I Hope This is Not the Latest Trend

[PhyllisMSN, MSN, RN]

I hope this is not the latest trend to be putting nurses in jail.

(CNN)Current and former employees of an Ohio nursing facility are accused of mistreating two patients in their care, including one who died as a result of the nurses' actions, Attorney General Dave Yost said Thursday.

A Franklin County grand jury indicted seven people who worked as nurses in 2017 at Whetstone Gardens and Care Center in Columbus, Yost said in a news conference.

The defendants face 34 charges, including involuntary manslaughter and patient neglect, Yost's office said.

One patient "literally rotted to death" as a direct result of the nurses' neglect, Yost said, adding that another suffered physical harm because nurses falsified her medical records and forged signatures.

"This is gut-wrenching for anyone who has entrusted a care facility with the well-being and safety of a loved one," Yost said.

The accused include six current and former employees.

https://www-m.cnn.com/2019/02/14/health/ohio-nursing-home-patient-neglect-accusations-bn/index.html?r=https%3A%2F%2Fapple.news%2FAoPN6WYqqT6Otez_aEF9qCA

[Emergent, RN]

Oh, the caring and honorable administration was so concerned.??

Bad bad nurses, ruining the reputation of that fine institution ?

[JKL33]

Well, there are painfully few facts so far (and I'm not inclined to go looking for them right at the moment). So far there are allegations of yet more of those actions that nurses should absolutely never take - if those prove to be true eventually, then the nurses will have to answer for them.

In any case, I suppose those who are worried about getting caught up in badness should maintain appropriate nursing ethics and be prepared to leave if/when these cannot be maintained due to factors beyond the nurse's control.

[PhyllisMSN, MSN, RN]

Staff Nurses are not responsible for writing orders for wound care. Period.

[CharleeFoxtrot, BSN, RN]

44 minutes ago, hyllisR said:

Staff Nurses are not responsible for writing orders for wound care. Period.

Quote

(CNN article )The patient's medical records contained false information and forged signatures of nursing staff. An investigation found that the patient's medical file listed care at times when the patient was not physically present at the facility.

This case is very well documented in the press. The issue was not about who wrote the wound care orders, it's about nurses charting they did treatments when in fact they did not-and that is only a fractional part of the overall failure of this facility and its staff to provide care to this patient.

[BarrelOfMonkeys, BSN, RN]

Ugh. This reminds me, to some degree, about a LTC facility in the news a few years ago in northern Ohio where the residents got a bowl of gravy and bread for meals if I’m remembering correctly. It was eventually shut down and resident relocated.

I agree with JKL when you can no longer maintain proper ethical behavior you should leave.

[Horseshoe, BSN, RN]

Who was forging the nurses' signatures?

[BarrelOfMonkeys, BSN, RN]

Just now, Horseshoe said:

Who was forging the nurses' signatures?

Good question, looking briefly online I can’t find that info either. ?

[BarrelOfMonkeys, BSN, RN]

An article with a little more information. ?

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.dispatch.com/news/20190214/seven-charged-in-neglect-of-two-nursing-home-patients-three-with-death-of-one-of-them%3ftemplate=ampart

[0.9%NormalSarah, BSN, RN]

I just saw this pop up on FB earlier, too. I guess it’s hard not to pass judgement when things sound so egregious, I definitely think it’s crazy that a patient’s pressure ulcers got so bad as to cause septic shock and death. That really sounds like serious neglect to me and I do think someone should be held accountable. Also the forgery of care “delivered” when the patient wasn’t even there...come on. It is just not right. However, I certainly wonder what pressure these nurses were under to document care that wasn’t performed. Just like many people point out when issues like these occur, you have to look at the process, staffing ratios, and administration’s role, as well as the individuals’ actions. It sounds very tough and I think more info is needed.

[Workitinurfava, BSN, RN]

I bet some of these nurses earned a nurse of the year award at some point while working at the place. Some admin love it when you don't care or bring your concerns to them about patient care.

[TriciaJ, RN]

This reminds me of a nursing home I did some contract work for 10 years ago. I was chained to the med cart the entire shift. The aides who provided hygiene were to notify me of skin check results. I was told repeatedly to "make sure you initial every square". No one seemed to care if the initialed item was actually done.

I was having increasing trouble sleeping at night because I hated signing for someone else's task that I had no way of verifying. After 5 shifts I burned rubber out of their parking lot and informed the agency that I was no longer available for that facility.

They were being reviewed by the state (that's why every square had to be initialed) and I suspect there was a whole lot of fudging and corner-cutting going on. I'd rather dumpster dive than practice nursing that way.