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The nursing staff and Administrator at every Illinois nursing home has a legal responsibility to report and investigate every allegation of abuse, whether witnessed or not. Any failure to do so violates federal and state nursing home regulations. Unfortunately, many facilities failed to follow protocols, which often places the health and well-being of every resident in immediate jeopardy. Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers represent victims of abuse while residing in an Illinois nursing facilities including Alhambra Care Center.
The Center is an 84-certified-bed ‘for profit’ Medicaid/Medicare-approved facility providing nursing services to residents of Alhambra and Madison County, Illinois. The nursing home is located at:
417 E. Main St.
Alhambra, IL 62001
(618) 488-3565
In addition to providing around-the-clock skilled nursing care, the facility also offers speech/language pathology, occupational therapy, and physical therapy.
Alhambra Nursing Home Resident Safety ConcernsComprehensive research results can be obtained through the federal government/Illinois Medicare.gov nursing home database that details every safety concern, health violation, filed complaint and opened investigation. Many families often use this information to determine the level of medical, health and hygiene care facilities provide their residents in their community.
Currently, Alhambra Care Center maintains an overall two out of five available rating in the nationwide Medicare star rating summary comparison analysis system. This includes three out of five stars for health inspections, two out of five stars for staffing concerns and one out of five stars for quality measures. The Madison County nursing home neglect attorneys at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers have found serious safety concerns at this facility that include:
- Failure to Investigate and Report Allegations of Abuse
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated 10/22/2015, a notation was made by a state surveyor during an annual licensure and certification survey involving the facility's failure to "investigate allegations of abuse and injuries of unknown origin; and [a failure to] report abuse allegations to the Administrator.” The deficient practice of the nursing staff and Administrator at Alhambra Care Center affected two residents at the facility.
The failure was first noted at 11:17 AM on 07/18/2015 where the facility process Nursing Notes that a resident “in the TV area on C-Hall [was] getting in close proximity with female resident’s faces and yelling/and cursing at them.” Subsequent Nurses Notes at 1:17 PM on 08/05/2015 documents that the same resident was “aggressive after lunch. Very verbal to staff and other residents. Walked up to a female resident in a wheelchair and attempted to hit her with a closed fist in the back of her head.” The investigator noted that the Nurses Notes “did not identify the female [resident] hit” by the aggressive resident.
During an interview with the facility’s Director of Nursing on the morning of 10/21/2015, the Director stated that “there were no abuse investigations for [the resident’s] 07/08/2015 and 08/05/2015 incidences.” In addition, the facility Administrator stated during the same meeting that “she was not informed of any resident-to-resident altercations on these dates [...and] stated there were no allegations of abuse, so no investigations were completed.”
During that interview, the Administrator “further stated she did not need a five-page report to know if abuse occurred. She stated she knew her residents in this was not abuse.”
A separate failure was documented in the January 2015 facility’s Incident Log noting that at 7:15 PM on 01/10/2015 in the hallway “Resident Abuse Behavior – no injury.” The document further states that a resident “grabbed [the] hair of another resident.” The Nurses Notes for this incident revealed that “Administrator [was] notified of an incident of [resident] wandering the B and A Halls. Walked past another resident sitting in the hallway in a stationary chair and suddenly grabbed a careful of [the] other female’s hair. The Nurse’s Notes did not identify the female in the incident.”
The Administrator stated during an interview that “she didn’t remember any incidences with [that resident and stated] it’s possible it was not reported to me.” The Administrator “further stated there was no investigation for an incident with [that resident and the Administrator] could not identify the other resident involved.
- Failure to Develop, Implement, and Enforce Policies Regarding Abuse
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated 10/22/2015, the state investigator noted the facility’s failure “to operationalize its abuse policy by not reporting allegations of abuse and thoroughly investigating allegations of abuse and injuries of unknown origin.” The investigator also noted that this failure has “the potential to affect all of the 51 residents living in the facility.” It was noted that the facility’s 12/12/2012 Abuse Prevention and Prohibition Policy reads in part:
“Residents neither must be subjected to abuse by anyone, including, but not limited to facility staff, other residents, consultants or volunteers, the staff of other agency serving the resident, family members, or legal guardian, friends or other individuals.”
If your loved one was the victim of abuse, mistreatment or neglect while a patient at Alhambra Care Center, contact the Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers law firm now. Our dedicated nursing home attorneys can ensure that your loved one’s rights and well-being are protected.
We urge you to contact our McHenry County elder abuse law office at 888 424-5757. Schedule your appointment today to speak with one of our experienced lawyers for your free full case review. No upfront fees are necessary.
Sources:
http://www.idph.state.il.us/ltc/docs/SurveyResult/6004014FIK10222015.PDF
