The Illinois Department of Public Health fined the Alden Long Grove Rehab and Health Care Center in Long Grove, Illinois for nursing home neglect that led to two of their residents developing pressure sores on their heels and ankles.
Pressure sores, also known as bedsores, are one of the hallmarks of neglect in nursing homes because with proper care they are preventable. When care is inadequate, however, bedsores can develop very quickly and take a long time to cure.
The first resident mentioned in the report fractured her hip while on an outing with one of her sons. She was hospitalized while her hip was repaired and then readmitted to Alden Long Grove Care Center.
On the day she was readmitted, an Alden Long Grove nurse noted in her assessment that there was redness on her right heel that appeared to be a callous. As anyone who works closely with the elderly in nursing homes or hospital settings can attest, that redness occurring on the heel is the hallmark of the beginnings of a decubitus ulcer (bedsore).
Bedsores develop in four stages. The first stage is the soft redness described in the report. The fourth is an open wound that can expose muscle and bone.
Instead of taking immediate action to help heal the growing bedsore, the staff of the Alden Long Grove nursing home did nothing. The next medical development came two months later when a doctor ordered heel protectors. At that point, the bedsore had reached stage 4. Since then, the wound had been debrided more than once. Debriding a wound is a painful procedure where damaged tissue is removed to promote healing.
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Other blog posts of interest:
Resident wanders from Alden Long Grove
Maggots discovered in bed sore at Manor Court of Clinton
Poor care of bed sore at Alden Princeton