Description

The report recommends that the developmental center take steps to ensure coordination and communication among medical staff charged with care of clients who are seriously ill. Specifically, the report recommends: that clients deemed ill enough to be sent to an emergency room should be promptly evaluated by a facility physician upon return; and, that facility nurses document decisions to deviate from established client treatment regimens. In addition, the report recommends that a transfer form be developed to include information, regarding the special needs of handicapped clients, for use whenever such clients are sent to other facilities or to outside practitioners, to increase communication between facility and community physicians. The report further recommends that the developmental center administration proceed, through education and direct intervention, to ensure that local general hospital physicians provide the same emergency care to developmental center clients as is afforded to the general public, and not misconstrue the developmental center's medical unit as comparable to a hospital's acute care surgical unit. Finally, the Commission report recommends that, following the unanticipated death of a client, there should be a forum for staff of all levels to exchange information, identify problem areas and plan for future intervention to prevent the recurrence of such deaths