This nursing home abuse lawyer blog will post information regarding tip #7 for nursing home abuse and bedsore prevention. So far, we have had positive feedback from many nursing home patients and their families regarding these tips. We hope this nursing home abuse tip series has helped prevent bed sores or pressure ulcers in nursing home patients. As we always say, “Prevention is always the best medicine when it comes to preventing bed sores and pressure ulcers in nursing homes.”
Tip #7 for Preventing Bed Sores or Pressure Ulcers
The seventh tip that nursing home abuse lawyers offer as simple as it is important. Proper hydration can always help prevent bedsores and pressure ulcers for all nursing home patients. As people age, they tend to drink less fluids and become more susceptible to dehydration. This is especially true for nursing home patients who many times are dependent on nursing home staff to provide liquids. All nursing home staff members be properly trained to promote proper hydration for nursing home patients. Dehydration is a significant risk factor in developing pressure ulcers and bed sores.
Hydration: How Much and Why?
How much water should a nursing home patient drink each day? Unfortunately, there is no simple answer, as studies have shown different recommended amounts. However, these measures may help:
1. All nursing home patients should drink a glass of water with each meal and following each meal;
2. When a family member visits, they should get a glass of water for themselves and for their loved one and offer to share a “drink of water” together with the nursing home patient;
3. The nursing home staff should give all nursing home patients a glass of water first thing in the morning and the nursing home staff should encourage the nursing home patient to finish the glass before breakfast is served.
Hydration for a nursing home patient is a “team effort” by the nursing home staff and family. All family members should ensure that any nursing home patient has a printed schedule that identifies when the nursing home patient has last received water or some other fluid intake. Why? The greater the hydration the less likely the patient is to develop a bed sore or pressure ulcer. In addition, if a nursing home patient has already developed a pressure ulcer or bed sore, it is even more important to ensure proper hydration and fluid resuscitation in that patient. Why? Because, bed sore and pressure ulcer wound healing requires proper hydration to prevent the bed sore or pressure ulcer from getting worse. Nursing home abuse tip number 7 is very simple but effective. Families should insist that nursing home caretakers ensure that their loved one are receiving proper fluids so as to minimize the risk of pressure ulcers and bed sores.
Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers in New Jersey and Philadelphia
If your loved one have acquired bedsores or pressure ulcers in a nursing home or care facility, contact the Mininno Law Office for a free case evaluation, or call for a free consultation at (856) 833-06020 in New Jersey, or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia. Let the nursing home abuse lawyers at the Mininno Law Office work to earn you full and fair compensation.
The sixth tip nursing home abuse lawyers offer in preventing bedsores and pressure ulcers is to make sure a nursing home patient has proper nutrition. Many nursing home patients do not get proper nutrition because nursing home staff may be poorly trained, over-worked, or may not fully understand how closely nutrition is related to bedsore and pressure ulcers. Although nursing home staff are required by law to know the many ways to prevent a bedsore or a pressure ulcer, many nursing home staff do not get this training or education from the nursing home. This is not acceptable and is just another form of nursing home patient neglect. Nursing home staff must know the reasons for malnutrition. For example, patients may have difficulty feeding themselves, do not enjoy meals, or are taking medications which upset their stomachs. These patients need specific nutrition assessments to ensure that a bedsore or pressure ulcer will not form. 
The fifth tip nursing home abuse lawyers offer in preventing bedsores is to establish a bowel or bladder program for any nursing home patient who may have incontinence. Many patients are incontinent or have other bowel or bladder issues. When a patient is admitted into the nursing home, the staff should assess whether or not the patient has a bowel or bladder problem and design a plan to minimize any potential risk this may pose in developing a pressure ulcer or bedsore. These residents should be on a regular toileting schedule to ensure that those needs are being met on a regular basis. 
Family members should directly ask any nursing home staff who are bathing a patient if that staff member has been trained in proper bathing techniques. While the question may seem silly, it is really one of preventive medicine. More importantly, if a nursing home patient has already developed a pressure ulcer or bedsore, any bathing should take place under the guidance of a skilled wound care professional with the necessary experience. A pressure ulcer is an open wound and great care should be taken not to worsen the condition by causing an infection due to improper bathing by a nursing home staff member. If you see this kind of improper care taking place at a long term care facility, nursing home abuse lawyers can help you. 
In our recent 
These pressures ulcers and bedsores can be caused by nursing home abuse such as:
This post is the third in a series of posts dealing with the most common form of nursing home abuse – the development of pressure ulcers and bedsores. In our previous two posts, we discussed the 
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