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By law, nursing facilities are not allowed to prescribe antipsychotic and psychotropic medications without informed consent and only after all other options to change unacceptable behavior have proved to be unsuccessful. Unfortunately, many nursing facilities fail to follow procedures and protocols when prescribing the psychotropic drugs, which can often lead to a diminished quality of life for the patient. The elder abuse attorneys at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC provide legal advice, counsel, and representation to individuals who were given unauthorized medications without their consent while residing at Illinois nursing facilities like Calhoun Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.
Calhoun Nursing and Rehabilitation Center
This facility is an 80-certified-bed ‘for-profit’ Medicare/Medicaid-approved Center providing nursing services to residents of Hardin and Calhoun County, Illinois. The nursing home is located at:
1 Myrtle Lane
Hardin, IL 62047
(618) 576-2278
In addition to providing short-term rehabilitation care, the facility also provides long-term care, sub-acute rehabilitation and enhancement therapy.
Hardin Nursing Home Resident Safety Concerns
Families can visit Medicare.gov to obtain a historical list of all health violations, filed complaints, safety concerns and opened investigations of every facility nationwide. The information can be used to determine the level of health and hygiene care every community nursing home provides its residents.
Currently, Calhoun Nursing and Rehabilitation Center maintains an overall five out of five available star rating in the nationwide comparison analysis Medicare star rating summary system. This includes five out of five stars for health inspections and three out of five stars for both staffing concerns and quality measures. The Calhoun County nursing home neglect attorneys at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC have found various deficiencies and safety concerns at this facility that include:
- Failure to Ensure Residents Remain Free of Unnecessary Medications
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated 06/05/2015, a notation was made by a state surveyor during an annual licensure and certification survey involving the facility's failure to "ensure that residents do not receive antipsychotic medications until signs and symptoms of other possible underlying conditions are ruled out.” The investigator also noted the facility’s failure “to ensure residents are not given these drugs unless other non-pharmacological interventions are attempted prior to the use of antipsychotics.”
· The deficient practices were first noted in the investigator’s findings involving the review of a resident’s 02/22/2015 MDS (Minimum Data Set) documenting that the resident “has no delirium, identified behaviors or psychosis, but has moderate cognitive impairment.” The physician ordered Abilify, Ativan, and Cymbalta taken at different times throughout the day.
The resident’s Current “Care Plan documents [that the resident has] tearfulness at times, attention seeking behaviors and gets easily agitated.” However, the resident’s Departmental Notes dated between 03/21/2015 through 03/24/2015 “failed to document any behaviors.” The resident’s Departmental Notes “also failed to document any attempts at non-pharmacological or less restrictive interventions prior to the use of Abilify. There is also no documentation that staff assessed [the resident’s] behaviors in light of the UTI she currently had, to determine if it had an effect.”
Although the Abilify had been prescribed “a week ago for memory issues and depression, the state investigator noted that “there is no documentation that the facility assessed [the resident’s] behavior to determine if any other factors, environmental/physical, etc. attributed to the increase in [the resident’s] behaviors.
- Failure to Provide Every Resident an Environment Free of Accident Hazards and Provide Adequate Maintenance at the Facility to Avoid Injury
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated 04/23/2010, a notation was made during an annual licensure and certification survey by a state investigator concerning the facility's failure to "maintain hot water temperatures at or below hundred 10 degrees Fahrenheit.”
The findings of the investigator involved temperatures taken at 2:30 PM on 04/20/2010 “at resident-use hot water outlets that were over 110 degrees Fahrenheit.” These locations included “the sinks the bathrooms of room 8 and 25 had temperatures which measured 116 and 117 degrees Fahrenheit, respectively.”
An interview was conducted with the facility’s Maintenance employee that same day who indicated “that she had adjusted the mixing valve earlier in the day … as the water was reported to not be hot enough.
The state investigator interviewed the facility’s Administrator 10:15 AM on 04/22/2010 who indicated “that a plumbing contractor was consulted [on that date] and they had suggestions to remedy the hot water temperature situation.”
Hardin Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers
If you suspect your loved one has been given medications without authorization while residing at Calhoun Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, call the Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC law offices now. Our experienced Illinois nursing home attorneys can provide immediate legal intervention to stop the mistreatment today. In addition, our law firm can handle every aspect of your claim for financial compensation to hold those responsible for your loved one’s harm both legally and financially accountable.
We urge you to contact our Calhoun County elder abuse law office at 888 424-5757. Schedule your appointment today to speak with one of our experienced lawyers for your free no-obligation case consultation. Our law firm accepts all nursing home abuse cases, personal injury claims and wrongful death lawsuits through contingency fee arrangements. This means our legal fees are paid only once we have negotiated your acceptable out of court settlement or successfully resolved your case at trial.
Sources:
http://www.calhounrehabcenter.com/
http://www.idph.state.il.us/ltc/docs/SurveyResult/6014674FIK06052015.PDF
http://www.idph.state.il.us/ltc/docs/SurveyResult/6014674FI04232010.PDF
