Handicapped Patient Suffers 3rd Degree Burns

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

A severly handicapped blind patient in a city owned nursing home suffered third degree burns when she was left alone with a scalding cup of soup.
According to a report from the state Health Department, the patient who was suffering from dementia and multiple other ailments, was left "unsupervised and unassisted" even though nursing home records stated that she needed assistance from at least two staffers to eat.
The patient was "totally dependent on staff for locomotion" the report states. "The lack of supervision and assistance resulted in actual harm to the resident who sustained second and third degree burns from a hot liquid spill," the nine-page report states.
"It hurt really bad when the spill happened. I screamed," the victim told surveyors from the Health Department.
The investigation showed that when the patient asked for some soup on June 20 a nurse heated up a cup of water and mixed it with the soup and then microwaved it. She placed the styrofoam cup of hot soup on the patient's table and told her to wait ten minutes before trying to eat it. Then she left the room.
Though the patient was supposed to be placed in a set position while eating, that never happened.
A review of the nursing home records showed that by facility policy, "under no circumstances would a hot liquid be served to a resident in a styrofoam cup."
After the nurse left, the patient subsequently tried to adjust the table thus tipping over the cup which then spilled the scalding liquid on her legs, buttocks and abdomen.
The patient screamed in pain, according to the report, and blisters were found on her buttocks.
She was sent to a local hospital burn center where she was diagnosed with second and third degree burns. She later underwent surgery to debride the burnt skin followed by skin grafts.
"The lack of supervision and assistance resulted in actual harm to Resident 1 who sustained seond and third degree burns from a hot liquid spill," the report states.
Nursing home officials filed a plan of correction in which they stated that special adaptive devices were being provided for the patient and staff were re-educated on procedures to be followed with a patient with multiple disabilities.
James Garrow, spokesman for the city Health Department, which oversees the home's operatons, said the plan of correction had been implemented and accepted by the state in a followup visit.
He said privacy concerns barred the agency from discussing individual cases.
The report comes as the city owned facility has reported to the state that 19 of its patients have died from Covid 19. Contact: wfrochejr999@gmail.com