More than two million infections occur in nursing homes each year. Nursing home Infections are common, but they are often preventable and treatable.
In some cases, neglect in nursing homes can lead to serious health risks.
Jordan Law Center explains.
How Do Untreated Infections in Nursing Homes Lead to Serious Health Risks?
Untreated infections can lead to life-threatening medical conditions, including sepsis, heart damage, and organ failure. In addition, infection may spread to other residents, resulting in preventable illness, increased morbidity, and lower overall health outcomes.
Ways That Neglect Can Lead to Serious Health Risks in a Nursing Home
Failing to treat a nursing home infection can lead to serious health risks. When an infection is untreated, it can thrive and may spread to others. In addition, the person with the infection may develop serious health complications.
Sepsis
Sepsis is an extreme response to infection. It occurs when the body can’t handle the severity of the infection. The body becomes inflamed and starts attacking its healthy tissue.
Treatment for sepsis is time-sensitive. Neglect can allow damage to occur that may have otherwise been prevented. Sepsis can be treated with fluids, antibiotics, medications, surgery, mechanical ventilation, and other supports. If a patient is neglected, they may never receive this treatment. Sepsis in nursing homes may result in death.
Tissue damage, organ damage
An infection can be toxic or directly damaging to tissue. The body may struggle to function normally, and organ failure may occur.
Bacteremia
If an infection is not treated, bacteria can enter the blood. Often, bacteremia can be treated.
However, neglect may result in bacteria overwhelming the body, leading to sepsis.
Chronic infection
When infection persists in the body for a long time, it may become permanent. Essentially, the body can’t completely rid itself of the agent. A person may experience pain, respiratory symptoms, discomfort, and cognitive decline.
Cellulitis and complications
Cellulitis is a skin infection, occurring when bacteria enter broken skin. If untreated, the infection can spread. It can enter the bloodstream and damage the heart, causing endocarditis.
Inappropriate use of antibiotics may contribute to increased hospitalization from cellulitis.
Incorrect care
Neglect may mean that a person doesn’t receive the right healthcare for their situation. When antibiotics are misused or used too much, bacteria can change and resist the antibiotics. This is a large-scale, global health problem. Neglect in a nursing home may contribute to this problem, and patients may suffer when failing to find relief from the use of antibiotics.
Outbreak of infection
Outbreaks of infection are always a concern when there are many people in a small space.
When neglect allows an infection to remain untreated, the number of cases can grow. This can require more resources than it would have taken to stop the infection before an outbreak occurred.
Spread of Infections in Nursing Homes
The purpose of nursing homes is to provide care for people who need daily living support. Some people in nursing homes live relatively independently, while others rely on caregivers to meet personal needs. Whatever the situation, many people live in a dense space. A person may have an apartment, but individual and shared rooms are common.
This living situation makes nursing homes places where infection can thrive.
How infections spread in a nursing home
There are several ways that infections spread in a nursing home.
Person-to-person
Residents in nursing homes socialize. They may have meals together or pass each other in the hallways and common areas. This interaction means that infection may be spread by skin-to-skin contact or through the air. Touching something that someone else has touched, such as a doorknob or food tray, can expose someone to infection.
Shared objects
A nursing home is a community. Residents share things from dishware to medical devices.
Bedding and linens may also be provided by the facility. These objects may not be adequately cleaned between uses, allowing infection to spread.
Common care providers
People who work in nursing homes provide care for many residents. Moving from person to person can be the cause of infection spread.
Infection can transfer when providing for daily personal needs or while providing specialized medical care. Sterilizing equipment and washing hands can minimize the risk of infection transfer through common care providers.
People with fragile health
A person typically lives in a nursing home because of a medical need. Residents are usually older than the community average and are more likely to have medical problems and complex medical needs. This means that they may be less able to resist infection. In addition, open wounds may contribute to the spread of infection.
Lack of preventative care
A person’s overall health can impact whether they contract an infection and how the body responds to the infection. Preventative health, including vaccines and flu shots, can help prevent infection in a nursing home. Addressing nutrition, physical activity, and even mental health can reduce the risk of infection.
Duty to treat infection in a nursing home
Nursing homes have a duty of care to their patients. This duty applies to reasonable attempts to prevent nursing home infections. A nursing home must address things that make infection more likely to spread, such as basic hygiene and cleanliness of the facility. They must help patients mitigate individual risk factors and respond quickly and appropriately when there are signs of an infection in a nursing home.
Untreated infections in nursing homes may create liability for harm that occurs. A person who suffers harm because their infection goes untreated or because untreated infection spreads may have a claim for compensation. A person who suffers harm because of neglect, who then suffers complications from infection, may seek fair compensation.
Talk to a Lawyer
Have you or a loved one been harmed by an untreated infection in a nursing home? At Jordan Law Center, we give your case the personal attention it deserves.
To talk about untreated infections in a nursing home and discuss your case, call or message us now.
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