Heidi H. Cross, MSN, RN, FNP-BC, CWON, is a board-certified Wound and Ostomy Nurse and a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner in Syracuse, NY. She is a graduate of Syracuse University, with a Master’s Degree in Nursing from the State University of New York Upstate Medical University.
She has extensive experience caring for wound and ostomy patients in acute care as well as in long-term care facilities. Currently, she is employed by CNY Surgical Physicians consulting for nursing homes in the Syracuse area, and has her own independent practice as an expert witness for plaintiff and defense attorneys.
Ms. Cross is a member of the Wound, Ostomy, and Continence Nurses Society, the Association for the Advancement of Wound Care, and the American Nurses Association. She has served on numerous committees related to wound and ostomy care, including as chair of the Wound Ostomy and Continence Nursing Certification Board examination committee, the credential and review committee, and the marketing committee. For the Wound and Ostomy Nurses Society, she is the co-chair of the National Conference Planning Committee ostomy track, has done peer review for the Journal of Wound Ostomy and Continence Nursing (JWOCN), and was the recipient of a grant from the Center for Clinical Investigation Research. The United Ostomy Associations of American honored her with the UOAA Ostomy Nurse of the Year in 2008, and ConvaTec awarded her the Ostomy Nurse of the Year award in 2011. She participated in developing the National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel’s Clinical Practice Guidelines for Prevention and Treatment of Pressure Ulcers in 2014.
By Heidi Cross, MSN, RN, FNP-BC, CWON
Given the potential consequences of FTT, recognition and diagnosis of this phenomenon are important components of care in older adults. Regardless of status, health care providers should implement and document all appropriate measures within...
Heidi Cross, MSN, RN, FNP-BC, CWON
In medical malpractice litigation, a thorough review of the medical chart is done to determine whether the facility or health care provider “met the standards of care” related to the medical issues at hand in the complaint. Attorneys hire...
By Heidi Cross, MSN, RN, FNP-BC, CWON
The United States is one of the most litigious nations in the world, with the result that numerous medical malpractice lawsuits are initiated against hospitals and other health care facilities, as well as practitioners. Commonly, these...
By Heidi Cross, MSN, RN, FNP-BC, CWON
As detailed in my last few blogs, nutrition plays a huge role in risk for skin breakdown as well as healing of wounds. Just about ALL wound litigation involves nutrition in one way or another, be it diabetes control (or lack thereof) or...
by Heidi Cross, MSN, RN, FNP-BC, CWON
The following is a wrap up of the 2019 pressure injury guidelines of the National Pressure Injury Advisory Panel (NPIAP)1 related to nutrition, of which there are 15. For guidelines #1 to #10, see my last few blogs (Parts...
By Heidi Cross, MSN, RN, FNP-BC, CWON
Since the advent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), I haven’t done much flying, but I love travel and I love flying. One of my favorite experiences is a window seat at about 30,000 feet on a clear sunny day. The views can be spectacular...
By Heidi Cross, MSN, RN, FNP-BC, CWON
"Defendants failed to provide adequate nutrition to prevent plaintiff from suffering severe malnutrition and weight loss. This allowed the development of a severe pressure ulcer, numerous infections, and dehydration and malnutrition. Had...
By Heidi Cross, MSN, RN, FNP-BC, CWON
In the previous blog, I briefly went through the standards of care when it comes to nutrition and pressure injury (PI) prevention and development and discussed what a large role nutrition plays in PI litigation. Here are several instances:...
By Heidi Cross, MSN, RN, FNP-BC, CWON
Pressure injury risk and development are multifactorial, individualized processes. Each patient presents with a unique set of circumstances and needs. In looking at charts for attorneys to determine whether standards of care related to...
By Heidi Cross, MSN, RN, FNP-BC, CWON
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." – Charles Dicken
When Charles Dickens wrote this introduction to his Victorian-era novel, A Tale of Two Cities, his novel was aimed at the brewing French Revolution, but he could...
By Heidi Cross, MSN, RN, FNP-BC, CWON
Ms. EB, a frail 82-year-old woman admitted to a long-term care facility, had a complex medical history that included diabetes, extensive heart disease, ischemic strokes with left-sided weakness and dysphagia, dementia, kidney disease, anemia...
Heidi Cross, MSN, RN, FNP-BC, CWON
"Me and Jenny goes together like peas and carrots." – Forrest Gump
Just like Forrest's peas and carrots, a pressure ulcer lawsuit and a pain and suffering allegation inevitably "goes together." For good reason, because pain is...
By Heidi Cross, MSN, RN, FNP-BC, CWON
In my recent WoundSource webinar, I discussed the topic of chronic wound etiology and management. The webinar is still available for viewing on WoundSource.com. Chronic wounds are vexing and frustrating to manage; they can be...
By Heidi Cross, MSN, RN, FNP-BC, CWON
"At all times material hereto, defendant failed to develop an adequate care plan and properly monitor and supervise the care and treatment in order to prevent her from suffering the development and deterioration of bed sores."
by Heidi H. Cross, MSN, RN, FNP-BC, CWON
According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, more than 17,000 lawsuits related to pressure ulcers (PUs) are filed annually in the United States, second only to wrongful death lawsuits. One of the greatest gifts to defense...
by Heidi H. Cross, MSN, RN, FNP-BC, CWON
"If a patient is cold, if a patient is feverish, if a patient is faint, if he is sick after taking food, if he has a bed sore, it is generally the fault not of the disease, but of the nursing." —Florence Nightingale...
by Heidi H. Cross, MSN, RN, FNP-BC, CWON
When looking at medical charts from a legal perspective, one of the areas closely scrutinized is the risk assessment for skin breakdown and pressure ulcer development. Completing a risk assessment is considered a standard of care. Was the...
by Heidi H. Cross, MSN, RN, FNP-BC, CWON
Failure to T&P (turn and position) is always part and parcel of a pressure ulcer lawsuit and a key element of a complaint related to pressure ulcers, as illustrated in the opening quotation. T&P documentation is a dominant focus in...
by Heidi H. Cross, MSN, RN, FNP-BC, CWON
Part 2 in a multi-part series looking at the basics of avoiding litigation as a health care provider. Read Part 1...
by Heidi H. Cross, MSN, RN, FNP-BC, CWON
Part 1 in a multi-part series looking at the basics of avoiding litigation as a health care provider.