We all try our best to find the best nursing homes and hospitals for our parents and family. We look into the care the facilities provide, into the staff that cares for and manages the residents, and even its location. However, we can never know what is done, or what is not being done, behind closed doors.
What are bedsores?
According to the Mayo Clinic, bedsores, also known as pressure ulcers, are injuries to the skin and underlying tissue resulting from prolonged pressure to the surface. Some of the symptoms include:
- Changes in skin color or texture
- Swelling
- Pus-like draining
- Areas that feel warmer or cooler to the touch
- Tender parts of the skin
Bedsores may be found on the heels, ankles, hips, shoulder blades and tailbones after patients are spending an extended period of time in a chair or in a bed and unable to change their position. It’s the inability to change their position that makes residents in nursing homes and hospitals especially vulnerable to developing bedsores.
Patients who cannot move on their own to change their position must rely on nursing staff to move them frequently and to change their positions so as to prevent bedsores from forming.
Once bedsores are permitted to develop, with the proper care, they can be prevented from getting worse and can hopefully heal. Bedsores are “staged,” or classified, starting with stages 1, 2, and 3, with the worst being stage 4. What often happens is a bedsore will develop and be at stage 1, and then will progress through the levels 2 and 3 until stage 4, where it actually develops into a sore that goes down to the bone. Obviously, the worse the bedsore becomes, the more difficult it is to treat and the longer it takes to heal.
Avoiding the development and the prevention of any bedsores is the most desirable result. If a bedsore does develop, then preventing a stage 1 from deteriorating and becoming a stage 2, 3, or 4 is required.
Are they treatable?
The short answer is usually. If treated promptly and on a regular basis. If a patient waits too long for treatment, the sore will not heal properly and may even become life-threatening in some instances. The dangers come from the possibility of an infection growing from the sore and spreading to the blood, heart, and bone through the open wound.
These dangers make it crucial for nursing home and hospital staff, as well as family members, to look out for the signs of bedsores and seek medical attention immediately. However, unfortunately, you may not be able to rely on the nursing home to pay close attention to your parents or grandparents.
Sometimes, a nursing home or hospital may even try to hide the bedsores from the family and not advise the family of their existence. It is very important for you to try to take photographs of the bedsores and document them as soon as they appear. Since the staff will often ask the family to leave the room when treating the patient, which results in the family not seeing the bedsores, it is important for you to examine the patient for the early development of any bedsores.
So, if you or someone you know has suffered from bedsores in a Hospital or Nursing Home, then you need to contact the attorneys at Jaroslawicz & Jaros, who can review the medical and nursing home records with an appropriate medical expert, including nurses and doctors, and can then provide you with their legal opinion.
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