IDPH has cited and fined Grosse Pointe Manor nursing home in Niles after a resident there sustained multiple fractures during an unsafe transfer from his bed to a shower chair.
Poor care planning is often at the root of unnecessary injuries and illnesses for nursing home. Poor assessments, inadequate care plans, plans not communicated to the staff charged with carrying them out, and plans not revised when the situation called for it have all been culprits in accidents which have resulted in injuries to residents in a multitude of settings from nursing home falls to choking accidents to the onset of bed sores and their decline.
Of course, even an well-done plan is useless if the staff charged with carrying it out does not do what it is supposed to do. And such was the case here.
This resident was 101 years old and suffered from Parkinson’s and osteoporosis (also known as brittle bone disease). His Minimum Data Set and the care plan both indicated that the resident required the assist of two using a mechanical lift for transfers. Given that this was the level of care that this resident required, it fell to the staff on the floor to actually deliver that care.
So, what happened to this resident?
On the morning of this accident, the resident needed to be transferred from his bed to a shower chair so that he could be brought to the shower and bathed. However, the staff caring for him that morning could not find the right sling for the mechanical lift, so they attempted to transfer the resident by placing a sheet underneath the resident and using a pivot transfer technique. While they were transferring the resident in this manner, he suffered a comminuted fracture of the tibia and a spiral fracture of the fibula.
Obviously, this was a highly preventable accident. There was a care plan which determined what care was required, but the floor staff simply didn’t deliver on it. The circumstances surrounding this accident though speaks to an understaffed nursing home. The staff knew what needed to be done but took a shortcut in delivering on it, likely due to the press of work.
Unfortunately, understaffing of a nursing home is consistent with the nursing home business model, and 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:
Grosse Pointe Manor resident falls and breaks hip after being left unattended
Niles Nursing & Rehab resident sustains fatal brain bleed due to fall
Glenview Terrace resident suffers multiple fractures when lift topples over during transfer
Resident suffers fractured hip in unsafe transfer at Pearl of Rolling Meadows
Fall from shower chair leads to brain bleed and death at Manorcare of Arlington Heights
Click here to file a complaint about a nursing home with the Illinois Department of Public Health.
