Baton Rouge Family Says Loved One Died at Nursing Home With Bedsores So Deep the Bone Was Visible

A Baton Rouge family says their loved one died of neglect at White Oak Post Acute Care, describing bedsores so deep that bone was visible, an infected wound, and weeks without proper bathing, WAFB’s I-TEAM reported.

Key Facts

• Lisa Smith, a cosmetologist for most of her life, was admitted to White Oak Post Acute Care after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and becoming bedridden, according to her sister, Sky Wheeler. Smith died at the facility in March, WAFB reported.
• In the month before her death, Smith was hospitalized. Wheeler said hospital nurses called her in to photograph pressure sores on her sister’s back and legs that were so deep the bone was visible, and badly infected.
• Wheeler said she held eight separate meetings with administrators about her sister’s care, but staff turnover kept undoing any progress. WAFB reported that records show a nurse turnover rate of nearly 70%, more than 20 percentage points above the Louisiana average.
• Wheeler said staff told her the lift used for bathing was broken, leaving her sister without proper baths. She said she later found insects on her sister’s face and her hair so matted that she saved a clipping as documentation.
• When WAFB visited the facility seeking comment, a woman who identified herself as the administrator walked away. No one in a position of authority returned calls.
• The family’s account has not been tested in court.

Context

A resident who is bedridden from multiple sclerosis depends on staff for nearly everything: turning and repositioning every few hours, keeping skin clean and dry, nutrition, and bathing. When those tasks slip, pressure injuries can progress from red skin to open wounds that reach muscle and bone. Once a wound is that deep, infection — including bone infection and sepsis — becomes a serious risk.

High staff turnover makes all of this harder. New aides do not know a resident’s routine, her skin, or her family’s concerns, and care plans agreed in one meeting may be forgotten by the next shift.

Bedsore.Law Insight

Wheeler did what families are often told to do: she showed up, raised concerns, and asked for meetings. Eight meetings should have produced a plan that held. When a wound reaches the bone anyway, the records usually show why — missed repositioning, skin checks that were not done or not documented, and wound changes that came too late.

Photographs, notes from care meetings, and even a saved lock of hair can matter. If your loved one developed deep bedsores in a nursing home, write down what you saw and when, keep copies of everything, and request the records. Bedsore.Law can help you understand what happened. Call 844-407-6737 or visit bedsore.law/contact for a free, confidential consultation.

Source

WAFB