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Long Term Care
Staff of long-term care facilities are caring for residents who are in various states of physical and mental health, and who are at risk of injury when the proper care is not provided.
ELM programs begin by creating real-life scenarios which reflect the often complex medical conditions of elderly long-term care facility residents. In this context, the care providers can better understand how to anticipate, and therefore prevent, injury to residents. Legal issues presented in long-term care center around injuries from falls, skin breakdown, and wandering and elopement. To address these, ELM programs:
- Educate the staff of the importance of careful intake evaluation of new and returning residents. Careful inspection of areas of skin breakdown assists in both providing appropriate care and in documenting existing areas of skin ulcers and lack of skin integrity. By focusing on all aspects of legal issues arising out of pressure ulcer development, the staff will better understand prevention and related issues such as resident nutrition, repositioning, ambulation, restraints and early wound care nurse consultation.
- Address recurrent problems of resident wandering and elopement. They help staff anticipate those residents who may be at risk for departure from the facility and why safety features must be implemented in order to prevent elopement and subsequent injury. ELM programs address implementation of physical plant modifications to ensure that confused residents do not wander from the premises and proper physical restraint when necessary.
- Explore those issues which, although not exclusive to long term care facilities, are more common. They include the entire staff in actions needed to prevent slip and fall events, injury resulting for delayed response to resident requests for help and resident injury by other residents. They point out the need for observation not only of acute decline in a resident’s condition, but also of slow but progressive deterioration.
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