The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) created a guidebook to teach nursing home staff to properly lift and reposition elderly patients.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), a component of the U.S. Department of Labor, published a guide to help nursing home staff learn how to properly move elderly residents.

OSHA’s guidelines are based on ergonomics, an applied science that is “concerned with designing and arranging things people use so that the people and things interact most efficiently and safely.” The suggestions come as a result of extensively reviewed research literature and existing practices.

Additionally, the organization heard comments from trade and professional associations, labor organizations, the health care community, individual firms and others with an interest in learning how to move residents into respite care for seniors and assisted living community for seniors such as this assisted living for River Point of Kerrville and other senior living community options like this popular assisted living community or Residences at Plainview retirement community. For high-quality senior living options, visit sites like summerfieldstockton.com/community-life/.

OSHA transferred the information into a number of helpful diagrams to target visual learners. Each diagram provides evaluation criteria that allows the caretaker to create a personalized plan to transfer patients to and from beds, chairs, toilets, cars, stretchers, trolleys and other equipment.

OSHA recommends that staff members evaluate each resident’s abilities to assist, bear weight and cooperate with the movement.  Injured patients should be given special consideration.

Caregivers should be prepared to utilize different instruments to help lift and reposition patients, including friction-reducing devices, full-body slings and standing assisters. In most cases, more than one staff member should be participating in the motion.

Although the full guidelines can be found on the OSHA website, nursing homes might be unaware of how to properly lift and reposition patients. Without knowledge of quality care practices, it’s possible that shear, pressure or friction can cause the development musculoskeletal disorders and bedsore ulcers.

Individuals who developed bedsores or other injuries while living in a residential care facility might be entitled to compensation. Request a free, no-obligation case evaluation today.

The post A Guide To Proper Nursing Home Lifting And Repositioning appeared first on Citizens Report.

There are a number of factors that contribute to the development of pressure ulcers, but the majority of individuals who suffer from bedsores have difficulty moving. For that reason, bedsore injuries are common in nursing homes and assisted living facilities.

Elderly residents often remain in the same position for long periods of time, extending the impact of pressure in bony areas. However, immobility is not the only factor that can be a predictor of pressure ulcers.

Factors That Contribute To Bedsore Injuries:

Elderly people confined to a bed or wheelchair have a high risk of developing bedsore injuries.
Image: Weebly

• Immobility: The inability to move the body without assistance is the leading predictor of pressure ulcers. Patients with spinal/brain injuries or neuromuscular diseases are particularly vulnerable, but any individual who is bedridden or remains in a wheelchair without frequent repositioning can be affected.
• Age: The risk of bedsores increases as a person gets older. Elderly individuals have reduced blood flow and diminished body fat, which makes their skin more fragile and sensitive to the impact of pressure.
• Malnourishment: A well-rounded diet is essential for the skin and tissue to stay healthy. Proper hydration and nutrition will allow the skin to repair and replenish its cells. If an individual isn’t consuming enough nutrients, their body will be unable to heal.
• Chronic physical conditions: Individuals who suffer from diabetes or artery diseases are also vulnerable. These conditions hinder the body’s ability to receive vitamins from food and oxygen from blood.
• Mental incapacitation: Brain conditions, such as Alzheimer’s, can limit a patient’s ability to ask for help. Some individuals may be unable to seek proper treatment when a bedsore has developed.
• Incontinence: Urinary and bowel incontinence, or the inability to control urine or waste, can leave moisture and bacteria on the skin. Moisture, when coupled with pressure and friction, can cause irritation that leads to skin breakdown.

Nursing homes, caretakers and family members can evaluate each person’s pressure ulcer risk by using the Norton or Braden scales. But despite the multitude of resources, thousands of people are suffering from bedsores. If you’re a caregiver or the family member of a senior with long-term health or mobility issues, buying a hospital bed can be a fantastic way to significantly improve the comfort and safety of your patient or loved one, find out more on SonderCare’s website.

If you or a loved one lived in a nursing home and developed pressure ulcers as a result of neglect or abuse, you may be entitled to compensation.

Request a free case evaluation to learn more today.

The post What Factors Increase The Risk Of Pressure Ulcers? appeared first on Citizens Report.

Patients and their family members should be aware of the different phases of bedsores in order to ensure optimal levels of health care.

Identifying The Phases Of Pressure Sores

Pressure sores begin by affecting the top layer of skin before impacting the muscle and bone.
Image: Decubitus Ulcer Victims

Category/Stage I: Non-blanchable erythema
Intact skin with non-blanchable redness of a localized area usually over a bony prominence. Darkly pigmented skin may not have visible blanching; its color may differ from the surrounding area. The area may be painful, firm, soft, warmer or cooler as compared to adjacent tissue. Category I may be difficult to detect in individuals with dark skin tones. May indicate “at risk” persons.

