When a resident is admitted to a nursing home, he or she undergoes a comprehensive assessment, part of which is evaluating the risk that the patient will develop bed sores. This assessment is repeated quarterly or upon re-admission to the facility or after a change in condition.
The Braden Scale is a standard test that is used in many nursing homes to measure the resident’s risk of developing bed sores.
Factors that the Braden Scale looks at includes:
- Sensory Perception, or the ability to meaningfully respond to pressure-related discomfort;
- Moisture, which measures the degree to which skin is exposed to moisture;
- Activity, which measures the degree of physical activity engaged in by the resident;
- Mobility, or the resident’s ability to change and control body position;
- Nutrition, referring to the usual food intake pattern; and
- Friction and shear, the extent to which the skin expose to rubbing against sheets or other surfaces.
How does nursing home staff decide what your Braden score is?
The greater the risk for each of these factors, the lower the number assigned to the resident, with 1 being the lowest number and 4 being the highest for all but Friction and Shear, for which 3 is the highest score.
What does the Braden score do?
Each nursing home will set cut-offs for scores where residents will be deemed as being at risk for developing bed sores, which in turn may trigger specific measures or interventions in the care plan for preventing the development of bed sores.
Conclusion
As experienced Chicago nursing home lawyers, one thing that we determine in cases where a nursing home resident has developed bed sores is whether the Braden assessment was performed properly and if so, whether appropriate steps were incorporated in the care plan. Failing to do so in either respect may be the basis for a nursing home abuse and neglect suit. If you have any questions, please contact our Chicago nursing home lawyers.