A resident at the Manor Court of Peoria nursing home in Peoria, Illinois sustained a neck fracture and a subdural hematoma after she fell from a bed in the facility. I say “a bed” rather than “her bed” because she had been allowed to wander into an empty room and get into the empty bed.
If that had been the only remarkable thing about this report by the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), it would have been surprising, but not notably so. Nursing homes, especially during the morning hours, are busy places. It’s not entirely surprising that a resident might slip into another room accidentally.
Two additional findings make this report exceptional. The first is that the resident was a known risk of nursing home falls. In fact, she had fallen from her bed numerous times in the past. The plan of care developed by Manor Court of Peoria staff indicated multiple interventions that were in place to prevent the resident from falling out of bed.
Methods included a bed alarm, a scoop mattress that slopes towards the center of the bed, a bed set to the very lowest height, and fall pads on the floor to protect the resident in the event of a fall.
With all these interventions in place, it should have been obvious to any member of the staff that the resident is at great risk when sleeping. And yet, a staff member witnessed her in the wrong room on a bed with none of the prescribed interventions and simply left her there.
Nursing home falls that take place when a resident rolls out of bed are extremely dangerous. Often the fall isn’t detected for hours. Critical blood loss and other serious injuries go undetected.
If you have a loved one in an Illinois nursing home who fell from their bed in a nursing home fall, and you feel that nursing home neglect was to blame, contact the Law Offices of Barry G. Doyle for a free and confidential evaluation of your case.
Other blog posts on nursing home falls:
Fall and brain bleed at Alpine Fireside