Grace Living Center located in Jenks, Okla. has been accused in a recent lawsuit of failing to adequately treat a resident for bed sores developed while under their care. In addition to not turning the patient in question—57-year-old Twila K.—to prevent her bed sores from worsening, counsel for the family says that there was other evidence that the facility’s care standards were inadequate.

According to an article by Tulsa’s News on 6, Twila was admitted to Grace Living Center in order to recuperate from a fall, but also fell while at the nursing care campus.

Twila’s relatives believe that when she was being left alone for long periods—allowing her bed sores to worsen—she was being verbally abused by Grace Living Center staff. They allege she has been put under a great deal of stress.

This stress has led to a purported permanent state of injury where she is beset with ongoing anxiety, they allege. Additionally, according to the family’s attorney, the patient was not provided with timely nutrition and lost a great deal of weight loss during her stay at the care facility. Her medication was not administered regularly, leading to problems with other conditions she had.

The attorney claims that this particular Oklahoma nursing home has one of the poorest ratings in the state. When Medicare health inspectors came to review Grace Living Center, they assigned it one out of five potential stars on their rating scale.

According to the article, patients that remain for extended stays have developed ulcerative bed sores at a rate 12.6 percent more than double the national average for similar care facilities.

The attorney believes that his client is not the only one that has endured such treatment at Grace Living Center. His hope is that this case will shed light on the nursing home neglect and abuses taking place there. He indicates that businesses such as this that are gleaning high profit margins at the expense of others shouldn’t be tolerated.

What are Bed Sores?

The Mayo Clinic defines bed sores as injuries to the skin and tissue underneath the skin resulting from ongoing pressure. They are most common in the elderly or disabled population that have limited mobility and remain in a bed or wheelchair for most of the day.

Bed sores are typically show up on bony areas that directly interface with surfaces of the mattress or wheelchair such as the sides and back of the skull, scapula, spine, tailbone, heals and ankles.

Meatier areas where they can show up usually have that same characteristic of being subjected to pressure—the buttocks, back of the arms, legs, and knees.

The symptoms of a bed sore include tenderness, redness, leakage of pus, skin color or skin texture changes. Changing position often can usually alleviate the pressure which causes bed sores.

In the absence of the patient’s ability to do this of their own volition, it falls on the nursing staff of a care facility to see that they get up frequently or are turned to vary the sight of skin impact. Pre-existing bed sores must be treated with appropriate wound care as well to prevent infection.