Medicare/Medicaid Violations Regarding Pressure Injuries Alleged in 72 Georgia and South Carolina Nursing Homes Owned by One Company
The family of a 56-year-old disabled resident was shocked and horrified when they became aware and saw pictures of the woman’s stage-four pressure injury after she died. They allege that the woman’s death was due to the lack of care in treating the progressive pressure injury and the resulting infection. The coroner reported the death as related to “cardiac arrest due to sepsis caused by a stage-four sacral decubitus infection which was acute and chronic.”
After news media printed an article about the woman’s death due to the stage-four acute pressure injury on her back, other instances of residents not receiving adequate care surfaced. These incidents also included other deaths related to pressure injuries and prompted the news team to investigate the conditions in 72 of a company’s 100 facilities located in Georgia and South Carolina.
That investigation found that there have been nine lawsuits involving pressure injuries filed against two of the facilities operated by the company over the last five years—including one facility where the 56-year-old resident resided the year before her death. Those lawsuits claimed a shortage of staff and a lack of training on prevention and care of pressure injuries.
Medicare and Medicaid inspections of the company’s 72 nursing homes in Georgia and South Carolina found violations in all of them and involved such incidents as inspectors observing staff not turning residents at risk for pressure ulcers for 5 ½ hours. The average Medicare overall star rating given to these facilities was 2.47. However, no Medicare reimbursements were withheld.
Compliance Perspective
Failure to follow protocols regarding repositioning of residents at risk of pressure injuries and implementing proper care procedures when pressure injuries develop may result in violations of state and federal regulations and provision of substandard quality of care or even worthless services.
Discussion Points:
- Review policies and procedures regarding prevention and care for pressure injuries.
- Train staff regarding policies and procedures for preventing and caring for pressure injuries—risk assessment, skin care, nutrition, repositioning, and mobilization.
- Periodically audit care given to residents who are immobile and at-risk of pressure injuries to determine if staff are providing accurate risk assessment, skin care, nutrition, and timely and appropriate repositioning, and if related care plans are current and followed.
