White House call kicked off criminal investigation of H.R. McMaster Sr.'s death

Philly.Com ^ | 06/05/2018 | Harold Brubaker,

[Kid Shelleen]

A call from the White House to the Philadelphia Police Department kicked off a criminal investigation into the April 13 death of Herbert R. McMaster Sr. at Cathedral Village, according to testimony Tuesday ---SNIP--- One of three nursing assistants scheduled to work the 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. shift that started on April 12 was two hours late for work and then took a two-hour nap during the shift, Piper alleged, limiting the amount of care available for the 39 patients on the first floor of Cathedral Village’s rehabilitation wing.

Because McMaster had four falls between 9:45 p.m. on April 9 and 1:55 a.m. on April 12, he was supposed to have one-on-one care

[Kid Shelleen]

Full Title: Testimony: White House call kicked off criminal investigation of H.R. McMaster Sr.'s death at Cathedral

Four falls in 3 days, aides sleeping on the job, and broken medical equipment are part of this man's sad demise.

[cnsmom]

I was in rehab last year at one of DC’s best hospitals. I wasn’t suppose to get up but it took 45 minutes to have a nurse or tech assist me to the bathroom. I would carefully go on my own. I did have a few falls . If you have a family member in rehab they should probably have one on one care 24/7. The hospital transport system would lose / forget about me all over the hospital and I’d have to navigate on my own . It is dangerous in hospitals these days. Take care of your health.

[jmacusa]

I've worked in three nursing homes here in New Jersey and I have to say in this state, everybody, and I mean every body who works in a nursing home is required, by law, to be trained to prevent residents from falling, what to do if they see a person fall, how to report a falling incident and if they even think someone may have fallen and it either wasn't seen or reported you're required to do so. There are serve consequences for failing to do so.

[TheNext]

Then don’t fall especially that many times. Even with advancing age, we must take personal responsibility.

As you age, move cautiously. Protect your hips.

[burroak]

Protect your hips.

__________________________________________________________________

Just a theory.

The hip shatters first, then you fall. All persons that fall do not have a broken hip, but everyone with a broken hip falls.

IMHO

[Robert DeLong]

Apparently they require that too, but that process was not followed.. From the article:

In a report on McMaster’s death, the state department found that Cathedral Village did not properly investigate the four earlier falls, did not complete all the required neurological checks, and failed to develop plans to prevent additional falls. In an earlier report, the health department said Cathedral Village provided lax oversight of temporary staff.

[TheNext]

One of the highest risks of death in elder age is broken hips.

1st the careless fall.
2nd the hip cracks or breaks
3rd this leads to irreversible alternate internal problems
4th fast path to death

I read about this and experienced an older very healthy friend die this way, although she did the stairs fall.

Older folks must constantly re-practice how to walk cautiously. I love my fellow FRiends and if this saves one life ... But your angle is also interesting. :-)

[WKUHilltopper]

100,000 die a year in cesspit hospitals due to their infections and lack of infection control. Investigate that AMA instead of firearm “violence”.

[moovova]

When the White House gets involved, the minimum-wager CNAs gotta be getting nervous.

They’ll probably take the 5th.

[moovova]

After a stroke, mother-in-law had 24hr a day care at home. It was shift change at 8am, both caregivers in the kitchen BS’ing...Gramma got up, went to the john, fell, hit her head, died 2 days later.

The caregivers still got paid for the day.

[I_be_tc]

i pretty much agree with you. A nurse at my Mom’s nursing home gave this as her theory also. She was convinced that the break or fractures actually happen first (brittle bones) and that causes the person to fall. Not the other way around.

My Mom had a broken pelvis in her fall. I had her all day and she kept slipping down while I held her hand as we walked. She did this about 5 times. As soon as I returned her to the care center (alzheimers) she went down and “broke her pelvis”. The nurse’s theory made sense to me. I believe her pelvis was hair line fractured and without support (never needed before) she fell.

The nurse said a lot of caregivers think the fractures are in reverse. Fracture first, causes the fall.

And, my Mom did pass about 3 months later, at 84. Could not walk again after “healed”. Slipped into a coma.

[burroak]

As my mother slipped into dementia, she broke her hip. In relating her situation with a doctor friend, he told me at that age a broken hip is the beginning of the death sequence and one enters the 18 mo. window of passing over.

It was true for my mother.