Failure to Update Wound Care Orders and Follow Sterile Technique
Penalty
Summary
A deficiency occurred when staff failed to enter new wound dressing change orders and did not provide wound care in accordance with professional standards for a resident diagnosed with Idiopathic Aseptic Necrosis of both feet and Peripheral Vascular Disease. The wound nurse performed a dressing change on the resident's right foot, cleansing the wound with Betadine and then, without changing gloves, applied a new clean dressing. The nurse later confirmed that she should have removed her dirty gloves before handling the clean dressing, as per the facility's wound care policy, which requires the use of sterile technique and glove changes to prevent contamination. Additionally, the wound nurse did not update the resident's wound care orders in the computer system after the wound doctor changed the treatment plan. As a result, wound care continued to be provided and documented under the previous orders, which differed from the new physician's instructions. The nurse acknowledged that the new orders should have been entered into the system on the same day they were received, but this was not done, leading to a failure to provide care according to the most current physician orders.