Resident Bleeds to Death at Iowa Nursing Home with a Record of Violations:
Arbor Court, a one-star Iowa care facility, potentially faces fines from the federal government for the latest in a series of nursing home malpractice incidents.
An inspection follows after a female resident bleeds to death in an Iowa nursing home has revealed her nursing home ignored a medication warning about internal bleeding prior to the incident, says an article on iowacapitaldispatch.com. A state fine of $17,500 is pending for Mount Pleasant’s Arbor Court, but that fine is on hold while the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) determine if one or more federal fines should be imposed instead.
The series of events leading up to the death of the Arbor Court nursing home resident was outlined in the article as follows:
- November 30: A woman on blood thinning medication was admitted to Arbor Court.
- December 5: Arbor Court ignored an electronic warning that alerted staff about the potential risk of internal bleeding posed by the combination of her blood thinner and an antibiotic the female resident was receiving.
- December 11: An Arbor Court employee discovered a “large amount of foul-smelling, red and black substance” oozing from a bed sore the woman had sustained, as well as indications of pooled blood in her feet and across her upper back and ribs.
- December 12: Admitted to the emergency room, the woman was discovered to have lost four pints of blood as a result of a gastrointestinal bleed. She was also determined to be at an immeasurably high INR (bleeding risk) level. The woman died while being given more blood.
- December 15: When a state inspector interviewed Arbor Court staff, no written or electronic health or medication records could be found for the deceased woman, even though staff members indicated both existed.
Arbor Court’s disregarding of the medication warning about potential adverse effects amounts to one example of nursing home malpractice. Another example of nursing home malpractice exhibited by the facility is evident in the lack of medication records for the deceased woman. Both of these instances of nursing home neglect are related to nursing home medication errors and false charting, which subject vulnerable elderly residents to dangerous medical complications. A third example of nursing home malpractice exhibited by Arbor Court is what appears to have been a serious bed sore on the woman in question. Both the events and the timeframe leading to the Iowa woman’s death —just two weeks elapsed between the woman’s admittance to the facility and her death—suggest an imminent need for the involvement of a wrongful death attorney. In any situation where a suspicious or untimely death of a nursing home resident occurs, an experienced wrongful death attorney ought to be contacted.
This tragic incidence of nursing home malpractice is only the latest in a series of violations for Arbor Court. According to the article, citations for several grave violations that threatened resident safety were made over the past 14 months, including the following:
- Wrongful Death: In January 2022, an Arbor Court resident fell to her death from the mechanical apparatus that moved her in and out of bed.
- Late-Stage Bedsore: In February 2022, a resident’s unidentified and untreated bedsore deteriorated to the point that bone was exposed; the consequent infection required hospitalization. Arbor Court had been fined in November 2021 by the federal government for failing to properly diagnose and treat residents’ pressure ulcers.
- Medication Errors: In October 2022, Arbor Court was fined for failing to ensure that all its residents’ medication regimens were free from unnecessary drugs.
Your Elder Abuse, Nursing Home Malpractice, and Wrongful Death Attorney
As a nursing home malpractice and wrongful death attorney, Brian P. Murphy has dedicated years to holding Philadelphia/PA and New Jersey nursing homes responsible for nursing home malpractice. Residents of Philadelphia/PA or NJ nursing homes should feel safe in the facilities where they live and expect their rights to be protected. Relying on his extensive experience as a wrongful death attorney, Brian Murphy is confident in confronting negligent nursing homes and vigilant in his pursuit of successful resolutions for his clients’ cases. Should you find yourself needing to contact a nursing home malpractice and wrongful death attorney, call Brian Murphy today to discuss your legal options.
