Hospitalized Residents’ Serious Health Problems went Undetected by North Carolina Nursing Home, State Inspection Report Finds
The Hunter Woods Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, has been repeatedly cited for violations amounting to nursing home malpractice by regulators, and scores a single star out of five in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services 5-Star Quality Rating System.
At least two hospitalized residents of a North Carolina nursing home had serious health conditions that went undetected by staff, says a recent Charlotte Observer news article. According to state inspection reports by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, two residents of the Hunter Woods Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Charlotte were subjected to nursing home malpractice when nursing home staff failed to recognize serious medical conditions that eventually landed them in the emergency room. One of these residents later died.
One of the cases of nursing home malpractice at Hunter Woods as determined by inspectors involved a 92 year-old female resident who, after becoming unresponsive following plummeting blood pressure in mid-April, was rushed to the hospital and discovered to be suffering with severe sepsis, a life-threatening condition, as the result of the seriousness of her infected wounds. The woman had both an infected pressure wound on her buttocks and a wound on her heel that had developed into a bone infection. According to the article, the nursing home’s reports on the woman’s foot wound prior to the hospitalization varied from “no issues” to the recognition of an open wound. The nurse responsible for monitoring the woman for skin issues noted, but did not change, the bandages on the foot wound. After several more trips to the hospital and a brief stay at another nursing home, the woman passed away in June . Her death certificate says she died from dementia. According to the article, the woman’s family members have secured a wrongful death attorney in the hopes of holding the home accountable for her death.
Deteriorated bedsores are a common occurrence at nursing homes, and almost always are the result of nursing home malpractice. When pressure ulcers deteriorate and become bone-deep infections, they can become life-threatening, potentially requiring the involvement of a wrongful death attorney, as is the case with the aforementioned resident at Hunter Woods.
Another instance of nursing home malpractice cited by North Carolina inspectors includes the hospitalization of a Hunter Woods resident with diabetes whose sugar levels had not been monitored and had soared to dangerous levels. After the resident’s admittance to the ICU, she was diagnosed with diabetic ketoacidosis, a serious condition that might result in coma or even death, leading bereaved family members in a position of having to hire a wrongful death attorney.
According to the article, a third Hunter Woods resident in her early 30s who arrived at the home after suffering a stroke, went three months with an undetected dislocated shoulder after suffering numerous falls at the home. This same resident, dependent on a feeding tube, at one point lost nearly forty pounds and suffered from malnutrition.
Nursing home falls are a sign of nursing home malpractice; likewise, malnutrition and dehydration suffered by residents is frequently the result of overworked staff in understaffed nursing homes and also evidence of nursing home malpractice.
In response to Hunter Woods’ failure to care for the woman with severe wounds, inspectors cited the nursing home with a “Level G” breach, a serious violation that indicates “actual harm” was done to a resident. Responding to the home’s nursing home malpractice as it relates to the resident with diabetic ketoacidosis, the home was cited by inspectors with the most severe violation: “immediate jeopardy to resident health or safety.”
Fighting against Nursing Home Malpractice and Wrongful Death
Attorney Brian P. Murphy is an experienced nursing home malpractice and wrongful death lawyer dedicated to protecting Philadelphia/PA and NJ nursing home residents from neglect and abuse within the homes where they live. Your loved one living in a Philadelphia/PA or NJ nursing home should live confidently without the worry of being abused or neglected or otherwise subjected to any kind of nursing home malpractice. Brian Murphy takes on Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, and New Jersey nursing homes for egregious acts of elder abuse, especially any incidence of nursing home malpractice that causes wrongful death. Attorney Brian Murphy is ready to discuss your legal options. If you or your loved one needs to contact a nursing home malpractice and wrongful death attorney, call Brian Murphy today.
