Providers are bracing themselves for another hurricane and more tough decisions. Nursing homes are faced with whether to evacuate patients, some connected to feeding tubes and oxygen tanks, or ride out Hurricane Wilma in place. From the Washington Post:
The decision to stay or flee in the event of a hurricane can be difficult even for the able-bodied. But as the evacuations for hurricanes Katrina and Rita showed this year, the decisions made at nursing homes more likely could be a matter of life and death. Several nursing home patients died in Louisiana because they were not evacuated before Katrina hit, and in one case the owners of a home were charged with negligent homicide. On the other hand, several nursing home patients perished because they were evacuated; they died in transit.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Senator Chuck Grassley asked the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to investigate nursing home deaths last month. I blogged about it here. No doubt deaths resulting from Hurricane Wilma will spark more investigations.
Hurricane Wilma struck the Florida mainland this morning.
Care Providers Must Deal with Hurricane Wilma
Difficult decisions for long-term providers….
Trackback by Hurricane! — October 25, 2005 @ 11:55 am
The Aging Service Project is conducting academic research for the purpose of improving services to the elderly.
http://www.medio.us
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has made a call to action in Crossing the Quality Chasm. This project aims to show one way we can take a step with integrated continuing care for the aging.
The project can use your help by taking a few minutes to take the survey. The results will be confidential and the report will be published at the site.
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