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To avoid the potential of cross contamination, nurses working in nursing homes are required to follow established procedures and protocols enforced by federal and state nursing home regulatory agencies. This includes ensuring that all opened bedsores are continuously covered with appropriate bandages to safeguard the wound when the resident is incontinent with bowel or bladder. Unfortunately, the Gary Indiana elder abuse attorneys at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers have handled many cases where the resident suffered a life-threatening infection that could have been prevented had the nursing staff followed protocol.
Aperion Care Tolleston Park is a 180-certified bed for profit Medicare/Medicaid-approved nursing facility providing services to residents of Gary, Lake County Indiana and Cook County, Illinois. The facility is located at:
2350 Taft St.
Gary, Indiana 46404
(219) 977-2600
In addition to providing skilled nursing care, Aperion Care Tolleston Park offers:
- Short-term rehabilitation
- Respiratory care
- Wound care
- Diabetes management
- IV therapy
- Medication management
- In-house hemodialysis
- Cardiac rehabilitation
- Post-stroke rehabilitation
To ensure families are fully informed before placing a loved one in a nursing facility, federal and state nursing agencies update their database systems to reflect the complete history of safety concerns, health violations, filed complaints and opened investigations. The updated information can be found on numerous sites online including Medicare.gov.
Currently, Aperion Care Tolleston Park maintains an overall one out of five available star rating in the Medicare star rating summary system. This includes two out of five stars for quality measures and one out of five stars for both staffing issues and health inspections. Our Gary Indiana nursing home neglect attorneys have found numerous complaints and safety concerns involving this facility that include:
- Failure to Provide Every Resident an Environment Free of Accident Hazards and Risks and Adequate Supervision to Prevent Avoidable Accidents
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated 06/09/2015, a complaint investigation against the facility was opened for its failure to "ensure adequate supervision was provided to prevent accidents during transfers related to not utilizing a gait belt.” The state investigator also noted the facility’s failure “to utilize a mechanical lift device and failure to utilize two staff members during a mechanical lift transfer [of two residents at the facility].”
As a part of the investigation, an observation was made of the Certified Nursing Assistant at 11:07 AM on 06/07/2015 who “was observed transferring [a resident] from a wheelchair into her bed. CNA place the resident’s wheelchair next to the bed and placed her arms around the resident’s arms and wrap them around the resident’s body [… before lifting] the resident [...and] pivoted the resident toward the bed and placed the resident in the bed.” During the observation, “the resident provided minimal weight-bearing support in the CNA did not release her hands until the resident was in the bed [… while] the resident was holding onto the CNA.” At no time did the Certified Nursing Assistant use a gait belt while transferring the resident.
The investigator interviewed the facility’s Director of Nursing at 2:00 PM on 06/07/2015 who indicated that “gate belts were to be utilized for all residents requiring staff assistance with transfers.” During a subsequent interview, “the Director of Nursing indicated she was not aware of the resident’s care plan and pocket worksheet each listed a different transfer status for the resident.” As a part of the investigation, it was noted that the actions of the nursing staff failed to follow the facility’s Limited Lifting Resident Handling Policy that reads in part:
“Staff are to utilize a gait belt for all physical assist transfers.”
- Failure to Provide Every Resident Proper Treatment to Prevent the Development of a New Bedsore or Allow an Existing Bedsore to Heal
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated 07/20/2015, a complaint investigation was opened against the facility for its failure to "ensure the necessary treatment and services were provided for pressure ulcers related to pressure ulcer dressings not in place and weekly skin observations not completed for [2 residents at the facility] reviewed for pressure ulcers.”
An observation was made of the resident on 07/20/2015 during the surveyor’s Orientation Tour who had an “open area measuring approximately 4.0 centimeters by 3.0 centimeters” with “no dressing or bandage covering the wound.” The resident’s Skin Assessment indicated that the resident “had one stage IV (full thickness tissue loss with exposed bone, tendon, or muscle) pressure ulcer” on the resident’s coccyx area. The investigator interviewed the facility’s Unit Manager on 07/20/2015 at 8:40 AM who indicated that “the dressing to the resident’s coccyx should have been in place” to avoid cross-contamination with incontinence of the bowel or bladder.
If your loved one has been mistreated or neglected while residing at any nursing facility, including Aperion Care Tolleston Park, Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers can help. Our Lake County elder abuse attorneys can handle every aspect of your claim for compensation to ensure your family receives the financial recovery they deserve for the harm they have endured.
Contact our Gary Indiana nursing home abuse law firm at (888) 424-5757 today to speak with one of our attorneys through a free, no-obligation consultation. No upfront payment for our legal services is necessary because we accept all nursing home neglect and abuse cases through contingency fee arrangements.
