More False Stories From The Vegas Media

I wonder if journalism standards are lost in Ls Vegas. Earlier today, I pointed out that the LVRJ posted pictures from Aviation Nation could not have taken on Saturday. Not really a big issue, but it shows a lack of journalism interity.
Now, the Las Vegas Sun has gone and printed a completely BS article.
It involves a patient who went for heart surgery at a local hospital, spent some time in a coma and by the time he was discharged, he had a bed sore the size of a grapfruit, The Sun made it clear that the cause of sore was from a lack of turning the patient and neglect. well I call BS on their story.
From the Sun: Englestead underwent the surgery almost two years ago at Sunrise Hospital Medical Center and was discharged with an open sore the size of a grapefruit on his buttocks, so deep it exposed his tailbone.
Some health care experts refer to bedsores as “never events” — injuries that are not supposed to occur if the patient is shifted in bed so pressure isn’t placed too long on the same body part. Such injuries are considered so preventable that the federal government does not reimburse hospitals for treating them when they occur in the facilities.
The hospital responds:
Dan Davidson, Sunrise spokesman, said in an e-mail that although he was unable to discuss Englestead’s case in detail, “our review of the records indicates that unfortunately, this bedsore was unpreventable.”
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/nov/14/after-sugery-injury-uncured/
I have spent most of my adult life working with people who are susceptible to bedsores. I have seen numerous bedsores, but never the size of a grapefruit. Maybe a dime sized bedsore, but never the size of a grapefruit.
Bed sores can happen due not turning a patient or if a person urinates and poops in their bed. Well, since Mr. Englestead was in a coma, he more than likely had a catheter placed in him, so there would be no problem with urine. As as poop, I am quite confident that the staff just did not leave in that condition for hours at a time.
Further, the only way to get a bedsore on the buttocks is from the patient sitting on their tailbone for extended periods of time. You will not find this while a patient is lying in a hospital bed, instead you will find this injury from sitting in a wheelchair for an extended amount of time and this is not alleged in the article.
Further, the family stated that they never saw the patient turned. When family is visiting, more often than not, the nurses and aide do not want to interrupt the patients visit unless they had to. Mr. Englestead probably was turned before or after the family left.
Finally, the sure sign that this was abuse or bed sore. If a bed sore the size of a grapefruit did occur, it would have started with criminal charges. Bed sores do not happen over night, but takes days and weeks for a large bedsore to occur. A bed sore this size would have resulted in criminal charges of abuse and/or neglect of a patient. Further, nursing, nursing aides and doctor's licences would have been revoked and the hospital would have been fined thousands , if not hundreds of thousands of dollars, for the neglect. None of this happened.
So what did happen? From the Sun: Englestead underwent the surgery almost two years ago at Sunrise Hospital Medical Center and was discharged with an open sore the size of a grapefruit on his buttocks, so deep it exposed his tailbone.
Now, compare this to a description of a pinodal abcess: A pilonidal is an abscess which occurs in the natal cleft, or in layman's terms, the crack of the buttocks. The pilonidal is typically found near the tailbone. Pilonidal abscesses occur most frequently in men, but pilonidal abscesses do plague women...
Sometimes the pain only lasts for a day or so. If the pain increases, there is a good chance the pilonidal abscess is just increasing. The symptom which provides the most discomfort is when the abscess swells. When the pilonidal abscess swells, it fills up with a foul-smelling pus and blood. The swollen pilonidal abscess is very tender to the touch and may prevent the carrying out of daily details. When the pilonidal abscess has reached this point, medical attention is needed as soon as possible.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/169224/pilonidal_abscess_symptoms_prevention.html
I have assisted in treating people with pilonidal abscesses and I have had one myself, which I contracted in a hospital.
If the pilondial cyst ruptures, you end up with a whole under your tailbone and it can be deep and wide. The biggest one I helped treat was the size of an apple and it took months for the wound to heal. To treat the abscess, you have to put gauze inside the womb and at times, you have to remove dead skin. It is very painful and it describes what Mr. Englestaed had.
So, the Las Vegas has gone out and tried to ruin the reputation of a hospital and it's staff in an effort to sensationalize the news. That is so pathetic and I hope that the hospital and staff sue the Sun for libel.