The Alden Princeton Rehab and Health Care Center nursing home in Chicago was fined by the Illinois Department of Public Health for failing to respond adequately to existing bed sores, also known as pressure sores and decubitus ulcers. Nursing homes have clearly defined obligations with regard to bed sores in a nursing home environment: no bed sores may develop on a resident in a nursing home’s care, and any existing bed sores must not grow any larger.
The Alden Princeton home failed to provide adequate treatment for two of their residents, resulting in their bed sores growing significantly worse.
When Illinois nursing home inspectors visited Alden Princeton in March of this year, they performed a visual check of one resident who arrived at the nursing home with a bed sore. What they found was a terrible case of nursing home neglect.
The resident was covered with a sheet and blankets which, when removed, revealed a mattress covered with stool. The bed sore, a large open wound on the resident’s backside, had no covering of any kind.
An additional detail included in the report best illustrates the depth of nursing home neglect at Alden Princeton: a chuck is commonly used device to shift residents who are unable to move themselves. The nursing home inspection revealed that the chuck had the same stool on it. That means that one of the Alden Princeton staff used the chuck to move the resident already covered in feces and then left him in that condition.
A second resident at Alden Princeton with a bed sore was also observed. Again, the bed sore, rather than improving, was getting worse. Incredibly, Alden Princeton staff blamed the resident, claiming that he refused to be turned.
Bed sores are often used by bed sore lawyers as evidence of nursing home neglect. Bed sores are generally caused by poor nutrition and hydration, consistently damp conditions, and being left in one position for long periods of time. In other words, bed sores are caused by extreme nursing home neglect. Unlike many other conditions, a bed sore cannot be easily and quickly covered up during an inspection.
If you have a loved one who has developed bed sores while in the care of an Illinois nursing home, you should contact my law firm immediately. Bed sores are extremely dangerous infections that often lead to amputation and even wrongful death.