IDPH has cited and fined Heritage Health nursing home in Peru after a resident fell and suffered a knee injury when an aide failed to provide needed assistance to the bathroom.
The resident at issue was assessed as being at high risk for falls and required the extensive assist of two for transfers and the extensive assist of one for toileting. These requirements were incorporated into the resident’s fall prevention care plan.
On the day of the incident, the resident was seated in the dining room when she realized that she needed to use the restroom. She got an aide to bring her to the bathroom, but once there, the aide left her alone. Realizing that she was likely to soil herself, the resident stood and attempted to get her own pants down. While she was doing so, her legs gave out and she fell to the ground. She was taken to the emergency room where a knee injury was diagnosed and she was advised to follow up with an orthopaedic surgeon.
This nursing home fall is the very definition of a preventable fall. The resident was properly assessed as a fall risk, there was a reasonable care plan in place to address the care she required for transfers and for toileting. When it came time to deliver that care, the aide caring for her utterly failed to do. Fall prevention care plans are put into place so that the care necessary to keep residents safe gets delivered on a day-to-day, shift-to-shift bases. When the care needed to assure the safety of the residents is not provided, falls result, often with more catastrophic injuries such as brain bleeds or hip fractures the end result.
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:
Multiple fractures from fall at Accolade of Pontiac
Fall results in broken vertebra at Heritage Health – Mendota
Cornerstone Rehab resident falls from lift, breaks leg
Third degree burns from fall at Sauk Valley Senior Living
Failure to train staff leads to broken hip and death and Heritage Health in Jacksonville
PA Peterson resident breaks both legs in nursing home fall
Head injury in fall from toilet at Heritage Health in Bloomington
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