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.

A Virginia woman has sued Sentara Life Care for neglecting wounds that allegedly led to the amputation of her grandmother’s leg.

Tomara Carmon-Rogers entrusted the life of her grandmother, Mary Sherrod, to a Norfolk nursing home called Sentara Life Care.

During her time at the facility, Sherrod developed serious wounds that allegedly led to the amputation of her leg.

Although no amount of money will restore Sherrod’s extremity, the family is requesting $4 million in legal damages.

A Patient Neglected For Months

Sherrod’s family said that she was neglected for months, causing her injuries to worsen.
Image: Decubitus Ulcer Victims

In March 2014, a Sentara Life Care staff member attempted to change Sherrod’s sheets. While the linens were being yanked from under her, Sherrod fell to the floor.

Sherrod, unable to walk, is deemed incapacitated. The fall caused 13 wounds to her legs, feet, heels, and buttocks. She is physically unable to maintain the injuries on her own.

Sherrod’s family said her wounds weren’t properly treated. And as months passed, they began to worsen. Sherrod’s right leg had to be removed as a result of the facility’s negligence, according to Carmon-Rogers.

The Consequences of Understaffing

Understaffing often means that many patient’s needs are overlooked.
Image: Preserving DTH Archives

Carmon-Rogers believes her grandmother’s injuries were caused by a multitude of factors. However, she believes the primary reason for the worsening injuries leading up to the amputation is understaffing at the facility.

When a care facility accepts more residents than the staff can realistically handle, it creates a void in administrative checks and balances, follow-up wound management and essential supply maintenance.

During one visit, Carmon-Rogers even recalls having to provide bandages for her grandmother.

“I’ve expressed that to them this is a huge safety issue, when you have nurses here understaffed, overworking them and critical patients,” Carmon-Rogers told 13News Now.

Carmon- Rogers chose to take action against the alleged negligence, and her pursuits are effectively helping to spread awareness and save others from the same fate. One woman, Janice Johnson Palmer‎, was a patient at Sentara Life in 2014 for 11 weeks.

“The nursing care was minimal, it was understaffed and the few good staff overworked. It was such a bad experience,” Palmer said on Facebook. “I will NEVER go back there.”

If you or a family member experienced nursing home negligence, you might be entitled to compensation. Complete a free, no-obligation survey to learn more about legal action.

The post Family Sues Norfolk Nursing Home For $4 Million appeared first on Citizens Report.