[BobbyB]

Nurse goes on trial for neglect of patient found with maggots
By the Associated Press
March 13, 2007


MANASSAS, Va. -- A nurse supervisor is on trial in the case of a disabled man who was found in his apartment with his clothes drenched in urine and his feet infested with maggots.

Isatu A. Wurie is charged with abuse and neglect of an incapacitated adult.

Rescuers were called to Charles Furry's Triangle apartment Aug. 21, 2003, and found him alone in a soiled recliner. He could not walk or talk.

The 55-year-old Furry--who suffered from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the degenerative nerve disease known as Lou Gehrig's disease--was taken to a hospital and died two weeks later.

Wurie, 57, went on trial Monday. As an employee of a private home health care provider, she oversaw Furry's care. Joann Williams, a 36-year-old nursing aide, has already pleaded guilty to the charge.

In opening statements, Assistant Virginia Attorney General Steven W. Grist told the jury that Wurie had noticed Furry's condition was deteriorating a month before rescuers were called.

"It's important at this point what she does: nothing," Grist said.

Defense attorney Dickson J. Young agreed with prosecutors that Furry did not deserve to be in the condition in which he was found. But he said the social services system had failed Furry long before Wurie got involved.

Prince William County firefighter Lt. Everett Hinson testified that he and other rescuers found Furry wearing socks that were stained black, yellow and green.

"When we removed his socks, maggots fell out. Hundreds fell out initially," he said. "There were some between his toes and some under the skin."

Furry's legs were swollen, and his shirt was drenched in drool, Hinson said.

"He looked like he was 100 percent dependent on someone to care for him," he said.

Furry apparently had no family help. Court records show he had five children, but none was part of his life.

Wurie first visited Furry on June 20, 2003, for an initial assessment, according to records.

Based on her assessment, county social workers approved Furry for 30 hours a week of home health care, Young said.

"She had 30 hours a week with a (certified nursing assistant) to manage a guy who needed 24-7 coverage," he told the jury.

Kay Ackerman of Prince William's Department of Social Services said she could not comment directly on Furry's case.

"When we receive a call, the Adult Protective Services social workers investigate the call," she said. "We do not manage or license or supervise nursing facilities or home health care organizations."

Wurie was the one who called rescuers in August. A few days before, her boss had asked her to check on him after the nursing aide reported that his condition was worsening. Wurie later told investigators that she did not consider the request urgent.

She arrived at the apartment at 9 a.m. Aug. 21, to find it locked. She got a key from a neighbor and found Furry in the recliner.

Wurie waited until 3:36 p.m. before calling rescuers, and she called on a non-emergency line, Grist said.

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Information from: The Washington Post, http://www.washingtonpost.com

[swhite.geo]

Absolutely, criminally PREPOSTEROUS !! I hope that RN gets what's coming to her! Thanks Bobby!

Adj. 1. preposterous - completely devoid of wisdom or good sense; "the absurd excuse that the dog ate his homework"; "that's a cockeyed idea"; "ask a nonsensical question and get a nonsensical answer"; "a contribution so small as to be laughable"; "it is ludicrous to call a cottage a mansion"; "a preposterous attempt to turn back the pages of history"; "her conceited assumption of universal interest in her rather dull children was ridiculous"
derisory, laughable, nonsensical, ridiculous, ludicrous, idiotic, absurd, cockeyed
foolish - devoid of good sense or judgment; "foolish remarks"; "a foolish decision"

[BobbyB]

VA nurse fails to visit patients, lists dead patient as 'stable'
by The Associated Press
published March 15, 2007 3:50 pm


Salisbury – A nurse responsible for monitoring care of frail military veterans didn't visit patients as required for two years and filed one report that listed a dead patient in stable condition, according to a federal inspection obtained by The Charlotte Observer.


Inspectors reviewed records last year of 10 seriously ill veterans at Hefner VA Medical Center who were housed in private nursing homes, five of which ''did not meet the minimum threshold standards for quality of care,'' according to a report issued in September by the VA Office of Inspector General.

The VA nurse was supposed to visit patients at least quarterly, but she failed to do so for more than two years and visited only on ''rare occasions'' when requested. Inspectors found some veterans had suffered ''significant weight loss,'' though the nurse's notes listed all patients as stable – including one man who had died 12 days earlier, the report said.

The nurse, who wasn't named in the report, is still employed by the hospital but is no longer responsible for nursing home visits, Hefner VA Medical Center spokeswoman Carol Waters said in an e-mail Wednesday to the newspaper.

Donald Moore, the hospital's director at the time, said he suspended the nurse and her supervisor. Moore said the case was among the most serious during his tenure, but that physicians thought the nurse was a good employee.

''It was poor charting. It wasn't as bad as it seems, though I know that sounds crazy,'' he said. ''The feedback on her was very positive. We had over 1,700 employees, and somebody will drop the ball.''

The care offered at VA medical centers have come under a microscope since revelations surfaced that Walter Reed Army Medical Center, one of the country's top military hospitals in Washington, D.C., provided inadequate outpatient care to troops injured in the Afghan and Iraq wars.

The Salisbury hospital is one of the fastest-growing VA hospitals in the country.

The Department of Veterans Affairs contracts with private nursing homes when its hospitals are full or cannot provide specialized long-term care needed by some veterans.

''The nurse wasn't doing what she was supposed to be doing, clearly, but she was having the nurses at the nursing home send her information,'' Christa Sisterhen, associate director at the VA office that did the investigation, said Wednesday.

A separate investigation in 2005 found a history of neglectful care at the hospital, according to a report by the Office of the Medical Inspector. That report determined doctors and nurses had cut corners on treatment, manipulated records, and didn't talk enough with patients and families. Investigators also determined two veterans who died at the hospital had received inadequate care.

Moore, who took over the hospital in June 2004, said he worked to change the quality of the medical staff and improve the hospital's reputation among veterans.

''We removed more physicians in the two-and-a-half years I was there than in the previous 30 years. We raised the bar,'' he said. ''Salisbury was a sleepy little place where people came to retire. We made it where marginal performers couldn't survive.''

Moore now heads the VA hospital in Phoenix.