Kerry Wood is well-known among Illinois sports fans as a former pitcher for the Cubs. Although some of Wood’s most memorable moments came on the baseball diamond, the ex-athlete isn’t likely to forget a recent occurrence: He discovered the body of a Chicago man who may have been the subject of nursing home neglect.
While Wood was paddle boarding, he noticed a body floating on the water and notified authorities immediately. Police quickly identified the man as a 40-year-old nursing home resident who had gone missing only days earlier.
A local nursing home apparently reported that the man went missing after he was discharged from the hospital. Why didn’t the man make it safely back to the nursing home after being released?
At this point in time, the Chicago medical examiner hasn’t released a final report. The results are likely to give the man’s loved ones more answers about what happened before he passed away. For example, steps may not have been taken to ensure that the man was safely transported between the hospital and nursing home. Additionally, it may help establish evidence of nursing home negligence, as the man wasn’t safely kept on the premises of the facility.
In many cases, certain nursing home patients are at risk of wandering off if they aren’t provided proper supervision. Given a resident’s medical history, long-term care staff should make sure precautions are taken to make sure that they aren’t unnecessarily being exposed to danger. Insufficient nursing home care is something that can impact families for many years, especially since they have reason to believe that nursing home facilities are fully prepared to deal with the needs of patients.
Source: Chicago Tribune, “Ex-Cub pitcher Kerry Wood discovers body in Belmont Harbor,” Rosemary Regina Sobol, June 25, 2013