Nursing home gave my mom wrong meds GDG

BonMallari · Jan 13, 2009

My 96 yr old mom is in a Durango Colorado nursing home and last night a rookie RN on her FIRST solo shift gave my mom the wrong medication meant for someone else, it included 30mg of morphine which for a frail 100lb Asian women with Alzheimers is enough to stop her dead in her tracks. ..Livid does not describe what i am feeling now , she got through the night but we are monitoring her hourly.

for those of you with elderly in nursing homes this is our worst nightmare and we hope it never happens to your loved ones.

Does anyone know a good attorney in Colorado, mine only practice in Texas or NV...I have contacted the attorney general and will file charges

My mom is a devout Christian that sleep with her bible by her pillow so I am sure that God watched out for one of his believers on this one for now

Juli H · Jan 13, 2009

I am very sorry to hear that happened

. Honest mistake, most likely, but when dealing with people's lives not one that someone should make.

I feel badly for the nurse too. She probably feels equally devastated and is wondering if she chose the right occupation.

I am sure that since your mom is a Christian, she has forgiven the mistake.

Juli

Thomas D · Jan 13, 2009

Was it an RN or a Nursing Assistant?

Like it or not, nursing homes and assisted living facilities exist to make a profit. Their biggest expense is salary. Sometimes they cut staff or cut trained staff to save money which ultimately results in stories such as this.

I would at the very least:

1. Report this to the proper state authorities that license this facility.
2. Arrange a meeting with the Manager or Nursing Supervisor of the facility to review the
incident and determine what measures they have taken to prevent this from reoccurring.
3. Request a letter from the facility recapping the meeting.
4. Do not discuss with their insurance company or legal represenative without competant
legal counsel.

While I do not know all the facts here, it might not be entirely the nurses fault.

I've been down this road also. You feel so helpless.

JusticeDog · Jan 13, 2009

bonbonjovi said:
Does anyone know a good attorney in Colorado,

Ted. Since he's a defense attorney, he can probably recommend someone. But, first you have to have damages. And, for your mother's sake, I hope you don't.

Bless her heart. My prayers for her recovery.

Montview · Jan 13, 2009

I'm so sorry, and I hope that she recovers quickly and completely.

I can't even imagine how horrible the person must feel who gave her the morphine.

Scary!

1st retriever · Jan 13, 2009

I hope your mom is ok! I have had sort of the same experience but with a terrible outcome. My grandpa had a terrible headache so he went to bed. He woke up in the middle of the night and it hurt really bad so my grandma and my aunt took him up to the Veterans hospital where they sent him home as being diagnosed with the flu. Now they never did any tests or anything and just told him to take a couple tylenol and he would be better. By the time they got back home which was very early morning he was not responding. I woke up to the ambulance coming by my dad's house. Since we they have land they all live right there. Well we raced to the hospital and he was still unconcious. Later that day I found out at work that he had died of a brain anuryesm (sp?)! I thought there should have been a major lawsuit but it didn't happen. If only they would have checked him at the first hospital he might still be here instead of the National Cemetary as he was only 70. Believe me I feel your pain and wasn't trying to steal your thread! Just sharing my experience!

RemsBPJasper · Jan 13, 2009

I am sorry for your mother, praying for a full recovery.

I have to say that this is probably not uncommon. As an EMT, we take people both to and from nursing homes. We have taken so many people out that end up dying because the staff was too ignorant, lazy, uneducated, etc. to recognize that the person couldn't breathe or was actually unconscious instead of sleeping, etc. It makes me angry and I hate bringing people back there from the hospital. There are select few that I like around here. But there are two in my district that are absolutely horrible, patient care at it's worst. I wouldn't send my dying goldfish there. And the sad part is they cannot do anything without orders from the doctor, including putting oxygen on a patient in respiratory distress. It's very sad, at least up here in NY, and somebody really needs to step in and do something about it. One case where I would be all for more government intervention.

I am very sorry and hope for the best possible outcome for your mom.

Kourtney

Howard N · Jan 13, 2009

I feel very sorry for you and Clint, Bon.

I hope everything turns out well!!!

twall · Jan 13, 2009

Bon,

I hope your mother is doing alright after the incorrect med was administered. How was it given to her? That affects the efficacy of the drug.

I don't know the laws and regulations in Colorodo but, I bet the facility uses the least trained staff they law requires. I probably was not an RN. Just because they are called nurses does not make them an RN.

My wife had an aunt in a facility in our town. My mother-in-law was her medical POA and would not allow us to keep her in our home. My wife is an RN. We cared for her aunt daily and the last two months of her life. The facility she was in was a "nice" one. There was only on RN for the whole facility. She only worked 40 hours a week. The rest were all LPN's.

