There are two rooms in any house or apartment where the vast majority of accidents and injuries happen. Many people would reasonably guess that the kitchen is the most dangerous room in any house. After all, that’s the room with stoves and open flames.
In practice, however, no room is more dangerous than the bathroom. No stove or oven can compete with a slippery bathroom floor for causing serious injuries. That’s why it’s especially important that nursing homes take the utmost care when assisting residents with their personal toiletries and other bathroom care.
The Casey Healthcare Center in Casey, Illinois was recently fined over $3,000 for failing to implement procedures and interventions that could have prevented multiple residents from being injured in nursing home falls. Several of the injuries took place in the bathrooms of the residents’ rooms.
There are several simple devices that can make using the bathroom facilities much easier and safer. If you have a loved one in a nursing home, it’s important that you are aware of the options that are available.
Some of the most basic interventions are also the most effective. As we get older, rising from a seated position becomes much more difficult. A simple raised toilet seat with handrails can be very effective. The seat locks to the commode and provides a 6” boost to the standard toilet height. The seat can also have raised arms to make easing into a sitting position much more controlled.
The Casey Healthcare Center had these raised seats, but they were improperly installed.
Shower transfer systems are essentially wheelchairs with an extension system that allows the seat and backrest to slide roughly 24” to the side while the wheels remain in place. This allows staff to safely shift a resident into a shower or tub without the risk of slipping.
If you have a loved one in a nursing home or rehabilitation facility, understand that the nursing home is obligated to keep your loved one safe from nursing home falls and other accidents. If a resident does fall, the home should conduct a proper investigation and a review of the individual plan of care. Interventions, like raised toilet seats and shower transfer systems, need to be put into place to prevent nursing home falls from recurring.
Whenever a nursing home fails to take these steps, they are committing nursing home neglect. If you have a loved one who has experienced multiple nursing home falls at an Illinois nursing home, contact my law offices for a free and confidential evaluation of your case. At my law offices, we never charge a fee unless we take, and win, your case.
Other blog posts on nursing home falls:
Fractured hip in fall at Heartland of Casey
Failure to supervise at Meadowbrook Manor yields fractures hip
Unsafe transfer leads to fall and death at Burgin Manor
Spree of falls at Brentwood North