Very sad...makes me angry

sandypinktruck · Aug 28, 2004

It makes me sick also. I am a nursing student, and will graduate in November 04. (Almost finished!!!!) Guess where my school sent us for most of our clinicals?

Doing clinicals at this facility, has made almost every one of us not want to work in LTC.

I am so sorry that a death occured, a preventable death. I will hope and pray that this will be a BIG WAKE UP CALL for this particular facility and others to improve the care that they provide to those who are unable to adequately care for themselves.

RNPATL, DNP, RN · Aug 28, 2004

I think what makes me angry about this situation is that nursing home companies are so focused on the bottomline that they force nurses and nursing assistance to care for way to many patients. In this situation, the CNA probably had more than 10 patients to care for. How can anyone care for so many needy patients and ensure any level of safety? The answer is simple - they can not!

Not only am I sad for the family that lost their loved one, I am sad for the nursing assistant who will have to live with this death for the rest of her/his life!

Farkinott, RN · Aug 28, 2004

I must admit I was heartened to see that the first two resonses to this tragic story did not blame the nurses! I have worked in nursing homes in the past and know that too much is expected from too few resources. That the newpaper has actually done some researach and noted that the home had been noted for failing to provide the "best" service and care is noteworthy. Unfortunately it won't do the grief of the family and guilt of the nurse/caregiver any good.

VickyRN, MSN, DNP, RN · Aug 28, 2004

This is one thing I am passionate about... quality care for our elders. And it sickens and saddens me to see the horrible nurse/ patient CNA/ patient ratios generally seen in nursing homes. (BTW, these ratios are set at the STATE level by the state General Assembly). Wonder who's going to take the heat for this tragic incident... the nurse, the CNA, or the nursing home? ITA with everyone here, that the nurse/ CNA probably had WAY too many patients that day to properly supervise.

FarmgrrlRN · Aug 28, 2004

I'm going to keep my eye out and will let you know who ends up catching the heat. As "charges are pending and could include involuntary manslaughter", this may go a lot further.

I only had to do two days of clinical in a nursing home around the corner from the one where this happened. We were appalled at the ratios we found. The CNA's & LPN's did nothing but run. The LPN in charge of my pt had 28 patients to care for (including meds). When we arrived in the AM there was no RN in-house and they wanted my instructor to take responsiblity for the facility until one arrived! By the end of the rotation, my entire class vowed never to send a loved one to a facility (easier said than done, I think).

Trauma Columnist · Aug 28, 2004

I did clinicals in nursing home as an LPN student and vowed I would never put a loved one in a nursing home. Above poster who said this is easier said than done is so correct! My mother died in a nursing home in 1986 after a massive stroke...she only lived 9 days there. Howeve, my sister and I would visit daily, feed her, change her diapers and wash her. If we hadn't done this, she would have had little care. This was 6 years before I became a nurse and to this day it still saddens me that they didn't take better care of her! My mother-in-law died in 2001 after being in several nursing homes over the course of 6 years. Hubby and I went many times unannounced to visit and check on her. She received very good care and we were very happy with that particular nursing home which was actually a state-run facility with 300 residents! My own father died in 2002 but he was able to afford an assisted living facility which was absolutely wonderful! Beautiful, new, wonderful, plentiful staff - however, the cost was $4000/month. The moral of this story is don't be poor in the US because you may not get the best care!

Corrections RN · Aug 28, 2004

Poor attention to detail? In too much of a hurry? Short staff? Lazy? Careless? Where was the supervision? These kinds of thing are not an accident.

unknown99, BSN, RN · Aug 29, 2004

Poor attention to detail? In too much of a hurry? Short staff? Lazy? Careless? Where was the supervision? These kinds of thing are not an accident.

AMEN to that!!!! Very well said!!!

UM Review RN, ASN, RN · Aug 29, 2004

I think what makes me angry about this situation is that nursing home companies are so focused on the bottomline that they force nurses and nursing assistance to care for way to many patients.

My sentiments exactly. My heart goes out to that family!

The administration of nursing homes like these crunch the staff into a Catch-22 by poor staffing levels. They risk the lives of patients and the health and safety of the staff, all so some CEO can get a bigger bonus for keeping costs down.

And of course, if something happens to a patient, the staff takes the fall. It really burns me that this way of doing business is so common here in the States. :angryfire

There has to be a better way.

RN4NICU, LPN, LVN · Aug 29, 2004

Poor attention to detail? In too much of a hurry? Short staff? Lazy? Careless? Where was the supervision? These kinds of thing are not an accident.

You're correct that those things are not an accident, but they rarely have anything to do with "sentinel events" in LTC. It is almost always ratios, ratios, ratios. That can't be counted as short staffing, because the "acceptable" ratios are horrendous. Something like 1 RN, maybe 1-2 LPNs and 3-5 CNAs to something like 60 patients. And that is pretty good staffing, from what I have heard. When 1 RN has 60 patients to be responsible for - it is impossible to not miss anything. Likewise for the LPNs. They can't supervise everything - they can't be in 60 places at one time. The CNAs, lets face it, are often just hired in off the street and put through a "training course". You never know what you are getting there.

These things may not be accidents, but you seem to imply that the nurses are at fault (lazy, careless, not supervising, poor attention to detail...) - I think they just have impossible workloads.

leslie :-D · Aug 30, 2004

being left in the dayroom at 4pm, i find it puzzling as to why no one noticed.

there's a lot of hustle and bustle that time of day....it's not exactly an isolated room.

what also bothers me is that why would the nsg assistant be held liable?

because it was her patient?

i've seen this too many times....where a patient is doing something risky, such as trying to get out of their wc (thinking they can walk) and others just walk by with those exact sentiments "it's not my patient".

i shudder to think that someone, anyone walked by noticing the pt. and thought that very same thing....that it wasn't their patient.

i just know the day room is a public room where everyone congregates.

and it would not have been empty at 4pm.