A nursing home has been cited and fined for “failing to ensure there were appropriately trained staff to reinsert a feeding tube”. An LPN placed a feeding tube in a patient and admittedly failed to verify the tube’s proper function and location after placement. The LPN said he placed tubes in patients at previous facilities, however, he had not received training where he misplaced the feeding tube. He assumed the patient was fine because he was eating solid foods.
However, when two nurses were changing the patient’s t-shirt, the tube became dislodged and fell out. An X-ray should have taken place to verify the placement of the feeding tube when first inserted and when the tube became dislodged. Feeding tubes can cause injury, infection and malnutrition when improperly placed. The facility has accepted the citation and fine for the incident. For more, read the story.
