home for the Aged nursing home in Arlington Heights after a resident there suffered a fractured hip in a fall.
Falls are a major source of mortality and loss of quality of life for the nursing home population. They are also addressed in federal regulations which require that nursing home residents receive supervision and assistance necessary to prevent accidents. A fall is a form of accident. Because of this, falls prevention is a serious area of focus in the long-term care industry.
There are two major factors that make residents at risk for falls. These include (1) some form of musculoskeletal, gait, or balance dysfunction which place a resident at risk for losing balance or falling and (2) some form of cognitive impairment, dementia, confusion, or general poor safety awareness. Cognitive issues feed into fall risk because the resident cannot be counted on to follow instructions or make good decisions for their own safety.
The resident at issue was wheelchair bound and had a history which included cognitive impairments due to developmental delay. He had a history of falls and it is well-recognized in the long term care industry that falls tend to beget additional falls. It was also well-known to the staff that reminding the resident to use the call light, to not try to stand unassisted, or to ask for help did not work due to his cognitive impairments, as there had been multiple incidents where he did not heed reminders which did not result in falls.
On the day of this nursing home fall, the staff heard the resident screaming in room. When they responded, they found him on his floor in obvious pain. The medical record notes he either slid from his wheelchair trying to get his mask off the floor or he stood to get the mask. In either event, he fell to the floor. He was sent to the emergency room where he was diagnosed with a fractured hip and underwent surgery.
The basic shortcoming in the care that this resident received was an issue of inadequate supervision. It was well-known to the staff that he resident could not be relied upon to ask for assistance, use a call light, or otherwise follow instructions. Despite this, the resident was placed in a room far from the nurse’s station when placing residents who need closer levels of supervision are customarily placed in rooms closer to the nurse’s station. Further, residents who need closer supervision are commonly placed in common areas such as the hallway adjacent to the nurse’s station, the dining room, or a activity/common room where one staff member can watch several residents at once. Short of that a rigorously followed rounding schedule is the fallback. Without these measures being taken, the safety of the resident is at the mercy of the cognitive impairments of the resident, as they cannot be counted on to make good decisions for their own safety.
One of our core beliefs is that nursing homes are built to fail due to the business model they follow and that unnecessary accidental injuries and wrongful deaths of nursing home residents are the inevitable result. Order our FREE report, Built to Fail, to learn more about why. Our experienced Chicago nursing home lawyers are ready to help you understand what happened, why, and what your rights are. Contact us to get the help you need.
Other blog posts of interest:
Addolorata Villa resident suffers fractured hip in fall
Resident suffers jaw, facial fractures in fall at Dimensions Living in Prospect Heights
Inverness Rehab resident suffers multiple fractures in fall
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