The root cause of the nursing home fall that resulted in this citation by IDPH to Warren Barr in Lincolnshire was the failure of a CNA to follow the resident’s care plan.
The resident who was injured as a result of this incident was care planned for assist of two with bed mobility. This means that two staff members (usually aides) would be required to be on hand when the resident was being moved, turned, or rolled to one side in her bed. This was intended as a safety measure to make sure that she was not injured in being handled by an aide working on their own and to keep her from falling from bed.
On the day in question, the resident had an episode where she was incontinent of bowel. The aide came in and began to provide her care even though there was only one aide in the room. He did not wait because other staff members were too busy to help. He placed her on her side and began to clean her and as he did so, her leg shifted and went over the side of the bed. The rest of her body followed, and she fell to the floor suffering a laceration to the knee which required six staples to close.
The simple way of looking at this case is a simple violation of the care plan. The staff is required to follow the care plan – simple as that. On the days the care plan was followed, this resident was not injured. The day it was not, injury to the resident was the result.
The other level to this story is a question of understaffing. Federal regulations require the nursing home to have staff on hand on a 24-7 basis to meet the care needs of the residents. The reason that the aide violated the care plan is that everyone else was too busy. The understaffing very clearly related to the violation of the care plan which is why we believe that nursing homes are built to fail.
One of our core beliefs is that nursing homes are built to fail due to the business model they follow and that unnecessary injuries and illnesses and wrongful deaths of 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:
Generations Oakton Pavilion resident falls and fractures hip
PA Peterson resident breaks both legs in fall
Resident rolled from bed at Victory Lakes
Short-staffing leads to fall at Warren Barr North Shore
Fall from bed at Harmony Rehab
Warren Barr North Shore resident rolled from bed, suffers multiple fractures to ankle
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