(June 24, 2020) Kuhlman Law, LLC, filed a lawsuit against Ohana Harmony House, Bend Transitional Care, and Avamere for causing the wrongful death of one of its residents. The nursing home abuse case was filed in Deschutes County Circuit Court.
The resident was just 59 years-old and was living a healthy and independent life at her personal home until she broke her ankle. The broken ankle required surgery. The woman chose Bend Transitional Care to assist her in rehabbing the ankle for what was supposed to be just several weeks while she recuperated.
The suit alleges that Bend Transitional Care, however, failed to reposition the patient regularly and put her in a wheelchair that was too small for her body. As such, she developed pressure ulcers (bedsores). Over time, the bedsores became worse as they tunneled deeper into her body and became infected. The lawsuit alleges that Bend Transitional care did not have sufficient staff to care for the patient, failed to develop an appropriate care plan to prevent bedsores, and failed to refer her to a wound care specialist as the bedsores worsened. The resident suffered for months as the painful sores burrowed deeper, became infected, and ate further into her skin.
The woman’s medical records also appeared to have been falsified and poorly maintained as staff would make entries weeks after care was actually provided to her and claimed to have provided care for her at times when she was not even at the facility and at the hospital, instead.
What should have been a several week stay at a temporary nursing facility ended up killing the resident and devastating her family.
Pressure Ulcers are often a sign of negligence in nursing homes
A bedsore is considered a “NEVER event” by most medical professionals, meaning that it should never happen to any patient. With proper planning, nutrition, and regular patient repositioning a bedsore should never develop. If a bedsore does develop, the facility should prevent it from worsening and if it cannot do so, timely refer the patient out to a specialist so that the sore be properly treated and heal.
Some Oregon Nursing Homes prioritize profit over patient safety
Unfortunately, For-Profit nursing homes in Oregon frequently jeopardize their residents’ health and safety by operating with skeleton staffs. The fewer nurses and care assistants these giant corporations employ and use on each shift, the greater the profits they can reap from each of the nursing homes they run. By not hiring enough employees, nursing homes put their nursing assistants in a terrible situation as they don’t have sufficient time to spend with each patient and end up being forced to rush patient care or skip providing care altogether.
If you or a loved one has suffered nursing home abuse or neglect and have questions call the Oregon elder abuse attorneys at Kuhlman Law. We take cases throughout the state and help loved ones get the answers they deserve. It is our firm’s mission to hold corporate for-profit nursing homes fully accountable so that they stop placing profits ahead of patient safety.
