Certain types of injuries and medical issues are common as people get older. Older adults experience a drop in bone density that increases their risk of breaking a bone. They also tend to be less active than younger people, which may result in the development of bedsores. Also known as decubitus ulcers or pressure ulcers, bedsores start as painful, inflamed skin. They can eventually become deep wounds that cause significant tissue damage and put people at risk of infection.
Those developing bedsores often require interventions from the people who assist them with daily life. Do the professionals working at nursing homes receive training to help them identify bedsores and help patients who develop them?
Basic training addresses common medical concerns
Some of the people who work at nursing homes are licensed medical professionals. Obviously, a nurse or someone with a similar intensive educational background can recognize a bedsore. However, the vast majority of people working at nursing homes are not actual nurses.
Even hourly workers making minimum wage typically need to receive training regarding common medical issues that affect nursing home residents, including bedsores. Unfortunately, staffing concerns at many nursing homes have led to facilities sometimes rushing through the training process or keeping employees on staff who don’t necessarily meet patient care standards.
Despite attempts to address understaffing and training issues, many nursing homes still have the minimum number of workers legally allowable on any given shift. Those workers should have received training to help them identify bedsores. However, they may rush through resident interactions and compromise their care practices.
They may fail to check patients for bedsores or make a formal note of any warning signs that they notice. The unfortunate reality is that many nursing home residents suffer preventable bedsores that develop beyond the initial stage due to negligence on the part of individual workers and the businesses operating nursing homes.
The failure to identify a bedsore and intervene to prevent it from getting worse can generate medical consequences and may ultimately result in poor resident outcomes for those dependent on nursing home care. In scenarios where people require hospitalization or have other complications caused by bedsores, it may be possible to take legal action to address the issue.
Pursuing a nursing home negligence lawsuit can help loved ones to hold facilities accountable for improper training and poor care standards. Realizing that anyone working with vulnerable adults should be able to identify bedsores can help give families the confidence to take action under certain circumstances.
