New Jersey Requires Nursing Home Bed Upgrades
In April, New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine signed a bill requiring the state's nursing homes to provide residents with pressure-relieving mattresses that prevent bedsores.


July 01, 2009 /24-7PressRelease/ -- New Jersey Requires Nursing Home Bed Upgrades

Article provided by Albert L. Buzzetti & Associates, L.L.C.
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In April, New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine signed a bill requiring the state's nursing homes to provide residents with pressure-relieving mattresses that prevent bedsores.

The law gives the facilities three years to replace all their mattresses with pressure-redistribution mattresses. The new mattresses shift support of a patient's weight away from the areas where pressure ulcers -- commonly referred to as bedsores -- are most likely to occur.

Research shows that more than one in 10 nursing home residents develops bedsores, most often over bony, prominent surfaces, such as the elbow, heel, hip, shoulder, back and back of the head.
According to the text of the legislation, New Jersey nursing home patients have a higher incidence of bedsores than the national average.

The pressure ulcers often occur in patients who are immobile, resulting from lack of blood flow to the affected area. This causes the tissue to begin to break down, progressively creating sores that become portals for infections that are potentially fatal. Bedsores range from Stage 1, indicated by persistently red, unbroken skin to Stage 4, the most severe, in which open sores expose muscle and bone.

Treating one of these painful, often preventable, sores can cost between $38,000 and $55,000, according to national health care data.

The New Jersey law requires nursing homes to begin replacing mattresses a year after the bill's signing. Every time a home replaces a mattress, it must be with a pressure-redistribution mattress. By 2012, all mattresses must be replaced with bedsore-preventing types.

The bill's sponsors acknowledge that pressure-redistribution mattresses cost more up front, but they say an expected reduction in spending on bedsore treatment, combined with better health for nursing home residents, will more than make up for the additional initial costs.

Though this new law is a step forward for nursing home residents, preventable injuries still occur to some of our most vulnerable citizens. If you or a loved one has suffered a nursing home injury due to substandard care or equipment, speak with an attorney who can advise you on the protections the law offers in your circumstances.

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