Author Archives: Adam Peck

It is universally recognized that dehydration in older people can be easily prevented or treated by ensuring they have enough to drink, unless they have problems such as swallowing difficulties. However, despite this apparently simple and cost-effective preventive measure, dehydration is still a major problem for older people in hospitals and community care, affecting health services throughout the United States says Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Attorney Steven Peck.

Preventable dehydration has long been associated with neglect and is an indication of poor quality care. The key principles of helping a patient to drink have remained unchanged. Understanding why nurses are failing to prevent or detect and manage the early signs of dehydration is crucial; only then can sustainable measures be identified to support patients and staff.

Dehydration can result in a chain of adverse events including:
Low blood pressure; dizziness and increased risk of falls
Urinary infections and incontinence
Skin conditions
Pressure ulcers
Poor oral health
Nausea and reduced appetite
Constipation; kidney stones
Renal failure
Cognitive and physical impairment
Hospital-acquired delirium
Poor management of diabetes
Community-acquired pneumonia
Cardiac disease
Two-fold increase in the mortality of stroke victims.

All leading to unacceptable patient suffering, increased staff workloads and escalating healthcare costs caused by avoidable admissions and prolonged lengths of stay.

For people with Alzheimer’s disease, a hospital stay may prove catastrophic.

People with dementia are far more likely to be hospitalized than other older adults, often for preventable reasons like an infection that wasn’t noticed early enough. Hospitals can be upsetting to anyone, but consider the added fear factor if you can’t remember where you are or why strangers keep poking you says California Elder Abuse lawyer Steven Peck.

Now a new study highlights the lingering ill effects: Being hospitalized seems to increase the chances of Alzheimer’s patients moving into a nursing home — or even dying — within the next year. The risk is higher if those patients experience what’s called delirium, a state of extra confusion and agitation, during their stay.

It’s not clear exactly why, although specialists say delirium is especially bad for an already damaged brain. But the researchers, and independent Alzheimer’s experts, agree that caregivers need to know the risk so they can help a loved one with dementia avoid the hospital if at all possible

During your research of proper skilled nursing facilities for your elderly or disabled family member, you may have learned about nursing home abuse. One issue that results from abuse and neglect is infections. Infections can occur through lack of proper hygiene, through bed sores, presure sores also known as decubitus ulcers, improper food safety, and building safety.

There are two highly common infections that are seen in nursing homes: MRSA and VSRA. These are not the only two infections and health problems. Focus are on these two because they are the more common issues.

MRSA stands for Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. It is a bacterium that is highly difficult to treat once a patient is infected. It is known by other names like Oxacillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. By definition it means the strain is resistant to antibiotics like penicillin. It is found in hospitals and skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) because these individuals may have open wounds or susceptible immune systems.

Signs of MRSA

Signs of MRSA include respiratory issues, infections around open wounds such as bed sores, pressure sores and decubitus ulcers, and urinary tract issues. To discover if a resident has this bacterium a swab of the nostrils and a microscope examination for the bacterium is needed. It does not take long for MRSA to worsen. Usually the initial symptoms appear in 24 to 48 hours, and after 72 hours it is resistant to treatment. MRSA can be prevented with proper cleaning and care of patients. Treatment is through vancomycin or teicoplanin and if used early enough can stop the infection before death can occur.

Signs of VRSA

VRSA is vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. VRSA can result from treatment of MRSA with vancomycin and teicoplanin. The patient may become resistant to the original infection, as well as the drug being used to stop the infection from spreading. This particular bacterium is rarer than MRSA, but it does occur with increasing regularity. The bacteria will thicken the cell walls depleting the amount of vancomycin that enters the blood stream and kills the bacteria. Patients with this infection must be isolated to avoid spreading it throughout the rest of the SNF. They may also have to be placed on a pump to clean out their system of the vancomycin before trying another drug. The bacterium has to be isolated in the body to help eradicate it.

Looking for Risk Factors

VRSA and MRSA are just two inflectional bacterium found in SNFs that you should look for before placing a loved one. To keep residents at SNFs free of this inflectional bacterium the staff must provide proper housekeeping, hygiene, and keep to federal and state regulations regarding care facilities.