by Sherry Ernst
The reason I am looking to Group II or III support surfaces to be paid by
Medicare (before the decubitus starts) as a large part of my solution is
that I know the healthcare professionals are human. I know staffing cuts
are real. I know the proven deplorable conditions of our nations nursing
homes are not getting better and I know nutrition, hydration, skin care,
positioning and ambulation issues have been proven to not adequately address
the needs of our high risk elders. A stroke victim who is incapacitated has
poor nutrition because he can't swallow, poor hydration because nurses and
aids do not have the time to stand by his bed side to slowly feed him ice
chips. Family members are either dead or not able to be there 24-7 to make
sure he is hydrated and turned. It is my belief and knowledge that if he
had a group three support surface to go directly on after his stroke, or any
other neurological devastating happening that renders him incapacitated, he
could at least have time to die in peace before his skin rots out from under
him. The financial investment of getting the best bed for this group of
patients would be far less than the cost of treating the decubitus ulcer
including the costly surgery of debridement and or electrodes being placed
in his gaping holes for electric healing of decubitus.) We would be saving
the patient the pain and suffering that could have been avoided in the first
place if he had a more pressure relieving support surface. This would be
the humane thing to do. There have been thousands of studies worth millions
of dollars on the decubitus ulcer. "No matter how much money is thrown at
decubitus ulcer research, elderly incapacitated patients, under our current
inexcusable nursing home system and the laws of our nation, will continually
be forced to die in pain as they rapidly rot in their own bodies before they
can die." My concerns are for those patients that have no quality of life.
I am referring to the people that are waiting to die; that can't die in time
to escape the monster decubitus. To these terminal patients at the end of
their life we owe to them a dignified and comfortable dying process. We as a
society do not want to look at death. Our loved ones in their final months
are suffering needlessly because of our ignorance and fear of looking at.
"The nursing home situation is out of control because we as a society do not
want to look behind the door of death. Death is something that spares no
one. If we do not face our inevitable death and we fail to prepare the
surroundings for it, death will come to us worse than we can imagine it in
our unfounded fear".
I know I am right about this and I will stand on this issue firm. Dr Donald
Berwick of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement says our current ways of
doing things needs to be changed. We are far past incremental improvements.
We need totally new radical change because our health care system is in
crisis and is not working.
Find a copy of and listen to his speech entitled "Escape Fire" that was
given to the National Forum on Quality Improvement in Healthcare, December
1999. Every health care professional and anyone concerned about our
healthcare dilemma should listen to this speech.
Thank you again for your time and interest in helping me.
Sherry Ernst
If you have any questions or comments on senior health nutrition, fitness, etc., go to the Senior Health Forum where we are talking about the following:
