It amazes me how many people tell us about their loved ones who were recently hospitalized and, upon discharge, discover their father, mother, brother, or sister suffers from a pressure sore or decubitus ulcer. Unfortunately, I have grown accustomed to hearing these horror stories about nursing homes but hospitals….what in the world is going on?
I believe that hospitals, in there effort to increase profits by lowering labor costs, have hired lesser qualified nurses and reduced the number of nurses working on every shift…regardless of the patient load. What else would explain the dramatic increase in hospital patients suffering from painful and even deadly decubitus uclers? In my opinion, 90%- 95% of all decubitus ulcers could be prevented if patients are turned or repositioned every two hours. This should be standard policy in every hospital. The medical literature is very clear on this issue…and hospital administrators know it.
If you, or any of your family members, have suffered a decubitus ulcer in any of the following Virginia hospitals, please share your experience on our blog. Your story might prevent others from suffering the same outcome.
Alleghany Regional Hospital; Bedford Memorial Hospital; Buchanan General Hospital; Carilion Brambleton Surgical Center; Carilion Franklin Memorial Hospital; Carilion Giles Memorial Hospital; Carilion Medical Center; Carilion New River Valley Medical Center; Carilion Tazewell Community Hospital; Center for Restorative Care and Rehabilitation; Centra Health; Clinch Valley Medical Center; Danville Regional Medical Center; Dickenson Community Hospital; Johnston Memorial Hospital; Lee Regional Medical Center; Lewis-Gale Medical Center; Memorial Hospital of Martinsville & Henry County; Montgomery Regional Hospital; Mountain View Regional Medical Center; New River Valley Surgery Center; Norton Community Hospital; Piedmont Day Surgery Center; Pioneer Community Hospital of Patrick County, Inc.; Pulaski Community Hospital; Roanoke Ambulatory Surgical Center; Russell County Medical Center; Smyth County Community Hospital; Surgery Center of Lynchburg; Twin County Regional Hospital; Wellmont Lonesome Pine Hospital; Wythe County Community Hospital