Nursing home accidents, whether from abuse or neglect, are always difficult to read about – especially when they involve the elderly who often can’t speak up for themselves. While sometimes accidents do just happen, a new study shows that nearly 60% of nursing home accidents are preventable.
Reducing Injuries & Saving Money
Those are two of the key points in a recent report published by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services entitled Adverse Events in Skilled Nursing Facilities: National Incidence among Medicare Beneficiaries. Researchers reviewed the medical records of 653 Medicare patients who were discharged from 2008 to 2012 from hospitals to skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) for post-acute care and left the facility within 35 days. By reviewing the data, researchers sought to:
Estimate the national incidence of adverse and temporary harm events for Medicare beneficiaries admitted to skilled nursing facilities for post-acute care.
Assess the extent to which adverse and temporary harm events were preventable and identify contributing factors.
What they found was that a surprising number of Medicare beneficiaries experienced adverse events during their stays at nursing rehab facilities and that the events resulted in billions of dollars of preventable hospital treatments.
The report details these four areas of concern:
22% experienced adverse events. Twenty-two percent of Medicare beneficiaries experienced adverse events during their SNF stays. The majority (79%) of the adverse events experienced by Medicare SNF residents resulted in prolonged stays, transfer to a different SNF or other post-acute facility, and/or hospitalization (i.e., admission to inpatient care, hospital observation unit, or emergency department). Of the remaining events, 14 percent required a life-sustaining intervention and 6 percent contributed to residents’ deaths.
11% experienced temporary harm events. Eleven percent of Medicare beneficiaries experienced temporary harm events (in addition to the 22% above) during their SNF stays. Some of these events included a low or significant drop in blood glucose, falls, medication-induced delirium, infections, allergic reactions, pressure ulcers, falls, skin tears and abrasions.
59% of events were preventable. Fifty-nine percent of these adverse events and temporary harm events were clearly or likely preventable according to physicians. They attributed much of the preventable harm to substandard treatment, inadequate resident monitoring and failure or delay of necessary care.
Over 50% returned for additional treatment. Over 50 percent of the residents who experienced harm returned to a hospital for additional treatment.
All of these events cost money. In fact, the report estimates that the cost to Medicare was $208 million in 2011 – which equates to $2.8 billion spent on hospital treatment for harm caused in SNFs.
Nursing Home Often Don’t Hire Enough Staff or the Right Staff
Those who seek treatment in nursing homes in Florida, whether on a temporary or long-term basis, depend on doctors, nurses and nursing home staff for their care. Unfortunately, many facilities simply aren’t equipped to provide the quality care they advertise. In some cases, it’s because they don’t have enough staff. In other cases, it’s because they don’t have the right staff who are trained to perform their jobs properly. Regardless of the reason, being unable to provide the care promised – and needed – commonly results in nursing home personal injuries.
If your elderly loved one has been the victim of nursing home abuse or nursing home neglect, contact an experienced Florida nursing home abuse lawyer to analyze your situation and determine whether your family might be entitled to compensation.
Nursing home accidents, whether from abuse or neglect, are always difficult to read about – especially when they involve the elderly who often can’t speak up for themselves. While sometimes accidents do just happen, a new study shows that nearly 60% of nursing home accidents are preventable.
Reducing Injuries & Saving Money
Those are two of the key points in a recent report published by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services entitled Adverse Events in Skilled Nursing Facilities: National Incidence among Medicare Beneficiaries. Researchers reviewed the medical records of 653 Medicare patients who were discharged from 2008 to 2012 from hospitals to skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) for post-acute care and left the facility within 35 days. By reviewing the data, researchers sought to:
What they found was that a surprising number of Medicare beneficiaries experienced adverse events during their stays at nursing rehab facilities and that the events resulted in billions of dollars of preventable hospital treatments.
The report details these four areas of concern:
All of these events cost money. In fact, the report estimates that the cost to Medicare was $208 million in 2011 – which equates to $2.8 billion spent on hospital treatment for harm caused in SNFs.
Nursing Home Often Don’t Hire Enough Staff or the Right Staff
Those who seek treatment in nursing homes in Florida, whether on a temporary or long-term basis, depend on doctors, nurses and nursing home staff for their care. Unfortunately, many facilities simply aren’t equipped to provide the quality care they advertise. In some cases, it’s because they don’t have enough staff. In other cases, it’s because they don’t have the right staff who are trained to perform their jobs properly. Regardless of the reason, being unable to provide the care promised – and needed – commonly results in nursing home personal injuries.
If your elderly loved one has been the victim of nursing home abuse or nursing home neglect, contact an experienced Florida nursing home abuse lawyer to analyze your situation and determine whether your family might be entitled to compensation.