Month: June 2014

The prevention of bed sores (also commonly referred to as bedsores, pressure sores, and pressure ulcers) is a critical topic, and one that has been mentioned in various areas throughout this website.

There are many actions that can be taken in order to prevent bed sores from occurring.  One set of actions that has reduced the number of pressure sores from forming is that experienced nursing homes that have participated in The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) Program.

As seen in the Quality Improvement Organizations Fact Sheet (pdf), page 2:

In the 787 nursing homes that participated with QIOs in the Pressure Ulcer reduction initiative, a 38% decrease in the rate of pressure ulcers was recorded. 

Additional details can be seen in the fact sheet mentioned above, as well as the June 13 McKnight’s article titled “Nursing homes achieved 40% pressure ulcer reduction by working with Medicare quality organizations, new data shows.”

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Should someone you care for experience Illinois nursing home abuse or neglect or a nursing home accident – or suffer an injury at a similar health care facility such as an assisted living facility, retirement home, skilled nursing facility (SNF) or hospital – please contact the Elman Law Group to discuss the situation and to see if filing an injury lawsuit is warranted.

Elman Law Group is a personal injury law firm based in Chicago, and is known for its litigation (court trial) capabilities.  This is important for your lawsuit because if we are unable to attain an appropriate settlement, we have a proven track record of achieving highly attractive court verdicts.

In fact, because of this litigation capability, many well-known law firms choose to have Elman Law Group litigate cases. 

To speak directly to Tony Elman, Lead Attorney of the Elman Law Group, call (773) 392-8182 at any time.  This legal consultation is free and confidential.

Elman Law Group, LLC handles Chicago area and other Illinois personal injury lawsuits as well as wrongful death lawsuits.

As discussed elsewhere in this site, bed sores (also called bedsores, pressure sores, pressure ulcers, and decubitus ulcers) are often preventable, and even if they do form, proper treatment should avoid many possible adverse health impacts.

Preventing bed sores from forming is a key topic, both for Illinois and Chicago area nursing home residents as well as throughout the country.

Bed sores are discussed in a June 21, 2014 Blue Springs Examiner article titled “Bob Buckley:  No one should suffer pressure ulcers.”

This article discusses various aspects of bed sores, including bed sore prevention and methods of judging whether a patient is vulnerable to bed sore formation.

The article also mentions the National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (NPUAP) which has also been mentioned elsewhere in this site.  The NPUAP is a resource regarding bed sores.  As described on their site:

The National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (NPUAP) is an independent not-for-profit professional organization dedicated to the prevention and management of pressure ulcers.

One framework that the NPUAP has developed is the classification of bed sore severity.  This is described on the site on the NPUAP Pressure Ulcer Stages/Categories page as follows:

The National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel redefined the definition of a pressure ulcer and the stages of pressure ulcers in 2007, including the original 4 stages and adding 2 stages on deep tissue injury and unstageable pressure ulcers. This work was the culmination of over 5 years of work beginning with the identification of deep tissue injury in 2001.

Additional information can be seen on the NPUAP site pages listed above.

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Should someone you care for experience Illinois nursing home abuse or neglect or a nursing home accident – or suffer an injury at a similar health care facility such as an assisted living facility, retirement home, skilled nursing facility (SNF) or hospital – please contact the Elman Law Group to discuss the situation and to see if filing an injury lawsuit is warranted.

Elman Law Group is a personal injury law firm based in Chicago, and is known for its litigation (court trial) capabilities.  This is important for your lawsuit because if we are unable to attain an appropriate settlement, we have a proven track record of achieving highly attractive court verdicts.

In fact, because of this litigation capability, many well-known law firms choose to have Elman Law Group litigate cases. 

To speak directly to Tony Elman, Lead Attorney of the Elman Law Group, call (773) 392-8182 at any time.  This legal consultation is free and confidential.

Elman Law Group, LLC handles Chicago area and other Illinois personal injury lawsuits as well as wrongful death lawsuits.

Today (June 19, 2014) a press release for the report titled “Raising Expecations:  A State Scorecard on Long-Term Services and Supports for Older Adults, People with Physical Disabilities and Family Caregivers” was released.   This report is from AARP, The Commonwealth Fund, and The SCAN Foundation.

This report evaluates 26 indicators in five dimensions with regard to long-term care services among home care services, family caregiver settings, and nursing homes, and provides this detail for each state.

This report updates the “2011 LTSS Scorecard.”

Additional explanation and information can be found in the press release mentioned above.

The full report is found at “Raising Expectations” (pdf)

With regard to the rating for Illinois, as seen in Exhibit 1 (page 9) Illinois ranks 15th among the states across all five dimensions.

Exhibit 2 (page 11) shows all 26 indicators, as well as statistical information including median values as well as “top” and “bottom” values.

Of particular note is statistics for “high risk” nursing home residents both nationally and for Illinois who have pressure sores (also known as bed sores.)  The report defines “Pressure Sores,” alternately referred to as “Pressure Ulcers,” in the glossary on page 113.

With regard to nursing homes, among the information provided is Exhibit A12 on page 79, in which three aspects are shown for each state.  These aspects are:

• “Percent of High-Risk Nursing Home Residents with Pressure Sores”
• “Nursing Home Staff Turnover…”
• “Percent of Long-Stay Nursing Home Residents Who are Receiving an Anti-Psychotic Medication”

The national value for each of these aspects is (respectively, for the year indicated):

• 6.2%
• 39.5%,
• 21.3%.

The Illinois value for each of these aspects (respectively, for the year indicated):

• 7.0% (43rd in the nation)
• 38% (25th in the nation)
• 25.1% (48th in the nation)

Additional details can be found in the full report mentioned above.

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Should someone you care for experience Illinois nursing home abuse or neglect or a nursing home accident – or suffer an injury at a similar health care facility such as an assisted living facility, retirement home, skilled nursing facility (SNF) or hospital – please contact the Elman Law Group to discuss the situation and to see if filing an injury lawsuit is warranted.

Elman Law Group is a personal injury law firm based in Chicago, and is known for its litigation (court trial) capabilities.  This is important for your lawsuit because if we are unable to attain an appropriate settlement, we have a proven track record of achieving highly attractive court verdicts.

In fact, because of this litigation capability, many well-known law firms choose to have Elman Law Group litigate cases. 

To speak directly to Tony Elman, Lead Attorney of the Elman Law Group, call (773) 392-8182 at any time.  This legal consultation is free and confidential.

Elman Law Group, LLC handles Chicago area and other Illinois personal injury lawsuits as well as wrongful death lawsuits.