Category/Stage II: Partial thickness
Partial thickness loss of dermis presenting as a shallow open ulcer with a red pink wound bed, without slough. May also present as an intact or open/ruptured serum-filled or sero-sanginous filled blister.Presents as a shiny or dry shallow ulcer without slough or bruising*. This category should not be used to describe skin tears, tape burns, incontinence associated dermatitis, maceration or excoriation.
*Bruising indicates deep tissue injury.

Category/Stage III: Full thickness skin loss
Full thickness tissue loss. Subcutaneous fat may be visible but bone, tendon or muscle are not exposed. Slough may be present but does not obscure the depth of tissue loss. May include undermining and tunneling. The depth of a Category/Stage III pressure ulcer varies by anatomical location. The bridge of the nose, ear, occiput and malleolus do not have (adipose) subcutaneous tissue and Category/Stage III ulcers can be shallow. In contrast, areas of significant adiposity can develop extremely deep Category/Stage III pressure ulcers. Bone/tendon is not visible or directly palpable.

Category/Stage IV: Full thickness tissue loss
Full thickness tissue loss with exposed bone, tendon or muscle. Slough or eschar may be present. Often includes undermining and tunneling. The depth of a Category/Stage IV pressure ulcer varies by anatomical location. The bridge of the nose, ear, occiput and malleolus do not have (adipose) subcutaneous tissue and these ulcers can be shallow. Category/Stage IV ulcers can extend into muscle and/or supporting structures (e.g., fascia, tendon or joint capsule) making osteomyelitis or osteitis likely to occur. Exposed bone/muscle is visible or directly palpable.

Unstageable/Unclassified: Full thickness skin or tissue loss – depth unknown
Full thickness tissue loss in which actual depth of the ulcer is completely obscured by slough (yellow, tan, gray, green or brown) and/or eschar (tan, brown or black) in the wound bed. Until enough slough and/or eschar are removed to expose the base of the wound, the true depth cannot be determined; but it will be either a Category/Stage III or IV. Stable (dry, adherent, intact without erythema or fluctuance) eschar on the heels serves as “the body’s natural (biological) cover” and should not be removed.

Bedsores can develop on any area of the body where pressure or friction impresses the skin.
Image: My Health

If you or a family member developed pressure sores while being cared for in a nursing home, you can exercise your legal rights against the facility that allowed the ulcer to progress.

Request a free case evaluation to learn more about compensation.

The post The Different Stages of Pressure Sores appeared first on Citizens Report.

An Illinois woman sued a Chicago nursing home on behalf of her late mother whose pressure sores were allegedly caused by the facility’s negligence.

The decision to place a parent in a nursing home is never easy, and it’s no secret that the overall quality of elderly care varies. While some facilities provide round-the-clock attention and treat their residents with compassion and respect, others may be neglectful or even abusive.

There are a rising number of elderly patients experiencing neglect and abuse in nursing homes, but it is possible to take action against the lax care practices that violate state and federal laws.

Chicago Nursing Home Sued For Pressure Sores

Bedsores are preventable if caretakers regularly inspect the patient’s body and reduce pressure and friction on the skin.
Image: Drugs

On Nov. 2, a woman from Cook County, Illinois, named Rochelle Gibson filed a lawsuit against the nursing home that was meant to care for her mother for four months in 2013.

Lillie Gibson was a resident of Jackson Square Skilled Nursing and Living Center from July 13 until her death on Oct. 31. During her time at the facility, she developed pressure sores that affected her quality of life. The bedsores allegedly caused her pain and suffering, adding to her disability and medical expenses.

Gibson’s daughter alleges that Jackson Square’s practices violated the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act (NHCA), which protects the rights and safety of residents living in long-term care facilities. The family is asking for more than $50,000 in damage compensation.

Take Action Against Negligence

Family members may act as advocates for elderly relatives affected by nursing home negligence.
Image: Huffington Post

Nursing home staff members should be trained on how to prevent bedsores. Because patients are meant to be handled gently and repositioned to avoid prolonged pressure, bedsores may be an indication that a parent or relative is being neglected.

If you suspect that an elderly family member has been subject to caretaker negligence, you may be eligible for legal assistance.

Complete a free, no-obligation case evaluation to see if you and your family qualify for compensation.

The post Daughter Files Negligence Lawsuit For Mother’s Bedsores appeared first on Citizens Report.