Very sad...makes me angry

UM Review RN, ASN, RN · Aug 30, 2004

i just know the day room is a public room where everyone congregates.
and it would not have been empty at 4pm.

I could believe it was empty, because in this part of the country, that's the time that aides are getting people up out of bed from naps and moving them to the dining room for supper.

Some folks are quite the little Houdinis, and will wiggle out of anyplace you put them. Some are just faster than others. It appears that the patient in this case may have been alone for at least 20 minutes--certainly not unusual in a nursing home.

Most people don't attempt to slide out of the wheelchair, but I'll warrant that if a patient was so flaccid that she came out of it accidentally, it was an inappropriate use of the device in the first place, and a geri-chair might've been better for that patient.

We get people up out of bed who would certainly prefer to stay in bed, and will try to slide out of any chair or device, in an effort to get to bed. I remember one patient very well. We'd put her by the nurse's desk so the aides could pull her up prn, as she'd try to slide out of her w/c frequently.

During Christmas caroling by some cute little fourth graders, this patient, demented as she was, still discovered it was indeed possible to get put back to bed by waiting til the little cherubs were clustered around her, singing "O Little Town of Bethlehem." Instead of thanking them, nodding and smiling, she wailed in a high C pitch, "My AAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS hurts! My AAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSS hurts!" The children were shocked, we were horrified, and the patient got supper in bed that night and a geri-chair the next day.

The points being that, sometimes a patient can be alone for some period of time, and a patient's needs are not always accurately assessed, or needs can change, based on the patient's behavior or personal preferences.

leslie :-D · Aug 30, 2004

in the day room at my former facility, residents sat there from am to pm, all day.

if a patient was slipping out of the chair, someone would call out for help.

and it was never ever empty until later at noc; and even then there would always be 1-2 residents.

like i said, that's where there were fdg programs, activities, tv/music,...

definitely a public place.

and there were pt rooms surrounding the day room where i worked.

i hope the investigation is VERY thorough.