Propublica, a site dedicated to “journalism in the public interest”, has introduced a new interactive tool for investigating nursing home that can be done with a simple search from a home computer. The database allows anyone to search over 20,000 nursing home inspection reports. [1]
Charles Ornstein, ProPublica’s lead reporter on the Nursing Home Inspect project explains,”Why is this so cool and helpful? This is where you can look for patterns of problems at nursing homes in your area.”
Searching for the phrase “pressure sore” returns 2,121 results. Searching for the phrase “bedsore” returns 1,946 results, some of them duplicates. Other related words that also return deficiencies include: decubitus, purulent and pus, as well as stage iii and stage iv (which describe a more serious sore).
The prevention of avoidable pressure sores and the detailed documentation of unavoidable instances has never been more important. It is crucial for all care facilities to do absolutely everything they can to not only prevent pressure sores but to make sure that every step is documented, in order to defend the facility’s reputation and be used in the case of a litigation. For more information on how to prevent pressure sores and adequately document care, visit woundrounds.com.
[1] Zimmerman, Rachel. “ProPublica Launches New Site To Investigate Nursing Homes.” Commonhealth. Web. 14 August 2012.