They called the RCMP, who took the time to come. The Officer proceeded to arrest one of the members, handcuffing her hands behind her back with the nursing home administrator in attendance. After escorting the seniors to the entrance of the care facility, the Officer made notes in a notebook. Then for some reason, he instructed the member to turn around and proceeded to remove the handcuffs from her wrists. He then left.

The seniors are still awaiting a full Report from the Leduc RCMP Detachment concerning this matter.

“In a case with major implications for U.S. nursing homes, the State of Hawaii recently convicted a nursing home operator of manslaughter after an elderly resident died of a massive infection caused by pressure sores. (Am. J. of Forensic Medicine and Pathology)”

Homicide by Bed Sores in Nursing Home Patient

“With the introduction of criminal prosecution for gross neglect, a new weapon against poor nursing care has appeared,” write Dr. Vincent J.M. Di Maio and Theresa G. Di Maio in Volume 23, Issue 1 of The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology. Dr. Di Maio is Chief Medical Examiner of Bexar County, Texas, and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal.

Pressure sores–also called decubitus ulcers or “bed sores”–are caused by remaining in one position for a prolonged period of time. Although pressure sores are common in elderly nursing home residents–particularly those with impaired consciousness or immobility–they are preventable with proper nursing care.

The Hawaii case involved a 79-year-old woman receiving care in an “adult residential care home,” a type of nursing home providing basic care for small numbers of residents. At a visit made for another reason, the woman’s doctor noticed she had pressure sores on her lower back and buttocks. When the sores did not heal, the patient was referred for surgical treatment. The nursing home operator was provided with clear instructions on caring for the ulcers and told to bring the patient back in one week.

However, the follow-up appointment was not kept. A few weeks later, the patient was brought to the hospital in cardiac arrest. At that time, the pressure ulcers on her lower back had gotten much worse and she had developed new sores on her legs.

The patient died of septic shock, and an autopsy showed that this infection resulted directly from the pressure sores. The State charged the nursing home operator with negligence for allowing the ulcers to progress to such a severe state while failing to seek medical care. The result was a conviction for manslaughter.

In the past, pressure sores have been regarded as a normal occurrence in nursing home patients, despite the fact that they are preventable with routine nursing care–eg, turning and repositioning the patient every few hours. In recent years, some state and local governments have identified cases of pressure sores leading to death so grievous as to warrant criminal prosecution.

“Many nursing home facilities in this country follow managerial policies that result in the neglect and death of elderly patients,” the authors write. They cite understaffing and lack of appropriate supervision by registered nurses as the major dangers to residents’ health.

In the past, civil lawsuits and regulatory fines were the main consequences for nursing homes that abused or neglected elderly residents. More recently, government agencies have become “much more aggressive” in citing health care institutions for allowing patients to develop pressure sores. As nurse staffing levels continue to decline, the risk of criminal prosecution for gross patient neglect may eventually extend from nursing homes to hospitals and hospital personnel, the authors believe.

The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology is the Official Journal of the National Association of Medical Examiners. Drawing on the expertise of leading forensic pathologists, lawyers, and criminologists, the Journal presents up-to-date coverage of forensic medical practices worldwide.

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Pearl Ewaszchuk had been living in a senior’s lodge in south Edmonton until late November when she fell. She was taken to the Leduc hospital where it was decided Ewaszchuk needed to move out of the lodge to an extended-care facility.

There were no long-term beds available, so the hospital moved Ewaszchuk to a transition ward. The hospital began billing her family the $44.50 Waiting Placement Daily Fee – even though she had already paid her December fees at the senior’s lodge.

“We have to pay Canterbury Court $2,200 for the month of December plus we’ll be paying $1,300 total to the Leduc Hospital all within one month,” said her daughter, Nadine Moore. “I’m really shocked about it.”

Alberta Health Services charges $44.50 each day for patients who are no longer in a medical ward but need to wait in hospital for a long-term care bed.

The fee is the same amount seniors pay to live in an extended-care home. About 750 to 800 seniors pay the fee each day because there are currently not enough long-term care spaces in the province.

Alberta’s newly appointed health minister, Gene Zwozdesky, said Ewaszchuk’s family shouldn’t have been double-billed and vowed to look into the case.

“If someone has already paid for a particular service once, personally, I don’t see any reason why they should have to pay for it again,” he said.

Ewaszchuk was eventually placed in a extended-care home on Jan. 11.

Moore believes there are other Alberta seniors in the same situation as her mother and she worries there may not be family members to speak up for them. She argues that no one should be billed for time spent in a hospital.
“Seniors can’t operate on their pension and pay $44.50 for a hospital bed per day. They can’t afford it … and hopefully in the future, seniors are protected against that. It’s not fair.

“She’s fortunate that she’s got us to help her,” Moore said of her mother. “But a lot of people don’t or a lot of people won’t help.”

Adapted from CBC News, January 16, 2010.

Stephen Passmore

CANADIAN CATHOLIC NEWS
DEBORAH GYAPONG

OTTAWA – Euthanasia Prevention Coalition (EPC) spokesman Stephen Passmore warned legalized euthanasia would have a dire impact on the disabled.

The 3.6 million – or one out of eight – Canadians who live with disabilities already feel unwanted, unequal and unaccepted by Canadian society, he told a Dec. 1 news conference on Parliament Hill.

He warned legalizing euthanasia and assisted suicide will contribute towards those feelings of unworthiness and lead to fears they may be “terminated.”

Passmore, who was born with cerebral palsy, said thousands of dollars were spent during his childhood to give him greater mobility. The attitude in the health care system was to give him everything he needed to help him be better included in Canadian society.

Under legalized euthanasia and assisted suicide, instead of health care dollars going to help someone like him be able to walk, people like him might be offered a needle, he warned.

“Once death is offered as an option, it becomes an implied suggestion,” he said.

Devastating Effect

He also noted the devastating effect legalization would have on the patient-doctor relationship. “Our whole medical system is based on trust,” Passmore said.

“If euthanasia and assisted suicide is legalized, as I age, will I ever be able to trust the doctors when I know this is an option?”

“I will never go into a hospital again,” he said. “I’m afraid as a person who is supported by the government that it will be cheaper to kill me than to keep me.”

EPC executive director Alex Schadenberg addressed the specific dangers of Bloc Quebecois MP Francine Lalonde’s assisted suicide and euthanasia Bill C-384. “It’s written so widely you could drive a hearse through it.”
If passed, a doctor could terminate the life of a patient who “appeared to be lucid” without investigating further whether that patient was truly competent.

It also allows for the assisted suicides of individuals with chronic physical or mental pain. That means people with chronic depression could get help from a doctor to commit suicide.

“We should be focusing on how we care for people, not on how we end their lives,” he said.
The bill had been scheduled for its second and last hour of debate for Dec. 1, with a vote on Dec. 2, but Lalonde has postponed the debate and vote to Feb. 2 and 3.

Courtesy The Western Catholic Reporter.