Spinal cord injury comes with a lot of secondary complications. One prevalent problem that can have absolutely devastating outcomes is an absolutely preventable one though. Pressure injuries, also known as pressure sores or bedsores, don’t just come with SCI- they develop due to negligence. And way too often that negligence is experienced in healthcare facilities- where you go to get better, not get hurt.
That’s why we’re fighting back. Enough is enough!
If you haven’t seen the hashtag yet, the Stop Pressuring Us campaign, which is also referred to as #StopPressuringUs or #StopPressuringMe, aims to raise awareness as well as prevent these injuries in patients with SCI from occurring under the care of medical staff.
The Spinal Cord Injury Law Firm’s Kelley Simoneaux (T12 Paraplegic) is fed up with narratives that insist debilitating injury on top of injury is just another part of SCI life. Together with Toby Cole (C5 Quadriplegic) of Cole Law Firm, and Josh Basile (C4-5 Quadriplegic) of Jack H. Olender & Associates, she’s determined to change the narrative- by raising awareness about the real story:
Pressure wounds are preventable, and hospitals and nursing facilities that fail to prevent them are liable for them.
What the Stop Pressuring Us Campaign Wants the Public to Know
>If you have suffered a pressure injury, you’re not alone. Destigmatizing the sometimes sensitive issue is important so individuals feel comfortable seeking the support they need.
>If you haven’t suffered a pressure injury it can be hard to understand the impact: isolation, deterioration, poor quality of life, infection, even fatality.
> Preventing pressure sores in individuals with SCI is easy: use appropriate mattresses that distribute pressure, frequently reposition those incapable of adjusting and shifting weight independently.
>Our healthcare system allows thousands of hospital patients and nursing home residents to develop preventable wounds. This is unacceptable. The above mentioned practices are simple.
>Healthcare systems are accountable when preventable injuries occur on their watch. Pressure sore injuries are never inevitable.
Enough is Enough
The widespread occurrence in hospitals and nursing homes indicate a brand of medical malpractice that’s more than oversight- it’s a profound breach of the most fundamental duty of care. We don’t go to hospitals to get sicker!
Since launching the scipressuresores.com website and the #StopPressuringMe campaign, our lawyers have heard what feels like countless stories from SCI survivors who sustained pressure injuries under the care of professionals.
Survivors are angry and rightly so. We’re angry too. Patients with spinal cord injuries require a few moments to turn and shift pressure. Denied this basic dignity, which protects the integrity of skin, sends the message: medical staff couldn’t be troubled. The price of negligence of this nature? Sending patients home with wounds that fester into tunneling holes that can cause sepsis and even death.
There’s a financial toll too. While pressure wound prevention is simple, cheap and non invasive, treatment is not, with some estimates suggesting the cost to be as high as 26 billion annually .
Hospital staff are likely aware of preventive practices. Many utilize information from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The federal agency emphasizes the performance of thorough risk assessments to identify patients at risk for developing pressure ulcers, and the tailoring of prevention strategies accordingly. For individuals with SCI this includes repositioning every two hours.
These guidelines aren’t a federal mandate, but that doesn’t mean hospitals aren’t responsible for providing a certain standard of care.
Hospitals and Nursing Homes are Liable for Pressure Injuries
Hospitals and skilled nursing facilities are the last places on earth where you should have to worry about your safety, yet it is where some of the most profound and preventable injuries occur. This is not a risk anyone signs up for; this is a catastrophic failure of a system that is supposed to protect us.
It is an outrage that people must live in fear that the place of healing could become the source of their deepest pain. But time an again these legitimate fears are realized, as people with SCI who check in to nursing facilities or hospitals and leave with a pressure injury. Time and again newly injured individuals see their progress compromised by debilitating wounds- almost 40% experience pressure wounds before even making it to rehab, or home.
This is unacceptable. Enough is enough. Help us hold healthcare providers and facilities accountable! Connect with us today if you or a loved one have sustained a pressure injury in a healthcare facility as an SCI patient.
- Follow: Stay informed by following @scipressuresores on social media platforms.
- Visit: Explore resources and information on the campaign’s website, SCIpressuresores.com.
Take the survey: Contribute to the campaign’s data by taking the survey at tinyurl.com/pressuresoressci.
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