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Some nursing home residents require a higher level of supervision to ensure they do not wander or elope away from the facility without notice. Sadly, many residents suffer cognitive impairment and lack the reasoning to make safe choices which can lead to wandering and elopement behaviors. Unfortunately, the Bloomingdale elder abuse attorneys at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers have represented many families whose loved ones have wandered away unsupervised from their facility only to suffer serious injuries or death.
By law, nursing homes are legally required to provide every resident appropriate supervision and monitoring to address their wandering behavior. This often includes developing and implementing effective care plans to minimize the potential of a resident wandering or leaving the facility. However, many nursing facilities fail to provide adequate levels of supervision for a number of reasons including:
- The facility operates with insufficient staffing
- The facility failed to ensure that every exit door has sounding alarms in proper working order
- The facility failed to ensure that the nursing staff has adequate education on how to appropriately respond when a door alarm is triggered by a wandering resident
Alden Valley Ridge Rehabilitation and Health Care Center is a 207-certified bed Medicare/Medicaid-participating for-profit facility providing nursing services to residents of Bloomingdale and DuPage County. The facility is located at:
275 E. Army Trail Rd.
Bloomingdale, Illinois 60108
(630) 893-9616
The programs offered at Alden Valley Ridge Rehabilitation and Health Care Center encompass:
- Orthopedic rehab
- Cardiac rehab
- Neurological rehab
- Pulmonary rehab
- Post-acute care
- Physical, occupational, and speech therapies
Both the state of Illinois and the federal government routinely update their nursing home databases to reflect currently opened investigations, filed complaints, safety concerns and health violations of facilities all throughout the United States. The information is posted on various websites including Medicare.gov as a comparative analysis tool for families needing the best information when placing a loved one in a nursing home.
Currently, Alden Valley Ridge Rehabilitation and Health Care Center maintains an overall three out of five available star rating when compared to other facilities nationwide. This includes four out of five stars for quality measures, three out of five stars for health concerns, and two out of five stars for staffing issues. However, our Bloomingdale nursing home neglect attorneys have uncovered numerous safety concerns involving this facility. One of these concerns includes:
- Failure to Provide Every Resident an Environment Free of Accident Hazards and Risks and Provide Appropriate Supervision to Prevent Avoidable Accidents
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated 06/15/2015, a complaint investigation was opened against the facility for its failure to "monitor and implement measures to prevent [a resident at the facility] identified as High Risk from leaving the facility without the knowledge of the staff.” The state investigator noted that the resident “was missing from the facility for six hours before being brought back by the local police.”
Some six months before the elopement, the resident’s Care Plan for Elopement revealed that the resident “is sometimes found pacing/wandering and looks persistently for a way to get out of the facility or get home.” The state investigator notes that the resident’s Care Plan also reveals the resident “verbalizes intent to go home and staff may initiate frequent checks and supervision for [the resident].” The staff initiated a plan of supervision and oversight based on the resident’s elopement risk assessment showing that the resident is “At risk for elopement and should be placed on an elopement at risk Program.
However, the facility’s 06/07/2015 Nursing Note at 10:15 AM revealed that the resident “was not in the building. The facility called a code green and notify the local police and the family [of the resident] not in the facility [at the time].” The state investigator noted that the facility “is located at the corner of a busy Tulane intersection [...and] according to AccuWeather.com conditions were favorable” between the hours of 9:45 AM and 1:20 PM that day.
The investigator noted that according to the nursing staff the resident “was free to move about the facility on his own.” The investigator also noted that “the front door is not alarmed and there are no alarms for residents who are at risk for elopement when exiting the facility at the front door.” The nursing staff stated that there is always a receptionist working “from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM” at the front exit and the doors are locked after 8:00 PM, however, “anyone can exit” at any time.
If you suspect that your loved one has suffered serious harm or death while wandering or eloping away from any nursing facility in Illinois, including Alden Valley Ridge Rehab Health Care Ctr., Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers can help. Our team of dedicated DuPage County elder abuse attorneys remains sensitive to the emotional trauma caused by elopement situations and are ready to provide compassionate legal representation to the family in need.
To successfully resolve your financial compensation case against the facility and all nursing staff responsible for causing your loved one harm, we encourage you to contact our Bloomingdale Illinois nursing home abuse law offices today by calling (888) 424-5757 to schedule a free, case evaluation. We handle all personal injury cases on contingency to avoid the need for an upfront payment.
http://www.aldenvalleyridge.com/