The last few days of my wife's aunt she was in pain and put on subligual, under the tongue, morphine. We only knew she got her meds correctly when we saw them administered. We had one LPN tells us she didn't know how to give it so she mixed it in water and had her swallow it. Her aunt could no longer swallow. Another told us she never woke up so therefore she wasn't in pain and she didn't give her the drug.

Assuming your mother is ok be thankful the mistake was admitted and you were informed. In the future such mistakes may never be reported and they may put off calling the family as long as possible, if ever. Unless you are there to see how your mother is taken care of you are at their mercy. Having someone with medical knowledge that can assist you in asking the "right" questions is very important. Most of these facilities are good at being nice which makes families feel good. It is only after you are with your family member day after day and you arrive at irregular times do you get to see the real picture of how they are being treated.

I'm sorry you, your mother and your family are going through this. It is very difficult.

God bless,

Tom

lennie · Jan 13, 2009

I have an 87 year old mother in the same situation as yours. Have had my share of problems with the nursing home also. I am so sorry you have to go through that, I will say a prayer for your mom.

I worry that cuts in Medicaid and Medicare will put our mom's and dads in even more risk. There are no easy answers

Thomas D · Jan 13, 2009

"But, first you have to have damages."

Let's see: incurred medical bills, future medical bills, pain and suffering, the list goes on.

I think Mom could adaquately demonstrate her damages.

SueLab · Jan 14, 2009

I have just gone through something similiar...my 93 yr old mother broke her hip and had to be in the nursing home for about 8 weeks. Her mind and memory are excellent.

During that time, the staff (a RN in each case) failed to give her an injection daily for osteoarthritis but they charted on her chart that it had been given. Some days they put it off and she never received the daily injection. When she went to the administrator, the problem was addressed and the same nurse continued to give her the shot. She was both physically and mentally abusive on several occasions. Mom once again visited the administrator and my brother and I spoke to staff on duty regarding the incidents.

One of the things that nursing homes are judged on is whether their patients lose or gain weight. A gain is considered good. The food at this nursing home was atrocious! Starch, cake, fried foods...nothing fresh! Candy bars and candy were given out to patients that didn't like the meals. The patients all looked overweight and mom gained about 10 pounds during her stay. I went there during meals and truly would have upchucked if I had to eat what was served.

Even tho the above nursing facility was considered one of the best in that area, thank heavens that my mom is now in her apartment with home health care assisting her. Many of the nursing home staff count on the patient not knowing what is going on. They are judged by the board in their state and all incidents should be reported.

If you have family in a nursing home, please visit them often enough to know what kind of treatment they are receiving.

D Osborn · Jan 14, 2009

When my stepgrandmother was in her late 90's we had to put her in a nursing home because she refused to get dressed for my Mom, or her son, my Stepfather. She would get dressed for me though, but I was at college, and could not come home often enough.
It was horrible, but the best there was. We were so lucky, as she did not need many medication, and my stepfather went to see her regularly. However, none of us ever left town at the same time, as we weren't comfortable being gone more than a few days w/o someone checking on her. And I spent quite a few nights in the ER waiting for Mom and Bob to come home, then staying at night so they could go home.
She was a neat lady-I would go visit, and she would tell me stories.
I also stayed in the hospital with my stepgrandfather when he was dying. They Came at least once a night to take him for procedures that were NOT for him. If I had not been there, they would have taken him.

So needless to say, if you can, check often. It is not fun.
I am very sorry, and hope for the best outcome.

zoomngoldens · Jan 14, 2009

I am very sorry about your mother. Here is the link to the state health department website which contains info for filing complaints about nursing homes.

http://www.cdphe.state.co.us/hf/static/ncfcomp.htm

Thomas D · Jan 14, 2009

The system needs an overhaul, that's for sure.

When I returned to my room after my gallbladder was removed, an attendent came to "transport" me. I asked for what and he said for a heart cath. After a short discussion he realized he had the wrong guy.

My sister in law is an Infectious Disease Officer in a medium sized hospital. Some real scarey stories. In years past she had been viewed as a pain in the a__ by most doctors and nurses. Now that most big insurance companies will not pay for hospital contracted infections (and the hospital will now have to pay) , she's a valued employee because she can help the bottom line.

Nursing home attendants "dropped" my 98 year old mother and broke her hip. After a brief hospital stay she died due to complications of C-Diff.

I agree, have someone in the hospital with you and visit your loved ones in nursing homes often. Those that get visitors get the best care in my opinion.

