Bad Outcome More Likely in Nursing Home Residents Following Hip Fractures
Recent research has found that half of nursing home residents who have a hip fracture either die or lose their ability to walk on their own in the six months after the injury. “When nursing home residents can no longer ambulate, this restricts their ability to participate in activities,” said Loren Baupre who studied hip fractures at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada. Nursing home residents will spend more time in bed, which increases their frailty. Nearly half of nursing home residents will die within one year after sustaining a hip fracture in the nursing home, in comparison to only 20% of the elderly who live outside of a nursing home. Further, those who were not operated on were substantially more likely to die or to start needing help to get around than those who did have surgery.
Nursing homes have an obligation to assess all nursing home residents to determine their fall risk and to arrive at a care plan to prevent and reduce the risk of falls. Falls in nursing homes can occur for many reasons, including failure to assess the resident and create a care plan, failure of staff to provide assistance with transfers, failure to answer call lights, lack of supervision and understaffing.
If you would like to find out more information on what you can do to protect your loved one in a nursing home, please contact York Law Firm at 916-643-2200. York Law Firm helps nursing home residents and their families to stop elder neglect and to hold nursing homes accountable.