Scott M. Kuboff, Esq. is a Chardon Ohio Nursing Home Bedsore Attorney with the law firm of Lowe Scott Fisher Co, LPA who helps his clients receive fair and just compensation for injuries resulting from bedsores in Ohio’s nursing homes.
BEDSORES
A bedsore, also known as a pressure ulcer, is an injury to skin and tissue caused by pressure. It is caused by lack the lack of blood circulation to the tissue.
Stage I: An observable, pressure-related alteration of intact skin when compared to adjacent skin. Commonly an area with persistent red, blue or purple hues depending on the pigment of the resident’s skin.
Stage II: Partial thickness loss of skin involving the epidermis (top layer of tissue) and dermis (below epidermis but above subcutaneous fat).
Stage III: Full thickness tissue loss. Subcutaneous fat may be visible. Slough may also be present. Bones, tendons, and muscles are not exposed.
Stage IV: Full thickness tissue loss where bones, tendons, and muscles are exposed. Slough and eschar may be present.
In nursing home residents, bedsores are often found at the back of their head, should blades, elbows, tailbone, and heels.
Bedsores in Nursing Homes
Generally speaking, an individual who enters a nursing home without bedsores should not develop bedsores unless their clinical condition demonstrates it was unavoidable. This requires the nursing home staff to:
Evaluate the resident’s clinical condition and risk factors for bedsores
Identify and implement interventions consistent with the resident’s needs, goals, and care standards
Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the interventions
Revise the interventions as needed
In nursing homes, bedsores occur from prolonged sitting or laying without repositioning, adequate support, or pressure redistribution. Residents who are diabetic, incontinent, undernourished or dehydrated are at a greater risk of developing bedsores.
Any resident who has a bedsore must receive appropriate care and services to promote healing and prevent any additional bedsores. Depending on the location and stage of the bedsore, this can include cleansing and irrigating the wound, applying clean dressing, management of exudate, wet-to-dry gauze dressing, or debridement.
Nursing Home Abuse
In most cases, bedsores are preventable by making sure residents are moving or repositioning them frequently, keeping their bedsheets dry and clean, and insuring residents are well-nourished and hydrated. Understaffing, poor training, and inattention lead to elderly residents needlessly suffering from bedsores and the accompanying pain, infection, loss of limb or death. A Chardon Ohio nursing home abuse lawyer will advocate for your loved one and hold the nursing home accountable.