MAJohnson · Jan 14, 2009

As a nursing student here at Auburn in the BSN program this is something that is continually over and over and over again driven home with us. Many people don't know that medication administration errors/hospital type errors are the FOURTH leading cause for death in the United States. That's huge when you think people go to these places to get healed, not die. As a student in my second semester in the hospitals, it is one of my greatest fears and something I continually check over and over again.
I agree that this could very well have been an LPN or someone who got their RN degree from a less qualified school. It is amazing the amount of people who take part in work arounds in the hospital on a regular basis. Nurses should NEVER enter a room to give any kind of meds without the MAR with them ... but they do. Nurses should NEVER take out meds for more than one patient at a time ... but they do. Nurses should NEVER take out meds for the entire day out at 7 in the morning ... but they do. As the next generation of nurses, this is something that I hope to be a part of in changing. Safety, safety, safety, it can't be substituted. Somewhere along the line that nurse missed the 5 Rights of Drug Administration, had she done them, this error would never have occured.
As the devil's advocate, the whole health system is just a mess. It is much more difficult than what most would assume. You can't imagine how difficult it is to have 6+ patients to take care of at any one time. It becomes even more difficult when all these patients need meds all at the same time, by the same route and with similar names. The red tape and regulations that we have to go through is ridiculous. It is very sad.
I hope things turn out well with your mother and just know there is a whole new generation of us working to get out there and change the tide! A year and a half from now I will be an RN hopefully going on to grad school to specialize or become a nurse practitioner and I will always, always hold the life of my patients as my greatest responsibility and do my very best to never allow something like this to happen under my watch.

BonMallari · Jan 14, 2009

I would like to personally thank each and everyone for their well wishes and prayers,Mom is resting comfortably probably due to the morphine in her system, my brother Clint (an MD) has an updated medical chart and is monitoring her chart, my brother Jerry who lives in Durango is in a state of shock becuse he is the one that pushed for my mom being transferred from a very fine Austin TX facility to Co. since my oldest brother in Austin was no longer able to oversee the day to daycare of my mom.

I have taken all you suggestions and printed them out for my family to read and will discuss our next legal action which will include reporting the offense to the state board ..thanks for the link to whoever posted it.

My mom is a tough ole lady who has survived the atrocities of WWII Philipines,raising ten kids and a military husband. Her faith has been unwavering.

If she can survive till the morphine is metabolized through her system then we got a shot, it will be a tough 48hrs but its kind of in God's hand for now, but then its that way every day of our lives.

thanks again for your prayers and thoughts ...the Mallari's

Becky Mills · Jan 14, 2009

Bon,
Your Mom, her family and the nurse who gave her the wrong meds are in my prayers.
Please keep us posted.
Take Care,
Becky

DSMITH1651 · Jan 14, 2009

My wife is a LPN at a nursing home, there is a lot of nights that she comes home very crying because of the incompetence of most of the other staff and the unwillingness of the administrates to do anything about it even when she reports them in writing there is RN's that don't even know how to draw blood !!!

then she gets it from the family of the residents and finally from the residents themselves she come home with bruises, scratches and hand prints that stay for days she has also been groped by some of the male residents. these nurses do a job that i could not do or handle but there are bad ad lazy ones just like any other profession all i can say is build a relationship with the people that are taking care of your family it is the only way you can be sure that they will be well taken care of. the LPNs are the ringmasters of the three ring circus, one ring wont listen, one ring can't listen, and the other is too busy trying to file all the paper work too give a ****. if your relative was drooped it was because some high school kid did not pay attention or your relative got up with out an alarm that the same kid forgot to put on so know body saw in time to help. as far as a med error go's no excuse for that my wife has been a LPN for 5 years and has not had one she is the only nurse at the home that can say that. i feel for every one that has had a bad experience with a nursing home. there needs to be a better rating for them. by the way assisted living is no better as far as the care go's some assisted living employee dragged a resident down the hall after she fell. some of these people need to be shot
Duane

JusticeDog · Jan 14, 2009

Well, 30 years ago, nursing homes used to be way worse. Believe it or not. I remember walking up to them with pillows shoved in the broken glass fo windows... and that was one of the minor infractions.

Some well known plaintiffs' attorneys helped clean them up in Illinois, and others across the country.

In this instance, I am glad to see that the nurse, and the nursing home stepped up to the plate, and admitted what happened. It could have been covered up. Hopefully, they will continue to do the right thing.

My continued prayers for your mom.

Nursing home gave my mom wrong meds GDG

BonMallari

Juli H

Thomas D

JusticeDog

Montview

1st retriever

RemsBPJasper

Howard N

twall

lennie

Thomas D

SueLab

D Osborn

zoomngoldens

Thomas D

MAJohnson

BonMallari

Becky Mills

DSMITH1651

JusticeDog

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