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Any falling incident in an Illinois nursing facility could place the health and well-being of the resident in Immediate Jeopardy. Because of that, the nursing staff is required to develop, implement and enforce Fall Interventions which might include additional supervision and ongoing monitoring. Unfortunately, not every nursing home takes appropriate measures and develops an effective Plan of Care, which can be detrimental to the patient’s quality of life. The elder abuse attorneys at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC represent injured and abused patients who reside at Illinois intermediate care facilities like Belmont Nursing Home.
Belmont Nursing Home
This facility is a ‘for profit’ 61-certified-bed Nursing Center providing cares and services to residents of Chicago and Cook County, Illinois. The Medicaid-approved Intermediate Nursing Home is located at:
1936 W. Belmont Ave.
Chicago, IL 60657
(773) 525-7176
Chicago LTC Home Resident Safety Concerns
The state of Illinois routinely updates their nursing home database system to reflect all safety concerns, filed complaints, opened investigations, incident inquiries and health violations. This information can be found on numerous websites including the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH – ltc.dph.illinois.gov).
The Cook County abuse and neglect attorneys at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC have reviewed the deficiencies, safety concerns, inquiries, and health violations at this Illinois long-term care (LTC) home that include:
- Failure to Provide Every Resident an Environment Free of Accident Hazards and Develop Interventions to Prevent Future Falls
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated 08/14/2014, a notation was made by a state investigator while performing an annual licensure and certification survey involving the nursing home’s failure to “develop and implement new care plan interventions following falls for [a resident.” The investigator also noted the facility’s failure “to develop a Care Plan for falls following three falls for [a resident who] suffered for falls over five months" without any new interventions put in place.
The deficient practice was first noted in the state investigator’s findings after reviewing the resident’s 04/15/2014 Incident Report indicating that the resident “was found on the floor leaning against the door and that [the resident] stated … that he fell and tried to get up and fell again."
The investigator noted that the report indicated that the resident “was sent to the local emergency room for a full workup and labs [...and the resident’s 04/15/2014 Falls Care Plan] indicated under ‘Interventions’ that the facility will continue with prescribed interventions. No new interventions were added.”
Approximately one month later, on 05/17/2014, the resident’s Incident Report indicated that the resident “was found on his knees with his cane at his side and [the resident] stated in the report that as he was walking, his legs gave out.” The resident’s 05/17/2014 Progress Note indicated that the resident “was sent to the local emergency room for evaluations [...and the updated 05/17/2014 Falls Care Plan once again] indicated under ‘Interventions’ at the facility will continue with prescribed interventions. No new interventions were added."
Less than one month later, on 08/12/2014, the resident’s Incident Reports documented the resident had for fall incidences occurring on 01/23/2014, 01/29/2014, 04/17/2014 and 05/30/2014." The resident’s “medical record indicated that for the record of falls, no fall assessment was done until 06/23/2014 and [the resident’s] Fall Care Plan was not initiated until [that day].”
A review of the resident’s MDS (Minimum Data Set) Medical Record indicated “that her last comprehensive assessment based on a Resident Assessment Instrument was done on 06/24/2013 and the quarterly last done on 09/23/2013.” The resident “had two falls in January 2014 and if the quarterly assessment had been done based on the Resident Assessment Instrument, it would have triggered [an action] which would have resulted in the facility creating a fall Care Plan.” The resident “did not have a Fall Care Plan initiated until 06/23/2014”, nearly 6 months after the first fall.
The state investigator interviewed the facility’s Administrator/Director of Nurses on the afternoon of 08/11/2014 who stated in part “that the facility has stopped documenting on the MDS since last year (October 2013) because she has the impression under the new rule from the State, they (Facility) do not have to do it anymore.”
At noon on 08/14/2015, the Facility Administrator “presented the Admission Policy [to the surveyor] that indicated that each resident should be:
“Reassessed no less than 90 days or sooner if there is a significant change in the resident’s status.”
The state investigator noted that “this policy was not followed.”
Chicago Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers
If your loved one has suffered injury or harm while a patient at Belmont Nursing Home, call the Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC law offices now. Our Chicago nursing home attorneys have successfully resolved many financial compensation claims for victims of abuse, mistreatment, and neglect in Illinois nursing homes.
We encourage you and your family to contact our Cook County elder abuse law office today by calling (888) 424-5757 to schedule your appointment for an initial complimentary claim evaluation. You do not need to make any upfront payment for our legal services because we accept all nursing home abuse and neglect cases through contingency fee agreements. This means our fees are paid only after we have successfully resolved your claim for compensation by negotiating an acceptable out of court settlement or win your case at trial.
Sources:
http://www.idph.state.il.us/ltc/docs/SurveyResult/6000848FIK08132015.PDF
http://www.idph.state.il.us/ltc/docs/SurveyResult/6000848FI08142014.PDF
http://www.idph.state.il.us/ltc/docs/SurveyResult/6000848FA10302013.PDF
